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A blog about performing music, teaching music and the business of music.
Here is a live performance by the Royal Danish Oboes (the oboes of the Royal Danish Orchestra) of the Beethoven Trio for Two Oboes and English Horn.
The lineup:
1st Oboe: Joakim Dam Thomsen
2nd Oboe: Rixon Thomas
English Horn: Sven Buller
Enjoy!
This is awesome!
The Chicago Symphony Orchestra has assembled a number of clips of three tuba legends, Rex Martin, Gene Pokorny, and Floyd Cooley, speaking about their mentor, Arnold Jacobs.
The three of them speak about a wide range of topics including:
There are a total of 19 short clips about Arnold Jacobs. These are absolutely priceless. A huge thank you to the Chicago Symphony Orchestra for publishing these!
You can here them all here.
Here is an interesting arrangement of the Weber Clarinet Concerto No. 2 performed live by Adam Rapa and the Belgian Brass.
Adam is one of the best trumpet players in the world. His virtuosity allows him to tackle incredibly difficult literature and make it sound effortless. What a phenomenal player.
The lineup of the Belgian Brass:
Trumpets: Manu Mellaerts, Steven Devolder, Leo Wouters, Frankie De Kuyffer
French Horns: Rik Vercruysse, Lars Wachelder
Trombones: Jan Smets, Peter Delannoye, Geert De Vos
Tuba: Fabien Wallerand
Percussion: Luk Artois, Gaetan La Mela
Enjoy!
I recently stumbled onto a great list of playing tips over at the website for the International Horn Society by Eldon Matlick, professor of horn at the University of Oklahoma.
It is titled "Hot Tips for Horn Players" but is really a list for all musicians. It features 18 tips for musicians of all kinds. Really, really good stuff!
You really need to read the whole list but here are a few of my favorites:
1. PERFORMANCE IS 90% MENTAL! Learn how to think! If you can hear it, you can play it. Expose yourself to great music and music making. Listen to great horn players. Experience live professional music making. Listen to recordings of world- class ensembles. Experience various mediums and styles of music. Become a musical sponge and take everything in. Every musical experience goes into your memory bank and this is the source from which you draw.
6. LEARN TO HEAR DETAILS IN YOUR PLAYING! Don’t succumb to the trap of falling in love with your playing. Develop a critical ear. When you think something is polished, record yourself. You will be amazed at what you hear. Keep stock of what you can do well and what you need to accomplish. Don’t waste time doing things that are not a problem. Great players work out and solve their playing deficiencies. Eliminate weaknesses in your playing. While this may prove to be mentally painful, this is a sure-fire method of gaining success in your performance.
12. PRACTICE ‘OUTSIDE THE BOX’ Musicianship is not the same as horn playing. Create a musical experience when you play. To this end, we must free ourselves from the instrument. Learn to sing! Singing is the ideal medium for establishing musical flow and the identification of logical breathing spots. Identify the natural flow of the solo line. Is the phrase asking a question or making a statement? As you sing, are you aware of the various emotional content of the various passages/sections? Practice singing and phrasing different ways. Identify those phrasings that have promise and then experiment on your instrument. When learning a solo, don’t neglect learning, and being able to sing, all interludes between solo entrances.
Seriously, go read them all!
Listen via
Lance and I had the opportunity to sit down with Jamie Lipton, Euphonium Artist and Professor of Low Brass at Henderson State University for the latest episode of The Brass Junkies.
Jamie discussed her musical upbringing and how that led her to attending Northwestern and North Texas to study with Rex Martin and Brian Bowman. She talked about the reasons for her career decisions and where she would love to see the euphonium head moving forward.
On top of that she is an absolute riot. The episode starts with her telling the story of her very first day of student teaching. With the band director not in the room a student raised his hand and asked a question that will blow your mind. She decided she wasn't quite cut out to be a band director on the spot!
Her advice for Jens is pretty spot on as well!
You can help offset the costs of producing the show by making a small donation at https://www.patreon.com/thebrassjunkies. Your support is greatly appreciated!
This sign above the podium in my wife's band room at Rachel Carson Middle School in Herndon, VA pretty much sums up everything.
The Meters are a funk band from New Orleans. Their music is stripped down, not flashy, and just oozing with groove and character.
If you or a student of yours are looking for a way to work on groove, you can use this album as a tool.
Three Ways to Work on Groove:
I've seen this kind of thing work wonders with students of all ages and ability levels.
Happy grooving!
"The curious paradox is that when I accept myself just as I am, then I can change."
-Carl Rogers
This quote applies to all aspects of life and all aspects of being a musician.
My favorite definition of acceptance comes from Tara Brach. She says that acceptance requires two things: clear vision and compassion.
So first, you have to clearly recognize what you can and can not do as a musician. Second, you must not pass judgement on yourself for any shortcomings.
Identify your shortcomings and then make a plan towards improving them. Judging yourself for those shortcomings is simply ego and will not help you to reach any of your goals.
If you are a band director and struggle with speaking too much from the podium, simply recognize that fact without judging yourself and then see if you see any improvement after trying a few things.
If you are a string quartet who is having trouble getting gigs, simply recognize that it is an issue and then try some different things and see what works.
If you have a website that is not getting very much traffic, noticing that problem is the first step. Then simply try a few things and see what gets you the traffic you seek.
As Mr. Rogers said in the quote above, the curious paradox comes from having to accept (and notice!) things exactly how they are in order to know what to change.
"The only way to have a good idea is to have a lot of ideas."
-Daniel Pink
Daniel Pink is not a musician. He was talking about ideas like starting a business or writing a book.
But he might as well have been talking about a musician's approach in the practice room.
The odds of you having a great idea come out of your bell if you only had one concept of how that phrase might go in the first place is very, very low.
If you only bring one concept of how a phrase might go into your practicing, how can you possibly compete with the artistry of someone doing the above sequence over and over again?
Spoiler Alert: You can't.
And furthermore, there have never been better instrument operators graduating every single year en masse than there are today. So you have to stand out some other way.
The real question is can you afford not to do the above sequence over and over again when you practice?
I recently stumbled upon this wonderful performance of the Pittsburgh Symphony performing at the opening night of Musikfest Berlin 2013. They are lead by their music director, Manfred Honeck. It's a great program:
Janaček: Suite for String Orchestra
Lutosławski: Chain 2, Dialogue for Violin and Orchestra
Strauss: Ein Heldenleben, Opus 40
Enjoy!
