Music is the Soul Driving Factor

Kacey Baugh: 0:01

nervousness and excitement. They feel the same, but you get to decide what you're going to assign to this experience. Are you going to let it control you or are you going to let it fuel you? Are you curious enough to see the outcome?

Porter: 0:21

All right, folks, welcome back to Transacting Value, where we're encouraging dialogue from different perspectives to unite over shared values. Our theme for season four is intrinsic values, so what your character is doing when you look yourself in the mirror. Now, if you're new to the podcast, welcome. And if you're a continuing listener, welcome back. Today we're talking our June core values of abundance, adventure and prosperity with the owner and instructor at Maple Leaf Music Company out of Carthage, missouri, ms Casey Baw. She's a voice instructor, plays piano, plays guitar, songwriter, understands music theory. So it's going to be pretty ridiculous and in an effort to cover quite a bit of things as it applies to her personal values, value system and character development and how she puts it into her music. Guys, without further ado, i'm Porter, i'm your host and this is Transacting Value. Casey, how are you doing?

Kacey Baugh: 1:14

Hey good, How are you doing?

Porter: 1:16

I'm doing well. It's great to see you. I hope you're having a good day.

Kacey Baugh: 1:19

It's sunshine here. It's been raining all week, so I'm loving the sunshine at the bottom of the day today.

Porter: 1:25

I bet it must be moving east then, because we've been rainy the last couple of days. So thank you.

Kacey Baugh: 1:29

You're welcome.

Porter: 1:31

So for everybody listening, and sort of to start all this off, casey, as far as transacting value goes right, the focus is values, value systems, how we can sort of show mutual respect in a conversation and listen to each other even though we have different perspectives, right? So let me just get the ball rolling a little bit here. I have no idea how to do anything about music. I listen to it and I change it more often when the song is in the middle than before it's over, because I don't even know what I want to listen to, let alone how to put it together, right. So how long have you been playing music?

Kacey Baugh: 2:04

Well, i can remember being really young, like probably early elementary school, and my mom and my grandpa. My grandpa was in a bluegrass band and so they helped me, in denim and lace, singing at Hootenanny's some of my earliest memories, and so music has always been fun and with family and just really integrated as part of my childhood and my life, so I almost can't remember a time without it.

Porter: 2:33

So Well and so, as I understand though, you majored in voice, right, yeah, so why not focus on instruments? Why singing?

Kacey Baugh: 2:41

It's my absolute favorite because I love all of the details that go into how to use your voice as a living instrument and so what that is like to be living like a piano for instance or a guitar. If something is technologically wrong with it or it's out of tune or something, you just turn a key or open it up and adjust something, but with the voice you can't see it. So it's all based on sensation and I don't know like it's so it's. So there's so many variables that adjust and to get the exact sound that you want, there's so many little details that you can adjust And I just love the whole process and there's an internal reward because you can feel it coming out of your body, where you can't really feel what it feels like for the piano to have sound coming out of it. But you can feel what it feels like to have your voice come out of the hole internal, external, and the way it connects you with people, and the voice is my favorite.

Porter: 3:37

So I mean, it's obviously pretty fulfilling, right, Because you can physically feel that you're doing a good job and you're hitting notes and actually how you want to perform or sing a song. But I mean, but you can see it too in an audience. I mean you can, you can see engage a response, right? Yes, and now I get, you can do that with instruments, again, not firsthand, but I understand I've been to a concert or two, right. So like there's, there's resonance with an audience when you're playing an instrument and people are feeling good and they start to dance or whatever. But what does that do for you as the singer? Does that make it harder to control your pitch and your adrenaline and your excitement because it's going to come out? Yeah?

Kacey Baugh: 4:14

Yeah, that's a great point Because you're like connecting with people. Yeah, you know. So music is all about connection. It's about connecting with emotion, between people, and music allows you to be the voice of the emotion and the kind of the one who instigates that connection And, when you see it, the outcomes back at you visually from people that are connecting it So internally rewarding. But what you said you mentioned something really cool. You have internal responses to that, like you're maybe singing and you've practiced this thing a million times, but all of a sudden you see this little girl start dancing with her dad in the aisle to something that you're projecting in the moment Yeah And then right. Oh, my throat tightened up and I'm trying to choke back tears.

