Arts & Entertainment, Music
Power and Purpose
Lesson time 10:38 min
Discover Alicia’s personal philosophy of setting boundaries and listening to your body and intuition.
Students give MasterClass an average rating of 4.7 out of 5 stars
Topics include: Tuning Into Your Intuition · Practicing Discipline and Diligence
Teaches Songwriting and Producing
The legendary singer-songwriter and producer shares her approach to making music that resonates and helps you find the power of your unique voice.
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[MUSIC PLAYING] - There was a time where I would just say yes to everything. And of course you understand why. It was a brand-new experience, and I was a new artist, and you want to have-- you're dying for the opportunity. Are you kidding? And then you get the chance to have these opportunities, and who are you to turn them down? You've been asking the whole time to get them, right? And I didn't realize how much it was affecting me and definitely not creating boundaries for myself, which, you know, is just super unhealthy. You know, it's not healthy to just go without limit and to say yes until utter fatigue and to not ever consider yourself or your own well being or what you might need to replenish, you know? These are things that are really, really important. But I found myself just going hard and always pulling at my bootstraps and ignoring how I felt, ignoring that inner voice that was saying you're tired or this doesn't feel right or, you know, man, you just need one day in between this and that or you haven't seen your friends or you miss your family or whatever it is. Like, the voice is always there, and a lot of times you choose to ignore it. So that was definitely me. I was ignoring that. I was not giving myself respect to take care of myself. I was burning the candle at all hours. I would stay up all types of late, get of all types of early. I'd fly anywhere back and forth, even if it was ridiculous. But I did it, and so I found myself at a place where I was just totally fatigued on every level, just spiritually, emotionally, physically. I didn't even know who I was. I didn't even know what I liked. I didn't even know what I didn't like. I didn't even know what I thought. I needed everybody else to answer everything for me. I didn't even have the capacity at that point to even have my own opinion or thoughts because I had-- I was exhausted. And I think, in a way, that also led me to start to depend heavily on other people for their opinions or their-- what they thought was right for me. And I got out of habit of even asking myself first. I would ask other people first, what do you think? which is a terrible habit. Take it from me. Don't do it. Always connect with yourself first. Always ask yourself, what does this feel like for you? And, of course, you can then reach out to other people and get their thoughts, but what do you think is the first question? What do you feel, and how is this good for you? And that's OK to ask yourself how is this good for you? I finally realized that the power of yes is a real power. To actually say yes is powerful, and it means something, and it means then you are saying yes because your full energy and your spirit is invested because it's great and it's solid and it feels good for you and you've thought about and you've considered yourself in the answer. And I also have learned that the power of no is even huger. I don't know if huger is a word, but I'm telling you, that's ...
About the Instructor
With 15 Grammy Awards and more than 40 million albums sold so far, Alicia Keys is one of the world’s most beloved singer-songwriters. Now the legendary artist invites you into her studio to share her process for creating music built from authentic emotion. Breaking down anthems like “Fallin’,” Alicia shows you how she writes lyrics, crafts melodies, and explores sonics so you can discover the music you were born to make.
Featured MasterClass Instructor
Alicia Keys
The legendary singer-songwriter and producer shares her approach to making music that resonates and helps you find the power of your unique voice.
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