Mallory Thompson Quotes

Back in 2018 I had the good fortune to see Dr. Mallory Thompson in action at the Shenandoah Conducting Symposium. She is a dear friend and mentor and I surprised her by not only crashing the symposium but then playing in the ensemble while she worked with the conductors.

I had my phone on my stand the entire time because I was frantically taking notes. She is a phenomenal musician and master teacher.

Here are 45 Mallory Thompson quotes that I jotted down over the two days I was there. She discusses stick technique, score study, creativity, putting in the work, rehearsal technique and so much more! Enjoy!

• “Conducting is just body language with a baton.”

• “Conduct your students like playing piano isn't a punishment.”

• “Piano needs tone.”

• “You're going to leave here with too much information. You need to come up with a hierarchy and a pedagogy for how you are going to implement this stuff.”

• “Don't work on 10 things. You'll get discouraged. Anyone can improve one or two things.” 

• “A staccato two pattern is a V. A legato two pattern is becoming a U. A really legato two pattern is becoming a saucer.... Then tighten the V for more staccato.”

• “I did this. I put a piece of paper up on the wall and mirrored it. If you want to do this, don't think you can do it without doing the work.”

• “You practice that 30 minutes a day for a month and you'll never have to think about it ever again.”

• “Conducting is getting rid of stuff and responding to what you hear.”

• “We're either going to celebrate great playing or incite great playing.” 

• “When you're playing with a kid, you don't think 'I need to be playful. What does that look like?' They'll run screaming from you.“ 

• “You have to be a human. You can't take something that requires creativity and make a checklist out of it.”

• “What you have to have as a priority is looking at things in a creative way.”

• “Welcome to the work...You can't take somebody else's words and think it'll work for you. It's like listening to a recording and trying to conduct a piece that way. It won't work because you did not do the work to get to that interpretation.”

• “You can't take Carlos Klibur's moves. They're not going to work for you because you didn't do the work.”

• “We don't do cut offs. Releases.”

• “There's a difference between being in time and moving through time... It changes the resonance of a group when you're pulling them through time.” 

• “When writing in a cue, draw an arc with an arrow leading to where that entrance is going so you bring them in in motion.”

• “You do it by doing it.”

• “I do not believe that you want that crescendo. I believe that you want it as an intellectual construct, but I don't believe you *really* want it.”

• “Wanting things doesn't mean time is suspended. Time has to be there.”

• “I'm going to lead. But I can't really go anywhere until I feel the sound come back to me (on the first note.)”

• “This is where you have to look like the greatest musicians sound.”

• “If you want it, you have to be willing to do anything to get it. You have to be willing to look ridiculous.”

• “When something is already fine and you keep going after it, it is either going to make it louder or heavier.”

• “Let them fail temporarily. And then let them fix it.”

• “Pulse is a feeling. Pulse isn't numbers.”

• “If I'm teaching music, I need to study music.”

• “If you're too busy to score study, I think you need to reevaluate how you are spending your time.”

• “Knowing a score is like getting to know a person.”

• “Score study is not score marking. Don't mark who has the melody. Learn it!”

• “We're willing to let things fail to let something else succeed.”

• “I start with rhythm because rhythm fixes a lot.”

• “Really great professionals never sound like they're playing anything fast. Everything has space.”

• “Rhythm fixes pitch. Rhythm fixes tuning. Rhythm creates a greater awareness of balance.”

• “Get the rhythm to speak and be resonant.”

• “Rhythm is key to style.”

• “Focus on something great. The only thing that will get my attention faster than a bad cymbal crash is a really good cymbal crash.”

• “I'll say 'Let's start by blending. Don't even worry about the tuning.'”

• “The thing about pulse is that we can't work it for them to feel it. They have to feel it. That's something that has to be taught, not shown.”

• “I use the word listen a lot. I don't use the word watch very often.”

• “(Why she has a band play by itself when it's dragging rather than beat time for them:) I'm not going to damage my arm because you guys won't listen.”

• “My path is mine. You may go faster than me, but I'm running my own race. This is going to take as long as it takes.”

• “The instrument is the messenger, not the message.”

• “Is the music singing or dancing? How can I empower the song in the dance? And how can I empower the dance in the song?”

What a Mentor Should Be

"A mentor is not someone who walks ahead of us and tells us how they did it. A mentor is someone who walks alongside us to guide us on what we can do."

—Simon Sinek

This was a photo from night when I got to hear Sam Pilafian play the tuba live for the final time. I miss him.

This is really profound and perfectly describes my relationship with Sam Pilafian.

The very first time we spoke he made me feel like I was on the same journey as him even though I was a starstruck 12-year-old tuba player who was just in awe.

I didn't leave that Empire Brass concert and brief conversation with Sam believing I could do what he did someday.

I left *knowing* I could do it. And there's a big difference.