Porter: 5:01

I didn't practice that, oh gosh.

Kacey Baugh: 5:03

So now you have this like chemistry that's happening in real time, that not only are you watching this beautiful exchange between a dad and your daughter, but the audience is watching you react to that.

Porter: 5:14

Yeah.

Kacey Baugh: 5:15

And so it's like this whole thing and people, that chemistry that builds, it's so, so cool. It's just a neat experience.

Porter: 5:23

And the vulnerability that you've got to be willing to like. You're in public crying sometimes. You know like or trying to make people cry. If that's your goal, you know to bring out these memories and emotions and things.

Kacey Baugh: 5:36

Oh yeah, and you're the volume levels you use to project to in singing to create that emotion. They're not like your everyday conversational volumes. So even like the vulnerability it takes to get loud or project from a different part of your voice than you would when you're talking, it's a whole different vulnerability level for for you, but it creates vulnerability in the audience as well too, because of that.

Porter: 6:00

Okay. So is it a fair comparison to say I mean, albeit through lyrics and or rhythm and instrumentation that like as a singer, you're also basically like a voice actor?

Kacey Baugh: 6:10

Ah, definitely, yes, Okay, the way that you move your the sound through your resonating chambers is totally how a voice actor would create characters. You're just doing it different because you're emoting lyric rather than a character's words. You know what I mean, even though they are words of the same thing, but you're doing it different. You're using the same strategy to do that.

Porter: 6:35

Okay, well, so let me back up for a second here. We sort of broke down you as a singer, right, and as a, i guess, introspective skill set, what that requires and how to communicate effectively with people. But I mean, the whole point of this particular show is so what? What do your values have to do with that? And here's sort of my take on it in a quick two cents and 30 seconds or less, that it shouldn't really matter what language you're singing in, right, like there's Spanish songs I don't speak Spanish, but there's Spanish songs And I'm like, wow, that sounds pretty good. I like the way that sounds And I'll listen to it and have no idea what I just heard, but it sounds good, right, or whatever. It maybe even makes me feel good, the emotion that it brings out or whatever applies. So the language itself, almost, i think, doesn't matter as much as you conveying the hard work and practice you put into getting it right to convey that emotion, which ultimately would rest in your value system, and how you apply that to your music or performances or whatever applies, right, all right, folks, stick tight and we'll be right back on Transacting Value. So the language itself almost, i think, doesn't matter as much as you conveying the hard work and practice you put into getting it right to convey that emotion which ultimately would rest in your value system, and how you apply that to your music or performances or whatever applies right. So I'm curious. I guess, before we get too much further down the road, let's just break this down For anybody new to the show, casey and I are talking on a video call, but I'm obviously only recording the audio. So, casey, for anybody that doesn't know you, anybody that can't see you, let's take this back two steps. Who are you as a person, right? Where are you from To be great?

Kacey Baugh: 9:08

Okay, so I'm from a small town in Missouri, the heart of the country. So very conservative value systems very. You know hometown, small town, feel very family oriented. And like I mentioned before. I mean, it's always been part of my life, since childhood, and so I guess that something that goes along with music being a part of your life is the emotional connection that you have. You have an outlet for that. So you know that has always been encouraged And so I always feel. I feel like my personality tends to be pretty emotional as far as the way I am like with people and teach children all day, so that lends itself well to that expression.

Porter: 9:50

It's really fun.

Kacey Baugh: 9:51

Children are probably my favorite people to interact with because I actually feel like I get to be more of myself when I'm with them, because I have a big playful personality, you know. so I don't know, and so we grew up, you know, in a Christian home And so a lot of the faith based things that you learn through scripture and through church and small and small country church on the corner, you know, out in the middle of farm fields, just there is a there's a different feel to that. you know there's a whole culture with that And I feel blessed to have been a part of it. But, yeah, a lot of my values stem from that. the faith based aspect of things, probably more than anything, family and faith.

Porter: 10:34

Okay, well, let's jump into that a little bit. So this is a segment of the show called developing character.

