Why a Double Major in Music Ed as a "Fall Back" Option is a Bad Idea

Below is a post I made to my Facebook page a few days ago that resonated with enough people (300 likes and almost 40 shares) that I thought I would post it here as well.

For anyone planning on adding a double major in music education as a "fall back" option: My wife was at school this morning at 9:00 am setting up her band room before the start of school this week.

That would be 9:00 am on the Sunday of Labor Day Weekend.

If you don't have a burning desire to be a music educator, you are insane to do this for a living. Best case scenario you end up a mediocre band director. Worst case scenario you end up complaining all day every day to anyone and everyone about being over worked and under paid and make the entire profession look bad.

For those of you who do have that burning desire, our hats are off to each one of you. Society could never say thank you enough times.

#endrant

(The comments on the original post are quite good.)

The Key is Consistency

Much more important than total time spent is the consistency with which you practice.

If I don't practice one day, I know it; two days, the critics know it; three days, the public knows it.

- Jascha Heifetz

Consistency in terms of both how often you practice and how focused you are in the practice room.

The first step to consistency is practicing every single day. The best way to get playing in the extreme high register is to play in the extreme high register. Pretty simple stuff.

The second step is how consistently you bring a laser-like focus to your practicing.

I had the privilege of watching David Fedderley work with the top three finishers in the Young Artist competition at a conference back in March. The top two players were really good. Very impressive for 19 and 20 year olds.

The person who finished third in the competition played last of the three and was by far the best musical storyteller of the bunch but her tuba playing was well behind them. David asked her, knowing the answer, "So with that musical storytelling, you won the competition, right?" She simply smiled.

He then explained that the other two were much better tuba operators than she was at this point but that she had musical ideas that were just dying to get out of her horn.

He then pointed at me, then Charles Villarubia, Justin Benavidez, and Demondrae Thurman. He asked her what all of us have in common. She smiled and said "They are professionals."

He said "Yes. They get paid to play their horns for people. Do you know what else they have in common? I know each of them and know that they each bring a laser-like focus with them every single time they practice."

You could see the lightbulb go off in the student on the spot.

So while the amount you practice is certainly important, the consistency in how often your butt is in that chair coupled with the focus you bring to those sessions is much more important.

Maria Callas: Monday YouTube Fix

As I have written on this blog over and over again, all instrumentalists are simply trying to sound like singers.

Maria Callas was an American-born Greek soprano who lived from 1923-1977. She is one of the all-time greats. If you are not familiar with her work you are in for treat.

Here is a great collection of 12 arias featuring the music of Verdi, Puccini, Donizetti and more. Here is the full list of arias performed:

UNA VOCE POCO FA • Gioacchino Rossini "Il Barbiere Di Siviglia" 
ADDIO DEL PASSATO • Giuseppe Verdi "La Traviata" ( 06:48 )
CASTA DIVA • Vincenzo Bellini "Norma" ( 10:15 )
UN BEL DÌ VEDREMO • Giacomo Puccini "Madama Butterfly" ( 17:29 )
PACE, PACE MIO DIO • Giuseppe Verdi "La Forza Del Destino" ( 21:59 )
EBBEN NE ANDRÒ LONTANA • Alfredo Catalani "La Wally" ( 28:24 )
O MIO BABBINO CARO • Giacomo Puccini "Gianni Schicchi" ( 33:12 )
O MADRE MIA • Amilcare Ponchielli "La Gioconda" ( 35:44 )
QUANDO, RAPITO IN ESTASI • Gaetano Donizetti "Lucia Di Lammermoor" ( 37:37 )
TACEA LA NOTTE PLACIDA • Giuseppe Verdi "Il Trovatore" ( 42:37 )
SPARGI D'AMARO PIANTO • Gaetano Donizetti "Lucia di Lammermoor" ( 48:46 )
GIASON! DEI TUOI FIGLI LA MADRE • Luigi Cherubini "Medea" ( 52:56 )

Enjoy!

visit our page on facebook ▶ http://on.fb.me/1bzVvBp BUY ▶ Halidon: http://bit.ly/1dvMNsf UNA VOCE POCO FA * Gioacchino Rossini "Il Barbiere Di Siviglia" ADDIO DEL PASSATO * Giuseppe Verdi "La Traviata" ( 06:48 ) CASTA DIVA * Vincenzo Bellini "Norma" ( 10:15 ) UN BEL DÌ VEDREMO * Giacomo Puccini "Madama

Grant Yourself Permission

"If you're not making mistakes, then you're not doing anything. I'm positive that a doer makes mistakes."

-John Wooden

Make mistakes in the practice room, with your writing, with your teaching, with your entire career.

Grant yourself permission to make mistakes in every aspect of your life.

If you can't or won't, I just granted you permission. So make some mistakes.