He seemed just as excited to meet me as I was to meet him. Equal footing from the jump.

He treated me that same way throughout our entire relationship.

From that 12-year-old kid he'd never met to his graduate TA to eventually being his brass quintet colleague touring the world myself he treated me the same.

Just walking alongside me and guiding when needed.

Not sure what I did to deserve having such an incredible mentor dropped into my lap. It's certainly nothing I did.

But every single time I think about Sam I am overcome with appreciation for having such an example walking next to me for 31 years.

A Dose of Arnold Jacobs for Your Weekend

"Playing your instrument is not tonguing, fingering, and buzzing. It is hearing the song in your head and recreating it."

— Andrew Hitz (@JacobsQuotes) April 12, 2021

One of the many reasons that Arnold Jacob’s teaching lives on is that he was so quotable. A lot of his big ideas could be conveyed in a standalone soundbite. That’s powerful.

This quote is so simple but a great reminder.

At Northwestern, Rex Martin always told those of us in his studio that his goal was for us to be great musicians who happened to play the tuba well. It was never for us to only be great tuba operators.

I’ve always thought of myself as a musician who happens to play the tuba ever since. And the musician in me is driven by the song, not by the tuba operating.

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This tweet is from @JacobsQuotes, an account I run as a part of Pedal Note Media. Give it a follow for the occasional nugget of Arnold Jacobs wisdom!

Mark Gould on Swing

I get asked by people a lot for my definition of swing. It is an incredibly difficult thing to succinctly put into words.

But Mark Gould does just that (with a little bit of singing thrown in) in just two minutes.

I have already played this clip for a number of my students in lessons. Because all music needs to swing.

You can hear the entire interview here.

Sam Pilafian Master Class Quotes on Chamber Music

The following is something I posted on the Boston Brass blog a few years ago. I first worked with Sam in a brass quintet at the Empire Brass Seminar at Tanglewood when I was 14 years old. It was special to get to work with him again in the same capacity 20 years later. Sam was a great player, a gifted communicator and an amazing teacher who is dearly missed.

Enjoy!

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Last week we had the privilege of being involved with Sam Pilafian’s master class at the International Tuba Euphonium Conference in Tucson, AZ. Sam used both the tuba quartet from the University of Arizona (who won the quartet competition) as well as Boston Brass to show how he coaches chamber music. The class was absolutely riveting for everyone in attendance. The amount of knowledge and first hand experience that Sam has in the medium of chamber music (both playing and coaching) is simply awesome.

The first half of the class featured Sam working with the U of A Tuba Quartet. During this portion, Andrew (@AndrewHitz) live tweeted some of the best quotes from Sam before Boston Brass took the stage for the second half of the class. This is just a sampling of the knowledge that Sam shared with everyone that day:

• “In Empire Brass we wanted to make sure the first 30 seconds (of a show) were great.”

• “Sell every part like it’s the lead.”

• “In the Empire Brass we spent more time studying the scores than we did playing them.”

• John Swallow to Sam Pilafian right before walking on stage: “Don’t fight the feel. Live for the groove.”

• “Your job as a chamber musician is make others sound better.”

• “You’ve got to play with so much opinion that 3 or 4 people can play with you.”

• “Everyone that listens to pop music learn the melody and next the bass line. So don’t get out of the way.”

• “Never repeat yourself more than twice.”

• “String quartets, when playing a slow movement, make the 8th notes as long as possible without being late.”

• “Chamber playing changes your solo playing.”

• “Our best tool for storytelling is dynamics.”

Sam conducted one of the best master classes that any of us have ever seen.  Tom McCaslin may have summed it up the best: “I think Sam Pilafian just humbled everyone with his knowledge of chamber music.”

Well said.

"You should always strive to have excellence with you as you develop."

Well this post sure covers a lot of ground! As was so common in the teachings of Mr. Jacobs, he says so much in not too many words. He hits on patience, keeping high standards, how to play drills, and so much more.

Jacobs Quotes Podcast: Episode 12

You can hear my extended thoughts on this quote by checking out Episode 12 of the Jacobs Quotes Podcast.

Starting the day off right

"Never allow yourself to be satisfied with poor quality in the name of 'warm up.'"

— Andrew Hitz (@JacobsQuotes) December 1, 2018

This x 100!

Marty Hackleman once told me he doesn’t like to call it a warm-up. He calls it his daily routine and the byproduct of that routine is that he is warmed up, both physically and mentally.

I have encountered many students who use their warm-up to ease into the mental aspects of their musical day, but I don’t believe this is necessary if you walk into the practice room with the proper mentality in place.

This is one reason why I am an enormous proponent of doing breathing exercises before playing. I’m not a slave to them and don’t always do them, but whenever I do I make sure I am fully committed mentally to the exercise as a way of engaging my mind on a very specific task, which in turn helps my first notes of the day sound great.