Kacey Baugh: 10:38

Developing character.

Porter: 10:40

And for everybody listening, this is two questions totally Casey from your perspective and basically focusing on two different points in time, from two different perspectives within your own life. Okay, and what were some of your values then, growing up?

Kacey Baugh: 10:56

Okay, so I have thought so much about this and it may take me a little bit of time to kind of encapsulate all that I want to say. So if we have a little time I kind of want to go into it. But I heard this quote. Actually I have been reading this book and I heard this quote and I have some scripture, but it's just so beautifully put that I am just dying to share it. But Irwin McManus says all of us have a longing to be loved, to connect, for intimacy, and we need to realize that we are all going to have this intrinsic need or craving for intimacy and connection, for love, for relationship And intimacy is the thing that we long for. But we fear the most. We fear intimacy because we don't know if anyone can love us for our true self, and this is why Jesus is so unique, because he knows you completely and loves you completely. In other relationships we show the parts that are most lovable and we slowly disclose the parts of us that we're not sure that can be loved And we hide the parts that we're certain cannot be loved, because sometimes we can't even love ourself because of those parts. So we try and find intimacy without letting a person into our deepest selves, because how can we believe that someone can love us at our deepest self when we can't even love our own self? And so Jesus says, or in Psalm 8-5 it says that he has crowned us, that God has crowned us with glory and honor, and I'm knowing this growing up, that that is in scripture, and that the word honor means value. And so he's crowned us with glory and an immeasurable value on us And Jesus. When he's asked by the Pharisees what is the greatest commandment, jesus says love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. And the second is, like it, to love your neighbor as yourself. And so, in thinking back to the Erwin McManus quote about how he says we have such a hard time loving ourselves, but yet we're created in the image of the God who loves us more than we could ever love ourself, but we have a hard time accepting ourself. And so for Jesus to point out that the greatest commandment is to love him and love others like you love yourself. How would you know how to love yourself unless you believe and agree that God crowned you with immense value and his glory to be present in his image on earth? And so, as part of my value system, I want to make decisions out of a truth that I have been created with value. And so if I've been created with value and I'm to love my neighbor as myself, then I need to look at other people with an inherent, unquestionable value that God has put his image in everyone And that I heard a counselor say one time her name is Tish Hedger. She said that all healing is done in the context of relationships And to think that we were created in the image of connection. Father, son, holy Ghost, connected together as one being. We're created in the image of connection to be able to connect with his image on earth, and if we're not looking at people with that intrinsic value that that has been placed on them, then we'll never love ourselves, which means we can never love others, which means we can't fulfill. One of God's hearts for us is to be his expression of love on earth. Does that make sense?

Porter: 14:36

Yeah, I mean, you just want to walk onto my show and drop the mic, like that.

Kacey Baugh: 14:40

I mean it takes a long time to explain it, but I was like it's so good that that's the basis of when students come into the studio. I know that God has placed a purpose on their life And I believe that, whether they're a senior citizen student or they are a four year old with barely hardly enough motor skills to even put their fingers on the piano, that in our DNA, in our personality, our gifts and our talents that we had yet to discover, god has placed a purpose for each, a divine purpose for each of these kids that walks through this door And I get to in 30 minutes. Help them discover these hidden things inside of them, help them develop that and then ultimately to display that glory that he has placed on us, and it is the greatest honor of my life to be able to do that with something that he's put in me, that I'm passionate about and get joy out of, to help do that with other people.

Porter: 15:42

Well, i mean, it's sort of like Rufus Wainwright I did in Halloween. He was talking about how, essentially, playing songs to showcase whatever value you bring to the table and whatever glory, whatever you have to offer, is sort of the ultimate form of expression, because you don't have to use the words that other people can interpret. You use the emotional resonance other people already know to convey that.

Kacey Baugh: 16:02

Wow Yeah.

