Diving In, Just Start with a Trial Lesson

By Addie Mongelli

Six Steps for starting a new skill

I’ve heard, more times than I can stomach, someone say, “I’ve always wanted to do [blank].” Blank being the ‘white whale’ object of their desire, and typically an artistic endeavor - painting, ballet, tumbling, martial arts, singing, cooking, playing a musical instrument…To which, I’ll delightedly reply, “That’s wonderful! Have you pursued it?” To my deflated disappointment, their response is usually something like, “I always wanted to as a kid, but never got around to it.” From there, I generally stop asking meandering questions and simply extoll a definite, affirmative “you can do it, you should do it,” form of encouragement.

If you are thinking about working on a skill, GREAT! That is step one and it’s super exciting! The curiosity and passion for something new is kinda amazing, and it can lead to some crazy places. The next step is a bit more challenging: “how do I want to start?” You can spend hours on google looking at classes, youtube tutorials, blog posts (wink, wink ;), and gurus spouting their ‘foolproof methods.’ Music is particularly challenging because there are so many styles and options.

The first, and hardest, step in any discipline(in my semi-qualified opinion) is starting. Your superb strategy to gain fluency in an instrument is meaningless if you haven’t even picked up the guitar. Your desire to be a comic book artist is a frivolous aspiration if your pencils never touch the creamy texture of that fancy notebook you bought at Michael’s with the acid-free paper. That daydream about wowing the crowd with a belting, operatic masterwork of a performance is just a fantasy until you’ve trained your voice, and that is only a fantasy until you begin working with a vocal coach.

Here’s the somewhat obvious truth: pick one and try it. Don’t wait for the perfect opportunity or the method that feels like the best option, just dive in. You can change your mind, switch your direction, try a different approach as many times as you like - but first you have to start.

My greatest industry trick that I recommend to everyone is, ask for a trial lesson. Most teachers, studios, programs, etc. have some sort of free option to give you a taste of what they offer. If you can’t find a trial lesson option, ask for one! Shameless plug, The Madison Zahorsky Studio offers free trial lessons for everyone at any time, along with a consultation if you have more questions. Here are six steps to starting a new skill and having an awesome trial lesson:

1. Ask for a trial lesson, and be sure to confirm whether it’s free or not

2. Come to your session with an open mind and plenty of question (maybe even a song)

3. Communicate your goals, general or specific

4. Consider whether you understand the instruction and like the teaching style

5. Check for any ‘terms and conditions’ like lesson packages or cancellation fees

6. Feel free to take several trial lessons with different teachers before deciding if it’s right for you!

Even if your new reality doesn’t match up to the fantasy, you will absolutely never regret it. Because even if you didn’t have the life that your less skilled self dreamed of, you have the reality that you manifested through dedication. This is your life, not one formed through osmosis and indecision - but from a nuts-to-bolts manifestation. To quote one of my favorite Indie rock groups, The Growlers, “Still better to hitch a ride on a dream than to rot with your thumb in the air.”

Around April-May of 2020, I decided I was going to hitch a ride on a dream. I scoured online platforms for a good vocal instructor. To my surprise, my search was not long. I found Madison, we exchanged a couple intro messages and to my request for a sample of her work, she provided me with a link to her portfolio site. The second I heard her, I literally shot back in my chair and said out loud with a synchronistic sense of certainty, “That’s my teacher.”

Now, this level of serendipity is not to be taken lightly; this was the outlier, a blessed exception - not to be expected as the norm. It can sometimes be really exhausting trying to find the right instructor without depleting your bank account. However, when you find the right teacher it is beyond rewarding.

From the start, Madison always left me excited by even the most modest improvement. Each step was euphoric. Nothing has ever been more rewarding. When I look back at where I had begun, I’m floored by my progress. But this isn’t an advertisement for the studio; this is a call to action. This is a call to all your unrequited dreams. This is an appeal to all your what-if pipe dreams. What if it weren’t too late? What if you are exactly at the right moment to start - right now?

Again, far be it from me(and more appropriately, how counterproductive it would be for my intended purpose) to tout the greatness of my dear vocal coach and friend. I do that in plenty of other places ;)

The only thing that matters is that you find the right teacher or inspiration, whomever and whatever that is. I implore you to chase your pipe dreams. Heck, I beg you to do so. It doesn’t matter how good your song, or your painting, or your insert-medium-of-choice-here. If everyone who had something to say expressed it artistically, we have a culturally-rich world! Dan Harmon once spoke of narrative writing(though it applies here as well): “It doesn’t have to be perfect, it just has to exist.” I’ve followed this principle to finish writing difficult drafts of original screenplays; training my voice from amateur, to intermediate, into the advanced stages; and am currently in the early stages of self-recording my original music.

My sentiments on praise for Madison go double for myself - I’m not here to brandish a low-key flex. The ethos I care to impart upon you, my dear reader, is something that will sound preposterous: no matter what forms from your work, chasing the skill is equally, if not even more important than the dedication. Because if you pair yourself with the proper mentor, who truly inspires you, they’ll carry you at least half of the way. Don’t get me wrong: consistent effort is unequivocally a requirement, but when you have a skilled and professional instructor, they’ll take some of your weight when you need support.

It wasn’t even the dream of being a professional musician that excited me in these early stages. Three years ago I took the dive and had a trial lesson with Madison. It wasn’t just that we clicked really well, but to pursue a skill, even as a hobby, that I coveted and longed for so deeply as a child - that, alone, was meaningfully gratifying.

I’ve stated this ad nauseam, but I am not just hyping up my amazing teacher, but hoping I can inspire you to take the dive into whatever it is you have been putting off for ‘the right time’. Go. Do the thing. Then come back and tell me all about it so when I ask “did you pursue it” I can finally hear an excited “yes, I did”!