This is also why I like to do things like wind patterns during my breathing exercises. “Be musical with your air” is a phrase I’ve uttered thousands of times to various concert bands and marching bands. “Playing” Jingle Bells with your air is a great way to get dynamics, phrasing, articulation, style and everything else going in the brain.

Once you activate all of those things, the physical side of playing really just comes along for the ride.

Finally, I find it can be difficult to truly concentrate on breathing exercises when I do the exact same ones in the same order ever day. That’s why I like to use sequences (like are found in The Breathing Gym Daily Workouts DVD.) There are many ways to get the air (and the brain) moving and mixing up what is done and the order they are done in is really beneficial, even for professionals.

Regardless of how you begin your day or what you do for a daily routine, a simple decision can be made that your first notes will not be of poor quality. If you make that commitment, you’ll be amazed at the results.

You must do the work

Dr. Mallory Thompson is one of my mentors. She is one of the best musicians I have ever worked with in my career. She has ears for days and the ability to convey what she wants as a conductor not just through words but through looks, gestures and body language. It is a pleasure to play under her baton. Any time she is even in the room she challenges me to be my absolute best.

This past summer, we welcomed her to Shenandoah Conservatory for our Instrumental Conducting Symposium. I visited for a day to see her and to recharge my musical batteries. While sitting in the ensemble I jotted down close to 50 quotes from her that I will post here in their entirety soon.

At one point, Dr. Thompson was working with a conductor on their two-pattern. She mentioned that a staccato two-pattern is like a “V” and that a legato two-pattern is more like a “U”. She then encouraged this person to write a large U and a large V on a piece of paper, tape it to the wall and mirror the letters with their baton.

Then she said something which will stick with me for a long time:

“I did this. I put a piece of paper up on the wall and mirrored it. If you want to do this, don’t think you can do it without doing the work.”

— Dr. Mallory Thompson, Director of Bands at Northwestern University

Boom.

Like basically all great teaching, this is nothing revolutionary. This has been said thousands of ways by thousands of teachers throughout history.

But Dr. Thompson always finds a way to put things very succinctly. She didn’t simply say do the work. She quite specifically told this conductor to not expect the results she got from doing the work without doing the work themselves.

So obvious and yet something that is rarely put that clearly. That’s putting the dots awfully close together.

Her quote reminded me of something David Zerkel once told one of my students in a master class. He told them that if they practiced lip slurs every day for two full weeks, “The lip trill fairy will pay you a visit.” It’s really not complicated.

This also reminds me of a Facebook post I made a few years ago that said mentioned how hard it is to play in all registers at all dynamic levels with a great sound. My tuba professor from Northwestern, Rex Martin, commented on that post with something to the effect of “It’s actually not that difficult. It just takes an enormous amount of work.” He’s right.

Without exception, the people who can conduct, play the clarinet or speak to a crowd better than you can have spent more time than you have improving their craft. It is all about sustained and focused effort over an extended period of time.

Literally everyone who pays $400 to attend a conducting symposium will go home and practice a few of the things they learned for the first couple of days. But I wonder what the numbers are for the people who are still doing the aforementioned paper on the wall trick 15 days later. Or 30 days later. Or 45 days later.

I bet the drop off is steep after just a few days.

For those of us who want to conduct like Dr. Thompson, we have to do the work. Thank you for the reminder, Mallory.

In search of a resonant pitch center

"Use vibrato to search for the best, most resonant pitch center."

— Andrew Hitz (@JacobsQuotes) August 24, 2018

This reminded me of a great exercise that Rex Martin taught me at Northwestern which I’ve shared with countless of my own students.

There was a note I was having trouble getting my absolute best sound on. It just wouldn’t center because I was fighting the horn.

So Mr. Martin had me hit the pitch intentionally sharp, hit the pitch intentionally flat and then play it right down the middle with a beautiful vibrato to help it resonate.

Hitting the pitch both sharp and flat helped to frame the pitch and the vibrato helped me to center it. I can’t tell you how well this exercise works. I still do it to this day.

It is worth noting that none of this had anything to do with speed. Just three distinctive versions of the same note.

I’m so happy he showed me this exercise and that the Jacobs quote reminded me of it!

Your chops are dumb

#BrassQuote of the Week:

“Accuracy comes from the brain, not from the chops.”

—Arnold Jacobs (via @JacobsQuotes)#tuba #brass #pedagogy pic.twitter.com/WY76W8nAO3

— The Brass Junkies (@pray4jens) August 27, 2018

Your chops are as dumb as a box of rocks. Your brain is what’s driving this train.

So don’t focus on feedback from your lips while you’re supposed to be actively creating art. That doesn’t end well for the audience.

Besides, to quote the great Mark Gould:

“It’s not supposed to feel good. It’s a piece of %#&$ing metal on your face.”