Around The World 

I have to ask myself the question, “What is real life?” Two days after returning from Barcelona I hopped on a plane to play shows in Chattanooga and Atlanta before returning to Los Angeles to teach and prepare the school for the Christmas season. Life as a musician is more surreal than it is real. In the last eight years I have been to Japan, France, Italy, Greece, Turkey, Israel, Egypt, Cyprus, Portugal, the Caribbean, Canada, Mexico, and countless cities in the United States. These trips were not vacations, but rather “work.” It seems impossible to call strumming a guitar work, but once someone puts a price on it and you begin to rely on that price to support the life you’re living, it is very much work. These travels are beyond the dreams I had as a young student. The world of possibilities music can offer someone is truly limitless. 


State Of Mind

As time has gone by, I have changed my tune about the profession of being a musician. When I was in my early 20’s, I considered the instrument a part of me and took everything about it very seriously. Now, I considered it an extension and a vehicle. I find this view to be much more beneficial to me personally. The study of my instrument has been a vehicle that has taken me out of my hometown of Baltimore, Maryland, a place people rarely have the opportunity to leave. The same vehicle took me to Boston for my education and then to California to find my place in the world. In between then and now I have seen so much of the world, and every time I pull the guitar out to prepare music, I have to say a little prayer of thanks just to have had any one of these opportunities.


Setting Goals And Building Dreams

When we work to achieve anything in life, we have to consider the long game and the short game. For students, the short game is each week’s assignment. The short game is the present moment and by far the most important game being played, for it establishes the foundation. The long game is where you want the short game to take you. I encourage students to take time and think about where they want to go with music. It doesn’t have to be around the world. It could simply be playing a local venue or house party or a song for your Mother on her birthday. It could truly be anything, but goals give direction and directions get us to our destination. 

-Chris Vazquez

Chris Vazquez is the co-owner and director of SoundLife Music Academy, a Los Angeles based in-home music school offering private lessons on all instruments in the comfort and convenience of home. Mr. Vazquez has performed with Air Supply, Leona Lewis, Kenny Lattimore, Anthony Evans, JoJo, and many other notable artists.