Itzhak Perlman: Monday YouTube Fix

Here is a clip of violin virtuoso Itzhak Perlman performing live in Russia in 1991.  The pianist is Janet Goodman Googenheim.  The program is quite varied and shows off his incredible musicianship well:

1:25 / TARTINI "Devil's Trill Sonata" in G minor (12:25 Cadenza: KREISLER)
16:50 / KREISLER "Liebesleid"
20:20 / PROKOFIEV "March", from "The Love for Three Oranges" Op.33
22:18 / BLOCH "Nigun", No.2 from "Baal-Shem"
29:15 / WIENIAWSKI "Etude Caprice" Op.18, No.4 (arr. KREISLER)
31:40 / TCHAIKOVSKY "Andante cantabile", 2nd mov. String Quartet No.1 Op.11
36:50 / BAZZINI "La Ronde des Lutins" Scherzo fantastico Op.25

Every time I listen to him play the violin my phrasing is better the next time I pick up my horn, even if I'm warming up.  He is a force in the musical world that we are lucky to have.

Enjoy!

Links That Make Me Think

Here are a few articles I recently crossed paths with that I found interesting:

• More and more companies are using computer software to weed out resumes before a human being ever even lays eyes on it. This article examines how to get your resume past the resume bots.
   
• This article from the Harvard Business Review about time management might as well have been written specifically about practicing, like how the term time management is a misnomer, that it's really all about productivity. Just like the practice room!
   
• Any freelance musician should read this piece on the 7 essential skills every entrepreneur must master. You may not consider yourself an entrepreneur, but the most successful freelancers sure do think like one.

A cloudy pier awaiting a cruise ship in Juneau, Alaska, taken on a Boston Brass trip there to perform with the Enso Quartet in 2013.

That Anxiety Ain't Helping

"No amount of anxiety makes any difference to anything that is going to happen."

-Alan Watts

Anxiety about a concert, a job interview, or anything else is never going to help make it go any better.  I always find that when my mind wanders and starts to act against my best interests that it helps for me to focus on things that I can control.

Two things that I can't control: the past and the future.  Even if I know deep down that I should have prepared more for something, worrying about that now will not help anything.  Even if I am being reasonable in expecting bad news in the near future, worrying about that will always distract me from taking the next positive step.

For some it is meditation, for some it is prayer, for others it is listening to their favorite music.  Find whatever it is that gets you focused on the here and now and you will be amazed at how it puts you in the best possible position to succeed.

My tuba backstage next to some taiko drums before a Boston Brass performance in the mountain town of Yuzawa in the Niigata Prefecture of Japan.

Andrew Hitz & Lance LaDuke: Monday YouTube Fix

Here is the presentation that I did with my Pedal Note Media partner, Lance LaDuke, at the 2015 Army Tuba-Euphonium Workshop at Fort Myer in Arlington, VA.  A big thank you to all of those from the Army Band who were not only involved with hosting the workshop but also with archiving all of the sessions for everyone to enjoy after the fact.

Our session was titled "Low Brass 101: It's Just Business" and discussed things that you can do today to help take your career to the next level.  As we stated at the beginning of the presentation, it really has nothing to do with low brass specific stuff.  We discussed things like networking, marketing, targeting specific customers, and many other business concepts.

We hope you enjoy!

8:00 a.m. - Two Part Warm-Up with Mitsuru Saito, euphonium. 8:45 a.m. - Tom Holz - "Life Outside the Orchestra" (HMusKorps Veitshochheim cancelled due to illness) 10:00 a.m. - What do You Mean - MUSICIANSHIP!!! with Dr. Brian Bowman, euphonium 11:15 a.m. - Ophiclide Recital with Dr. Richard Demy. 12:30 p.m.

Practice Room Advice from John Wooden

"Don't activity with achievement."

-John Wooden

The above quote is the problem with practicing for time (like practice records that only note time spent.) Our goal in the practice room should not be activity, but achievement.

Every one of us can get more done in a super-focused 30-minute practice session than in a distracted 60-minute one. So hide the clock, write down exactly what you are trying to achieve in any given practice session, and don't get up until it's done.

It's The Little Things

"It's the little details that are vital. Little things make big things happen."

-John Wooden

John Wooden may have been a basketball coach but he sure knew the secret to success in music.  The difference between a superior rating and an excellent rating at assessment is the little details.  The difference between your average professional musician and the greatest in the world is the little details.  The difference between having a great lesson and a pretty good lesson is the little details.

Because the little things make the big things happen.

Student Percussionists Playing Led Zeppelin: Monday YouTube Fix

This clip is the convergence of a whole lot of things that are near and dear to my heart.  A grassroots nonprofit organization (the Louisville Leopard Percussionists,) students making music, and Led Zeppelin.

I will never forget where I was when I "got it" when it came to Led Zeppelin.  I was standing in the Leningrad Airport and a friend of mine had a Walkman that he handed me and said "Listen to this." I went home and had bought every album within months.

I'm wondering if this incredible clip will maybe inspire some kids to check them out and maybe instill the same kind of love in Led Zeppelin that I've now had for the last 25 years.

Regardless, these kids and this program are awesome! Enjoy!

The Louisville Leopard Percussionists is a non-profit organization offering extracurricular music opportunities to local children at little or no cost. Please help us keep our program going by donating at http://bit.ly/louleopardsdonate. http://www.louisvilleleopardpercussionists.com/ The 2014-15 Louisville Leopard Percussionists rehearsing Kashmir, The Ocean, and Immigrant Song by Led Zeppelin.

The Definition of Maturity

“Maturing is realizing how many things don’t require your comment.”

-Rachel Wolchin

Great advice for a business as small as the music business.

The Three Most Endearing Words You Can Ever Say To A Colleague

I don't know.

Doc Severinsen: Monday YouTube Fix

Here is a three-part video of Doc Severinsen giving a wonderful clinic from the early 90's in which he actually warms up.  His clinics are always about so much more than just trumpet.  He really is a great motivator and speaker.  A true legend!

Enjoy!

A clinic by Doc Severinsen on trumpet playing. He goes through his entire warmup routine, actually warming up during the clinic. I believe this clinic was given in the early 1990's.

Part 2 of the clinic by Doc Severinsen on trumpet playing. He goes through his entire warmup routine, actually warming up during the clinic. I believe this clinic was given in the early 1990's.

Final part of the clinic by Doc Severinsen on trumpet playing. He goes through his entire warmup routine, actually warming up during the clinic. I believe this clinic was given in the early 1990's.