Porter: 16:06

But don't give me the credit, rufus wrote it. So while we're talking about that, i guess that was you. You know, growing up and realizing these things in the small town sort of environment, and I think maybe I'm a little bit biased towards that. But when you're talking about small towns and growing up in, i think a lot of the benefit is because you don't have as many distractions, say, as a bigger city. You don't also necessarily have as many things to occupy your attention, even if you wanted them to, and so you, i think, more often than not, are forced to find value in people, not things. That's good, thank you very much. And so in you know, identifying those types of things and growing through that environment, that was then. As you know, you're an adult, you're grown up, so all these other distractions and all these other insights and inputs and things around the world and news stories and whatever else that you're hearing and reading and going through in your own life have an impact too And have a say in how you view the world and what you do about it. So let me ask you this this is my second question What are some of your values now then?

Kacey Baugh: 17:10

I would say when you're young, you get the impressions you know, like your dad's, you know giving you scripture and you're memorizing scripture and you haven't really tested it yet. You know, and so as you get older it becomes your own faith, because you have a chance to either look into new beliefs or ideas or thoughts and you can test those, or you can test the ones that you grew up with and see what the outcomes tell you. And so I think that what I have had the ability to do is test these childhood beliefs and kind of let them take root and see how they've grown. And so I would say my core values are still the same, except that I would add to them that the urgency to want to share them, like maybe they're my values. You know I enjoy them, but now I have like because of the way they've affected my life and the outcomes that I've seen from them, now I'm gonna share them where maybe before I just would let them have their mind it's okay, you can believe it.

Porter: 18:13

You want to believe it?

Kacey Baugh: 18:14

I'm like now I have this like gift that I'm like hey if you haven't thought about this.

Porter: 18:19

This might be something that you you know we can share together or it opens up you know conversations or relationships. All right, folks stay tight and we'll be right back on Transacting Value. Thomas Jefferson wrote in a letter to George Washington in 1787 that agriculture is our wisest pursuit because it will, in the end, contribute most to wealth, good morals and happiness. Did you know that, even at a nearly $1 billion valuation, farmers markets nationwide still authentically serve their local markets as direct to consumer farm fresh models of freedom, self-reliance and teamwork? At the Keystone Farmers Market in Odessa, florida, those same ideals also cultivate an agritourism experience preserving the old ways of wholesome, family-oriented, sustainable growth of produce and people For premium quality produce at affordable prices, opportunities for the kiddos to feed the baby cows or to simply wander the garden and watch your future meals grow. Visit Keystone Farmers Market on Facebook or come by in person to 12615 Tarbon Springs Road, keystone Farmers Market the place with the boiled peanuts.

Kacey Baugh: 19:28

Now I have this like gift that I'm like hey, if you haven't thought about this this might be something that you, we can share together, or it opens up no conversation in the relationship. So does that answer the question a little bit maybe.

Porter: 19:42

Yeah, it definitely does, and you brought up a point earlier also when you were talking about students. I guess maybe it was just my own bias. I never default to thinking about students as senior citizens. I just default to kids, right. But it's totally a valid point, right, that students can be any age. The crazy thing to what you just said, though testing your childhood beliefs and sort of helping them take root or nurturing them to do, i don't know whatever you're attempting to do with them Senior citizens as students, for example, have gone, i don't know 50 to 100 years trying to find ways to add value to their own lives or other people's lives. Have you found a difference in the, maybe passion or awareness of what comes into some of the music, some of the things that your students are learning, based on age and just life experience?

Kacey Baugh: 20:32

Oh yeah, most adults when they come in, whether they're 21 or senior citizens, if they're an adult they have that urgency where they're like.

Porter: 20:39

I'm not getting any younger.

Kacey Baugh: 20:41

I know that I wanna do this. I didn't get to do it in childhood. I always wanted to learn this and it becomes something that there's a passion for it And some of them they're half, they're arthritis and they will practice for hours a day, through the pain, because it has been a lifelong desire of theirs to do this And they can see a ticking time that maybe the young kids don't see, because kids think they'll live forever, and so, anyway, it's something fun for me to see and it helps me think oh my gosh, but this is actually adding value to their life. They're not coming in going. well, my mom made me come in and practice. They're like it's adding this really important piece, a missing piece, to this really important stage of their life and I get to be part of that and it's just such an honor, i think.

