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Recital Diaries: Through the “funk”
5/30/25 Moving from a creative idea, concept, or fantasy to reality invites an amount of disappointment. Inevitably, something is lost in that transition. I often go through a stage of mourning my initial inspiration- I feel incompetent, question the validity of my idea, and otherwise doubt myself. It’s usually after the first iteration of the idea in the “real world.” As I write this, I’m in that mourning stage. It’s about a month until my recital, and I had my first rehearsal yesterday. During the rehearsal, it became clear to me that I had to scrap my idea of playing… Read more
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6 complaints about classical music
I love classical music, but sometimes the culture surrounding it makes me cringe. 1. Stiff performance manner and conventions -We don’t have to be so black and fancy all the time.-We can interact with the audience before, during, and after the show.-We don’t have to play in a nice, quiet space.-We don’t have to use a music stand.-We don’t always have to get paid.-We can play more than one instrument… 2. Stuck as single instrumentalists Musicians are very intelligent, and excel at learning new skills. Yet, many classical players are caged within the traditional possibilities of their primary instrument (and… Read more
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How to get better at performing
We practice our instruments, a lot. We know we can play, but once we get on stage, something changes. It’s no longer practicing, it’s performing. Performing is a distinct skill. The goal is not to simply recreate what happened in the practice room (“I swear it was better when I was practicing!”). We should think of it as a separate skill to be developed and practiced. By definition, this can only happen in the presence of an audience. 1. Attend performances frequently. Watch and learn- we don’t always need to be the one on stage. In fact, sometimes we can… Read more
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In defense of taking a break
I am always pooped after a gig. Like, I need to go home now and sleep. I know some people are hyped up and buzzing afterwards, but not me! I am physically, mentally, and emotionally drained. I feel happy and creatively satisfied, but also exhausted. As an early bird, I’m up by 5AM every morning, so my fatigue usually carries over to the next day. I take it easy the day or two following a big performance- I don’t try to “power through” my low energy. If I’m tired, I usually still want to practice, but I let myself do… Read more
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[Pan-Tones] 1st dance night, TCC, tuba recital, duo, gear
We got ourselves a fresh photo! Pan-Tones dance night I had this idea several months ago, and Robert pushed me to make it happen sooner rather than later. It was so much fun! Recently, I’ve been stepping more into my identity as a dancer, and this was a creative way to combine my interests and bring together the dancing and music communities. We are planning to make this a monthly event, and explore lots of different dances and music. There are some Baroque dances I’ve been curious about for a while… Sign up to be notified of our next dance… Read more
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7 things you need to book a new musical act
The musician’s catch 22: How do you book a gig before you’ve had a gig? How can you prove that your musical act is “real?” Shift your thinking to a sales approach. Before you hold a product in your hands, how do you know you want to buy it? Essentially, you buy into the packaging of the product. It looks good, the description tells you what it is going to do, and it serves your needs. For a musical act, you can also create a package without having all the details sorted out. You don’t need to rehearse or even… Read more
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[SATS] The Girl from Ipanema, L-O-V-E
Here are two simple videos I made for my Japanese project, Satomi and the sound. I’m not big on making videos. For me, it takes a disproportionate amount of time to film and edit, and I’d rather focus on music. Yet for many platforms, to share audio, video is often required (or strongly preferred). I try to be very efficient with this- investing minimal time and effort, but still creating something high quality and artistic. The Girl from Ipanema Audio: rehearsal recording from the Valentine’s Day show. I redid the vocals, but everything else was recorded live. Our studio space… Read more
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The one thing that makes you successful as a musician
Success in music = artistic collaboration. You must be a good… no, outstanding artistic collaborator. Investing in your artistic relationships isn’t a quick fix for anything. Building and maintaining relationships in general isn’t quick, and won’t result in immediate cash or status. But- it will make you feel successful. There is nothing more rewarding than creating with collaborators you love and respect. It’s a very special relationship. You often begin as colleagues, making music together, then you may develop into friends. Even if the friendship is centered around your musical activities, it eventually tends to expand beyond a strictly utilitarian… Read more
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How to build an audience, and why you should care
It is your personal responsibility to bring people to your performance. Large organizations, like orchestras, have divorced many classical musicians from this responsibility. The marketing team is in charge, and musicians don’t notice the consequence of a small audience, nor the benefit of bringing in a larger audience. It simply doesn’t affect them one way or another. On the gig scene, it feels more personal. You’re likely getting a cut of the ticket sales, so the turnout affects your bottom line. If your night is slow, they might reconsider having you back at their venue. In the end, it only… Read more
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Preparing to the best of your ability
It sounds incredibly obvious that we should prepare to the best of our ability. However, in reality, things aren’t that simple. We procrastinate, we get sick or need to take care of someone that got sick, or we forget to consider we won’t have as much time to practice during spring break/family visits/etc. Procrastination vs. Priorities Procrastination is the nagging feeling that we should be doing something now, but not taking action it in spite of it. Procrastination is the result of indecision. If you are short on time, it doesn’t necessarily mean you procrastinated. Sometimes we consciously choose to… Read more
