A New Year’s Resolution — Be Nice to the Stagehands Stagehands make a musician’s life easier. They are at the concert hall well before us and they remain long after our portion of the event is over. They make it possible for us to walk in, sit down, and do Read more
I once was invited to be part of a panel discussion at the International Trombone Association’s annual convention. The subject was orchestra opportunities for trombonists. When I arrived at the venue, I looked at the sessions and concerts that had gone on in previous days, and I saw that a Read more
This is an important question to ask yourself. In a perfect world in which your every dream was realized, and you were successful at everything you attempted, what would that look like for you? Would you be a soloist with major orchestras and perform around the world? Would you be Read more
We know that a musician is a person who performs, composes or studies music. An amateur does it for recreation and fun. A professional may do that too, but the difference is this: professionals are paid for what they do. (When I speak about professional musicians I am not just Read more
Legos. You know what they are, little interlocking pieces of plastic that can be combined in an infinite number of ways. With Legos you can make things like buildings or vehicles. If you don’t like what you make, you can continually try to improve it by rearranging the pieces; or Read more
Now that I’m retired (kinda, sorta) I have the advantage of being able to look back and see how my own career has made certain turns—all for the better I might add. But when I graduated from college I had no idea that someday I would be teaching at a Read more
Ask any musician who is ten years older than you how business is, and he or she will probably say, “It’s okay, but it was much better ten years ago.” If that same person asks the identical question to another musician ten years older than he is, he will probably Read more
Relevance, regardless of your profession, depends heavily upon the expertise you command. For a musician, if you have a broad knowledge of music, are comfortable playing in a wide variety of styles and know something about music history and theory, you’ll have the breadth. Now comes the depth part. You Read more
The next several “lessons” will center around the professional musician as a business—a store—where clients can get musical expertise. If you buy into the idea that musicians are small businesses, you can take it a step further. Companies spend a good deal of time and money thinking about, developing and Read more
What Is a Brand and Is Yours a Good One—What Is Your Brand? The last blog gave a few definitions to work with. Now think about your brand. And it isn’t just about your playing, but we can start with that. What do people think of when they think of Read more