Welcome to Gaelynn Lea's monthly newsletter! 
Stay in touch with show updates, musical musings, and life happenings.
NOVEMBER 2015 NEWSLETTER
Greetings!

I hope you are enjoying this beautiful Fall season! This is the second edition of my monthly newsletter to keep friends, family, and music fans in the loop about my upcoming shows and life happenings. Thanks for all your support, and keep in touch!
Gaelynn's Debut Solo Album Due Out November 1st!
Last month I wrote about the creation of my upcoming solo album, " All the Roads that Lead Us Home" - a lot has happened since then! The mixing and mastering is all done, the album artwork has been approved, and the tracks have been uploaded to iTunes. My album is currently in the hands of  Noiseland , the Minnesota-based company which is printing the CD's (like now, as I type). So we're in the final stages of waiting... It's like Christmas, but it's taking forever to get here! The release date is on November 1st, so less than 10 days remain until these tunes will be out in the world!

In my last newsletter, I asked you to contribute to the album if you were able. And so today I wanted to point out that your generous donations paid for $1,250 of this album project... That is over two-thirds of the total cost! THANK YOU! For that I am extremely humbled and grateful for your support. Everyone who donated will receive a complimentary copy of the CD in the coming weeks. 

I didn't raise quite enough money to press the 7" vinyl, but in the end I am happy about that, because it allowed me to include those two vocal tracks on the CD. Now you'll be getting a more complete album and you won't have to try and track down a needle for your dusty old record player (or in my case, bring it to the repair shop).

If you haven't yet reserved your copy of the album, you can pre-order it on my website! For right now, the cost of the album is "name your price" (this will change eventually), so take advantage of the flexible pricing arrangement and order a CD today!
Stickers Are Most Cherished... And Other Music Lessons
This Fall I have been enjoying  teaching fiddle lessons more than ever - I currently have 18 students and they are all wonderful and unique! My students range in age from 8 years old to 65+, so there is never a dull moment. 

Since I have been teaching for over two years now, I finally feel like I am developing my own style and theories that go with learning the violin. My favorite idea so far is called "Brain Overload Theory" - the violin is really complicated and there are many moving parts (bow, fingers, sheet music, etc) and at some point most beginning fiddlers' brains just kind of short-circuit. That's why, to prevent Brain Overload, I break the fiddle into several components. We focus on bowing separately from fingering, etc. This helps the student be successful in one area at a time and later they can combine all their new skills with more confidence. At least that's my method - I am sure there are many ways to approach teaching an instrument!

You  truly never stop learning, and teaching the violin has been a great education for me as well. Most importantly, I've learned that people have many different reasons for pursuing music, and they are all valid. Some students want to perform on stage, some just want to scratch out tunes around a campfire, some do it to keep the brain young, some simply love the sound of the violin, and some do it to earn stickers and candy! :) My aim is to facilitate learning at whatever pace is necessary, so that my students can keep music as a part of their lives forever.  

Regardless of their reasons for playing, it has been a joy to work with my students;  I am so proud of each of them. We will be having a Holiday Recital in December, and you're invited to see the fruits of all their labor... I'll be sure to keep you posted on the details in the next Newsletter!  
 Public Speaking Events are Fulfilling Endeavors
The last couple months have been a period of huge growth for me, especially in the realm of public speaking. I have able to present at two wonderful events for Residential Services Incorporated, and just last week I led an Institute at the St. Louis County Public Health & Human Services Conference. Most often I talk about disability awareness, although I also love to discuss other topics such as  overcoming obstacles, entrepreneurship and how enrichment may be a more compassionate life goal than progress This November I have three public speaking engagements lined up already - check out the calendar at the bottom of this newsletter for more information; perhaps I'll see you at one!

Initial Disability Survey Results Have Been Analyzed

Another development in the realm of speaking and advocacy is that I was finally able to analyze the preliminary results of my Comprehensive Wellness Survey for People with Disabilities. It was really informative, to say the least! The slideshow with the initial data is up on my website in case you are interested. So far 123 people have taken the complete survey, but it is still open and I would love to have your voice included in the final report! I would eventually like to publish a book or academic article on the survey results. If you haven't taken the survey yet you can do so here, and please forward it to anyone with a connection to the disability community! 
Upcoming CD Release Shows and Presentations
I am excited to be doing a number of performances and speaking engagements this month... I have  3 CD Release shows planned! Hoping to see you out this November!
  • November 24th:  Gaelynn Lea Speaks and Performs Music at Mesabi Range College in Virginia, Minnesota, 7pm