Porter: 21:27

What do you think about the impact of culture then? I mean, it's an expression of somebody's worldview, like you were saying as a student, to be able to learn to play music, or saying whatever it is they're getting into with you at the studio or with your staff even at the studio. But what impact do you think, in your experience, does culture have on music, aside from just genre, specialty or preference? what other roles does that have?

Kacey Baugh: 21:51

A ton, i think, of culture impacts how valued music can be in a community. For sure, and the way I've seen that play out is I've done music or helped with music and say, a small farming community where there's not a lot of or a lower socioeconomic, let's say, and there's not a lot of excess cash to invest in private music lessons or even a music thing at school. They're in a music program at school. So what people do is they lose a sense and I've seen this happen when the arts are not valued in a community or they can't be because of time or lack of funds. There is a lack of value of beauty in general, Like the arts provide an outlet for an expression of beauty and emotion and those things where, if you're concerned about, oh gosh, we're working from sun up to sun down and we don't have time because we're in a drought. We've got to get whatever, whatever your family stuff does not allow you to do, or hey, you know, girl and grandpa live with us and we're down with one income, and so we lost our job and it's not enough to make ends meet, we don't care about your. if you like this song on the radio and you want to sing it, you know I'm like there's no time or room for that. And so to have an outlet for the arts allows people this expression, this relief, this a way to value beauty around them and to. but if there's not money or time for it, it gets lost. And I've seen it happen in really small communities and where there's just not money in the budget for things like that. But then in bigger cities you've got these performing arts halls that are just I mean they're just rivaled castles, i mean like just are beautiful, and you have these wealthy benefactors and community nonprofit organizations who are just shoveling money into scholarships. and people thrive differently When the arts are valued. people are different You know, and there's ends of the spectrum. There's a happy medium where the arts are valued in and it fits in with the other part, and then there's like over excess of, you know, the arts and people. Nobody wants to work and they just want us around and contemplate the video all day and nothing gets done Okay, we can't do that, and we can't also just work from sunup to sundown and not have any value for those things as well.

Porter: 24:15

You know, there's like a happy medium.

Kacey Baugh: 24:16

I do realize that. But culture, socioeconomic status, what school you go to, what kind of generational wealth or whatever you have in your family or what, even community, nonprofit community groups, are there other people that are investing? it makes a huge difference on the community And you know. Also, like think about going to a funeral and no one's there to play music for the funeral. Or think about your favorite movie and there's no soundtrack to it. Our culture depends on having the arts present to create emotional connection for almost every event that we have. I mean, you've got it. When you go to lunch, the music is playing. When you go through the coffee shop drive through, there's music playing in speakers, it's everywhere And there's always visual arts everywhere. It's not just music but, yeah, culture. We depend on our culture to have the arts present and especially music.

Porter: 25:12

The long answer Oh no, that's fine, that's fine, totally cool. But it all comes back to balance anyways. Right, like you said, there's a sliding scale of well, too much, everybody's how did you put it? Everybody's basically sitting around, not working, type example, and then the opposite end, where busy city and there's no real recognition or appreciation of humanity or humanities in the process, right? So on that scale, yeah, i think there has to be balance. I mean, well, there's businesses in Nashville, right, like, there's corporations in Nashville and it's all about arts and music. Oh yeah, i don't know. Philadelphia, boston, right, like, i'm sure there's plenty of other places, sydney, australia, whatever name, somewhere, it doesn't matter. Like, it's got to be balanced. Alrighty folks, stay tight. We'll be right back on Transacting Value. Alrighty folks, here at Transacting Value, we write and produce all the material for our podcast in-house a game perspective, alongside you, our listeners, and exchange vulnerability and dialogue with our contributors every Monday morning. But for distribution, buzzfrog's a platform to use. You want to know how popular you are in Europe or how Apple is a preferred platform to stream your interviews? BuzzFrog can do that. You want to stream on multiple players through an RSS or custom feed, or even have references and resources to take your podcast professionalism, authenticity and presence to a wider audience. Buzzfrog can do that too. Here's how. Start with some gear that you already have in a quiet space. If you want to upgrade, buzzfrog has tons of guides to help you find the right equipment at the right price. Buzzfrog gets your show listed in every major podcast platform. You'll get a great-looking podcast website, audio players that you can drop into other websites, detailed analytics to see how people are listening, tools to promote your episodes and more. Podcasting isn't hard when you have the right partners. The team at BuzzFrog is passionate about helping you succeed. Join over 100,000 podcasters already using BuzzFrog to get their message out to the world. Plus, following the link in the show notes, lets BuzzFrog know we sent you, gets you a $20 credit if you sign up for a paid plan and helps support our show. You want more value for your values. Buzzfrog can do that too Well. There's businesses in Nashville, right? There's corporations in Nashville, and it's all about arts and music. Oh yeah, i don't know, philadelphia, austin, i'm sure there's plenty of other places Sydney, australia, whatever Name, somewhere, it doesn't matter. Like it's got to be balanced. And I think what's cool, though, to that point about balance, they say, i say they. I don't know who they are, but people I've heard say art mimics life.