The Brass Junkies: Jim Nova

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For this episode we were joined by Jim Nova, trombone player for the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra.

Jim talked about how his successful audition for the Pittsburgh Symphony was the 39th of his career! He also shared a very moving story about the loss of his mother and the trombone that she saved up money to buy for him before she passed away.

He told some really great stories about his father, a professional accordion player turned pizza parlor owner turned composer. Jim's story of the time his father hired an orchestra in Bulgaria to record some compositions he had written for him is one for the ages!

Finally, he talked about a side project he's been doing that recently got the attention of none other than John Williams himself.

https://soundcloud.com/jimnova

http://www.jimnova.com/

You can help offset the costs of producing the show by making a small donation athttps://www.patreon.com/thebrassjunkies. Your support is greatly appreciated!

Have Your Dreams Been Educated Out of You?

"All kids dream big. They want to be super famous, super meaningful, super powerful superheroes...But as we mature, these grand fantasies are typically educated out of us."

-David Cutler, Author of The Savvy Musician

The above quote is from a really great blog post by my good friend David Cutler over at savvymusician.com. It is must read.

He points out that people's dreams either grow or shrink over time and that it's usually the latter. It is his contention that this is not good.

As David points out in his excellent post, you should never let the system educate your dreams out of you. Every single person in this business who you look up to started by dreaming big and never changed that fact.

Dennis Brain: Monday YouTube Fix

Many call Dennis Brain the greatest horn player to ever live. The mark that he left on the music world has no signs of fading any time soon.

Effortless is a word I probably use too often to describe the greatest players in the world. But Dennis Brain is possibly the best example I know of from the brass world.

His phrasing is natural to the point that he truly sounds like a vocalist without words.

Here is Dennis Brain performing the Beethoven Horn Sonata.

Enjoy!

This is a clip from Beulah's DVD "Classical Music in the Forties" (YB35) This film is also available as a MP4 video download or an Mp3 audio track. Go to http:/brain.eavb.co.uk/ for more details and to order you rDVD or select your download.

Networking Exercise

I recently read about a great exercise for growing your network. (This comes from the fantastic book "Book Yourself Solid" by Michael Port.)

Make a list of 20 people in the music business that you don't know personally but would like to know. Think in terms of impact. Who can most help you to achieve your goals in the business.

(Note: The most successful networking is done between two people who can help each other, not just a one-way street. That's a topic for another day but very important to mention!)

Next, try to figure out proactive ways to introduce yourself to the people on your list. Maybe you will be attending the same conference. Maybe they are passing through town with a touring orchestra. Maybe they are good friends with your current or former teacher.

Figure out some kind of commonality with the first person on your list and plan your first step towards connecting with them. Always think about whether your route to connect with them will be convenient for them. This is very important.

As anyone who has ever seen me present or perform knows, I am always happy to speak with anyone afterwards. But there have been plenty of times when I had another engagement (particularly at a conference) and only had 10 minutes to speak with the eight people who wanted to introduce themselves.

Maybe send someone an email ahead of time explaining who you are and get creative about how you might introduce yourself. If we are in the music business, we are creative people by definition! (Or we shouldn't be in the business!) Use this creativity for things like networking and not just how you finish a phrase.

This is a topic that could be covered in detail over 20 different blog posts. This is just one small idea of how you can proactively attempt to grow your network.

While you have to have the skills to back everything up (or everything else is moot!), the music business really is all about who you know. So do something about it!

The Entrepreneurial Musician: Jim Stephenson

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Jim Stephenson is a full-time composer and arranger based out of Chicago. His story is a fascinating one.

Jim was a trumpet player in the Naples Philharmonic before he began to arrange and compose. His writing career eventually took off to the point that he quit his steady job with the orchestra to focus on it full-time. Who does that? People as driven as Jim, that's who.

His career path is reminder after reminder that you never quite know which direction you are about to head in in the music business.

Topics Include:

• How his first ever arrangement was for a professional brass quintet and that he volunteered in spite of having no experience whatsoever
• How he backed into becoming a composer by trying to write an intentionally bad piece to fulfill a very creative assignment and failed since it ended up being good
• How excited he was initially about being a published composer
• The advantages and disadvantages of self-publishing
• The value of humility in a sustainable career

Weston Sprott on Being Tentative

"Many players see a low dynamic marking on a part and let that turn them into apologetic, frightened musicians. I think it is beneficial to do the exact opposite. "

-Weston Sprott, Acting Principal Trombone of the Metropolitan Opera

The above is a quote from a fantastic article by Weston Sprott that he posted on his website. It is only two paragraphs long and well worth the 30 seconds.

As the title of the article says, don't be shy!

And don't miss the awesome conversation we had with Weston on The Brass Junkies. It will get you thinking about some really important stuff.