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Jamie Moyer is the oldest man to win a Major League Baseball game.  He will continue to break the record each time he wins a game, until he retires.  Jamie turns 50 in November. I'll reach that same plateau 1 1/2 months earlier.

I still remember getting an invitation to his wedding and sending he and his wife one to our wedding.  It seems like his first season, 1986, was a short time ago.  But, a lot of the players he plays with were born after 1986.  He is an "old man" in a world of youngsters (but still holding his own quite well!).

The music business is, primarily, also a young persons world.  Sometimes, in the Pop World, someone is perceived as "old" when they reach 21.  Inspired by Jamie's determination to continue with what he loves doing, I have committed to finally complete an album of my own songs.  Started an album several times before.  Helped many many people with their albums.  But, I just never have quite completed one.  The nice part about being in music for so long is that I've made some incredible friends that want to help me on this process.  I'm thrilled about getting this going and will have more details in future blogs.

So, what about you?


Think you're too old to learn music?
Think it's too late to start playing an instrument?
Know someone that thinks "only young people can learn"?

Wrong!!

Music is an ageless hobby/pursuit/activity.  Anyone can do this.  Everyone can learn and enjoy playing n instrument at any level.  There is no "best" age to start and no "wrong" age to begin.  We've had people start at anywhere between 4 to 85.   Making music is something you can truly do for the rest of your life.  I had a friend ask me to join a Rugby League a few weeks ago, made up of mostly 20 year olds.  While, starting on Guitar or Trumpet at 49 is a great idea, joining a competitive Rugby League at 49 would be a huge painful mistake (at least in my mind it would be).

Always wanted to play when you were younger, and didn't have the time or money to do so?
Follow your dream, and start

Jealous of your kids learning to play instruments?
Join them and make some life-long family memories

Have a boyfriend/girlfriend/spouse/neighbor/best friend that is afraid to start, but always wanted to?
Buy them an instrument, buy them some lessons.  Maybe even join them.

Now, becoming a professional musician may be a reach and impossibility. (though you never know....) you can definitely enjoy the music you make, enjoy sharing it with others and have fun playing with other musickers whether young or old!

As for Mr. Moyer

He's been called "the slowest pitcher in history".  Everyone in the crowd is convinced they can throw faster than him and easily hit off of him....... be careful......

A minor league team in the Twins system had a promotion offering free tickets to anyone who could throw faster than 78MPH.  They set up a radar gun outside of the stadium.  85 people attempted and failed to throw a baseball as fast as "Old man" Moyer. 

Don't underestimate what us "old folks" can do
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Every DSM and DLP student has a private, secure, virtual workspace.  This is the hub for your music education.  You have access to the entire DSM Staff, who are glad to answer any questions you have regarding playing your instrument or the musical language.  Video and sound files, relating to your education, can be exchanged here. 

Login from the link at www.dsminfo.com.

You should have received information on your username (generally your primary email address) and password when you started at DSM or DLP.  Please use our contact form if you are not sure of either.

Hopefully, one of the first things you notice is that the entire DSM staff is a consultant on YOUR project!
We're all here to help you with your music education.  Submit a question at any time and it immediately goes to all staff members.  You may end up with several replies to your question and a few different ways to solve your problem.  This is not possible with a traditional method book!
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At the top right, you can find another way to access your DLP curriculum material, our calendar of events at DSM and our extensive library of videos for all instruments.  These are both videos we have created and ones we have selected as containing good valid information for music learners.  Spend some time with these.  There is a lot of great information and our library is being constantly updated!
If you're a DSM student you will have a project assigned each week.  This is the; WHAT/WHY/HOW for your musical week, also known as an II Doc.  This is always listed as due at your next session, though of course, some assignments may require several weeks to complete.  But, the goals that your teacher assigns should be possible to accomplish in a week.
You'll find all of your II Docs in the Project Tracker of your workspace;

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Your assignment for this week, and past weeks, appear in the Project Tracker area.  This is where you can view all of the comments for your "project".  If you hit Reply at the bottom, your comment or question goes directly to your educator.  You can also post a message that will go to all of your consultants.  This is a great place to post any general music questions you have, or questions on the DLP curriculum.

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The message area can also be used to share MP3 files or leadsheets/worksheets for your assignemnts.  Simply click on ATTACH FILES to upload or DOWNLOAD FILES to download any files that your teacher attaches.  This is a wonderful way to expand your lesson materials.
Your private virtual workspace is a unique music education tool and is only available through DSM and DLP.  It's personal care and service using 21st century technology.  We're proud to be able to offer this to our students and hope this brief walk through helps you have a better understanding of how this educational tool can be utilized.

Thanks and keep checking back as I delve further into the DLP Series in future blogs.

- Mike
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