Kacey Baugh: 27:55

Oh, wow, yeah.

Porter: 27:56

And I guess what I'm asking is how important is balance in writing songs, performing music, singing songs?

Kacey Baugh: 28:04

That's a good question. We think what angle, Let's see what angle. Because Yeah.

Porter: 28:08

So balance, that's a fair point. Let's clue this up a little bit. So balance obviously could be like bass and treble, right Eyes and lows. Balance could be in pitch, balance could be in I don't know your body language as you perform or any other number of ways, so let's just say let's talk theory. You haven't touched on theory, let's talk theory. So when we're talking balance, right, like rhythm and melody and harmony and these other aspects of putting a song together, whether it's performance or writing or music or whatever, but the balance in the pattern to make it resonate, i guess How important are these things?

Kacey Baugh: 28:41

They're so important because emotion is created through the use of opposites. So balance is very important. You can't be and what I mean by the emotion is created through the use of opposites. What I mean is if you're singing really soft and people are leaning in, but then the chorus is really big, that space between the soft and the loud is where the emotion is created. And that space between, or if you have a low and high pitch, so down here, you're singing down here and you're singing down here and then you're up here. It's kind of the same thing where the pitch how wide of a space the pitch is is how big of an emotional impact that you can make on your audience. So, in regard to balance, it's really interesting because you can't sing an entire song on volume level 10 and expect people to listen to A the whole song or B an entire set of you singing at that level. You have to create a balance and a flow And in those opposites is where you're going to create the emotion and that's how you're going to connect with people and all that stuff. So it's very important. Balance is apparently in music, but also in the performance aspect. if someone's sitting down their entire set. you go to a coffee shop and someone's sitting down their entire set, or you go to a concert and they're not up, walking maybe to the front of the stage or to the side of the stage or switch an instrument if they're not creating a balance, and that is going to be very boring. very predictable and our brain shuts off. We don't connect when something is overly predictable, And so, yeah, that's a great question.

Porter: 30:25

Overly predictable, though, may be a problem, but, to the same vein, not predictable enough is scary, yeah, and scary may even not be the appropriate word here, but like there has to be some ability, in my opinion as an audience member, to be able to forecast What's gonna happen. Otherwise I'm not gonna. I'm not walking with you anymore, i'm just watching you walk, which is fine, but like I'm not getting anything out of that, right, like my son likes to watch people play video games I guess it's a you were a hobby, i don't know, it's a little beyond me, right? like I Actually can find a lot of things to do better that I like than watching people play video games, but he likes it, and so for us to have anything in common, i don't need to like watching people play video games, but he does, so I'll watch people play video games with him And we'll talk about stuff, right, and I think only because I'm able to Predict and understand Which types of video games he likes to watch, can I mentally get prepped to sit there for 40 minutes and watch somebody play this video game That I don't care anything about, because he gets something out of it, right, and I know how he's gonna respond to what's happening. So I have talking points as it goes, and I feel like a lot of that's the same. Well, like you said at a concert when you're performing well, from an audience perspective at a concert, but to what you said when you're performing, that to be able to understand what's coming next, it builds suspense, it builds excitement, there's apprehension, there's enjoyment in that, or there's some sort of crescendo And you know it's coming down and you're like, all right, i know this is gonna wind down a little bit and, oh man, what's happening? or any opera being the same point. I don't have to speak Latin to get something out of an opera, right, but it's sort of all about balancing I don't know stability and pattern recognition against.

