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A blog about performing music, teaching music and the business of music.
"There is more to life than increasing its speed."
-Mohandas Gandhi
The best advice I ever got for the practice room: Slow down.
The best advice I ever got for being a parent: Slow down.
The best advice I ever got for life in general: Slow down.
And I freely admit that those two little words sure don't come naturally to this tuba player.
Listen via:
Jeff Conner was my colleague in Boston Brass for 14 years. He is the only original founding member that remains in the group today. In this interview he talks about how they went from a college group playing small gigs around the Boston area to an internationally touring, full time ensemble.
Topics that Jeff touches on:
Jeff also talks about the book he wrote with John Laverty, The Porfolio Musician, in which they detail the careers of over 40 different musicians.
I have learned a lot from Jeff's approach to the business and I'm really happy that he joined me for this interview.
Links:
"Networking isn't about instant gratification. It is about fostering relationships over a career."
-Jeff Conner of Boston Brass from Episode 7 of The Entrepreneurial Musician
Networking is just like learning a really difficult recital program. It takes a plan and it takes having the discipline to execute that plan over the long haul.
A lot of musicians are good at networking. Not many are great.
That is an easy point of differentiation for anyone in the business who is willing to put in the effort.
The Kronos Quartet will go down as one of the most influential chamber groups of all time. This is their very famous arrangement of Jimi Hendrix's Purple Haze.
Enjoy!
"Only those who are asleep make no mistakes."
- Ingvar Kamprad, founder of IKEA, worlds largest furniture brand
Make mistakes in the practice room.
Make mistakes on the podium.
Make mistakes on your career path.
Or sleep a lot.
Here is a good list written by Rachel Gillett (@rgillett23) on 10 skills that are well worth the time it takes to master them.
(My favorites are time management, consistency, and knowing when to shut up.)
The Meridian Arts Ensemble is one of the most creative brass groups out there and have been for decades. I am a huge fan of the music of Frank Zappa and it is not easy to pull off without sounding forced.
This is as good as Zappa covers get.
Enjoy!
"The great aim of education is not knowledge but action."
-Herbert Spencer
I was always taught that if you want to evaluate your belief systems examine your actions and not your thoughts.
If you are an aspiring orchestral musician and you don't play your first notes of the day until 11:00 then you believe that you don't need to start playing early in the morning in order to win a job.
If you are a music education major who doesn't record yourself conducting except when you are required to for a class then you believe you can become a good enough conductor to get and keep a top job without doing so.
If you are a musician who is not great at sight reading and you don't practice it each and every day then you believe that you will eventually get a break in the business that will not involve needing to be great at sight reading.
Believe your actions over your words.
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Brian is the Dean of the Lawrence Conservatory of Music and a former ethnomusicologist for Microsoft. After interviewing him for the podcast I was filled with optimism for the future of collegiate music education in this country. I also wanted to high five him.
He is the perfect meld of artist and businessman and I learned a ton from speaking with him for an hour.
Brian touched on a wide range of topics in this episode including:
His passion for combining artistic expression with entrepreneurial skills has him on the cutting edge of what a music education should look like at the collegiate level today.
Books Mentioned:
The 4-Hour Work Week by Timothy Ferris
The Savvy Musician by David Cutler
Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard by Chip Heath & Dan Heath
Links:
Contact Brian: https://www.lawrence.edu/conservatory/faculty/brian_pertl
Brian's TEDx Talk: http://www.tedxlawrenceu.com/speakers/brian-pertl/
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To help support the show to offset the ongoing costs associated with producing and distributing this podcast please visit http://www.pedalnotemedia.com/support-the-entrepreneurial-musician
Next Episode: Jeff Conner of Boston Brass and author of "The Portfolio Musician"
"I think that….wherever you are in your career, it’s all the same…you’re working on the same things…making good attacks, making good releases, playing musically, showing a wide dynamic range, and not taking anything musical for granted."
-Dr. Mallory Thompson (Director of Bands at Northwestern University)
Dr. Thompson is probably the best conductor I've ever played for in my career. I had the privilege of being in her first band at Northwestern on the heels of being in John Paynter's last band there.
The beauty of her as an educator is that she demands the exact same things of everyone in front of her, like the list above.
Pleasing a set of ears like Mallory Thompson's is not complicated. It's just a lot of work long before you sit down in front of her.