Kacey Baugh: 32:14

Yeah. Yeah, they're breaking it and going back to a pattern and creating a new one. Matter, i had too much coffee because it's kicking in, i could feel it. But like what we even in songwriting, where you have major chords and minor chords and The consonants and the dissonance, sure, with the writing, and it creates an ebb and flow and attention and release, it's kind of exactly along the line of creating that balance, predictability, pattern And you break it and you come back, but it all builds toward emotion and connection with people. It's so cool Yeah.

Porter: 32:49

It is cool, and I think I mean you brought it up again It's the exact same thing in relationships with people. That here's an example. If you want to be Super mysterious, cool, but then nobody's gonna trust you because nobody knows who you are, it's too much, right. But if you want to be super dependable and predictable all the time, oh, nobody's really engaged with you either, because it's too easy, it's too simple, like your home base. But I don't need to be at home base right now. You know what I mean. I'm gonna live my life I'll see when I'm 50 but, like I think there has to be a little bit there too, of give and take where you know Either you can't wear your emotions on your sleeve all the time the flip side is you can't be totally emotionally dead either, right, and so learning how to be vulnerable with people, learning that it's okay to be, i'll say, loosely judged or even just viewed by other people in public, and And growing into that level of discomfort and learning how to manage it and be okay with that, i feel like on stage. I was in theater in college. I'm musical, a musical theater, but regular theater, and and I feel like there's a certain depth that you have to be okay with being Associated with that vulnerability Right? Do you find that it's similar performing or even just with your students teaching it?

Kacey Baugh: 34:03

Yeah, i think they get the biggest dose of the vulnerability when it's a recital time with. We just had our recital a couple of weeks ago, and so we practice performing and I try to okay There's gonna be. Here's where the audience is. Here's what it's gonna look like. But they are not ready because they have what's called experiential blindness. They've never, they've never done a recital before. They don't know that what the nervousness feels like in their body, so they don't know how to manage that survival response. That's kind of triggered.

Porter: 34:33

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Kacey Baugh: 35:32

So they don't know how to manage that survival response. That's kind of triggered. You know, when you show a part of yourself to a group of people that you are not normally, you know really normally expose that part of yourself And you have a chance to totally fail in front of all these people. You have a chance to totally. You know your body can like rebel against you and you're like I don't know what, i'm crying and I'm singing a song about sunshine like what's happening right now you know and they forget that all that's out there is their grandmas and mums and dads, and we all love them, and they don't get. All they feel is I'm being threatened right now. This is a whole new experience for me, and so teaching them to rise to the occasion and to show up for themselves, to stand behind the work that they put into it and to be confident in what they've done and to decide hey, the emotion that you're feeling inside feels the same nervousness and excitement. They feel the same that you get to decide what you're going to assign to this experience. Are you going to control you or are you going to let it fuel you, and are you curious enough to see the outcome?

Porter: 36:41

Do you want to host this? That was great, that was good. Thanks, you know you must be a teacher.

Kacey Baugh: 36:50

I can't turn it off. I can't turn it off.

Porter: 36:54

Yeah, no, that was great. Yeah, no, i totally agree. Right, there's a lot of things that are easy to overlook, that you're actually in control of, whether it's social anxiety or performance anxiety or any other number of anxious moments to actual self doubt, not having self esteem for some reason, whether you were bullied as a kid. Oh, here's a good point. Real quick In the last couple of minutes we've got. Here's a good point. I think there's a lot of times so my son's nine right, and he's still young And I think there's a lot of times as a parent and, as you know, working with kids or working with parents as students even in your case too that it's easy to look at. If this mistake happens, it's going to ruin the rest of their life. So we have to be very careful. We have to make sure that all the safety controls are in place right And make sure they don't physically get hurt, emotionally, get hurt behaviorally I don't know behave, and I think that can be detrimental too. Let people fail, let people get laughed at, let people get bullied within reason and work through it, talk through it. You know there's actually I just had this talk last night talking about how, what happens in schools and parents' rights and all these other things right. Which parents, which parents have the right to decide who's going to do what at a school, a public school, a public school right, and I think there has to be a level of acceptance there where, well, this is in a public space. So these are the risks that are going to be inherent to a public space. And then in private or back home, that's where we're going to foster and nurture and refine and cultivate. And so the last question I have for you about all of this as you're teaching music or as you've been learning music in your own life and sort of growing through the process, whatever lessons you've received from teachers, coaches, audience members, whatever How much of a role does that actually play for you when you're fostering, nurturing, refining and growing at home, practicing on your own, compared to what you've been able to discover on your own and then bring back to those people later?

Kacey Baugh: 38:54

I think what resonates with me the most is because you know whatever you're taught is the things that are going to resonate most with you. It's stuff, your own childhood trauma. So so my mind is is just this fear of being invisible, failing. You know all those things And I have one professor in college, say, and I've had fantastic coaches, but piano was always my biggest struggle, And so I had the most anxiety when I approached the piano and he told me, on the same stock around, He said Casey, you need to approach everything, not just piano, you need to approach everything successfully. And I felt inside of me, for some reason, that was a magic phrase for me.

Porter: 39:44

Some people is like well duh, you know.

Kacey Baugh: 39:46

But for me I was like wait, I can do that, I can approach it like I'm already a success, I'm already an expert, I'm already in a place that is not trying to prove myself and maybe I'm not good enough. I can already start from a place of success And these kids in here and the adults that come in here for lessons, they need to hear that And I need to remember when I step on the stage. I do a lot of worship, but every week when I'm leaving worship I'm like I'm like I can't. I'm going to approach it successfully because you realize, you know there's a little bit of gravity to if I mess up or whatever. There's like 200 people in a Sunday service that are going to be like what's happening And I have to recover, so I have to. If I'm doubting myself, then it doesn't provide the space that these people need to connect with God, to worship, you know, or whatever, whatever venue I'm at or whatever, and so if I don't approach it successfully, my audience isn't going to get what they need out of this, or my students aren't going to if I doubt. Gosh boy, this is an advanced student. I hope they don't. They think that I'm good enough teacher for them, you know. But if I don't approach it successfully and then my mind isn't in the right space to pick up on things that I need to pick up on, as the one in the driver seat, you know. So approach everything successfully.

Porter: 41:09

Man, that's another good one. I just keep writing stuff down as you say it because I don't know how to say it better. Yeah, that was great, casey. to basically close this out, though, if people want to reach out to you, let's say for lessons, that say for advice, let's say to follow along with your music careers it grows, or to follow along with Maple Leaf Music Company. Any of these things. How do people do that?

Kacey Baugh: 41:30

We're on Facebook and Instagram as the Maple Leaf Music Company, and then you can email us at mapleleafmusiccompany at gmailcom and then our website. You can contact us on there and see all the pictures of our cute little students doing adorable things at the mapleleafmusiccompanycom.

Porter: 41:46

Perfect and for everybody listening. Depending on whatever platform and player you're streaming this on, click, see More. Click Show More. The links to Casey's Facebook Instagram website. All these links be in there as well so you can click on those. It'll take you straight there, casey, i really appreciate the opportunity. I appreciate the conversation, i had a great time and so thank you. Thank you, yeah, that was cool To everybody tuned in and listened to this. I also appreciate the opportunity for you guys to come by. But first off, i guess, thank you to Irwin McManus, small towns, small town churches, tish Hedger at Dr Ram, obviously all of Casey's students, family, friends and everybody that's ever made you nervous for taking this conversation into some super cool directions. Thank you to you guys as well, but ultimately, to everybody who's listening, thank you for listening into our core values of June of abundance, adventure and prosperity. Also to our show partners Keystone Farmers, Market, lucker Farms and, obviously, buzzsprout for your distribution. So, folks, if you're interested in joining our conversation or you want to discover our other interviews, check out TransactingValuePodcastcom. Follow along on social media, where we continue to stream new interviews every Monday morning at 9am Eastern Standard Time on all your favorite podcasting platforms. But until next time. That was TransactingValue.