TEM315: How Bill Walton Gave the World Courage

The world lost a real one yesterday. Bill Walton was not just a basketball superstar. He was one of the biggest music fans in the world and lived his life with an out loud passion that was contagious.

​TEM315 is about how he gave the world courage and how we can best utilize that as the creators of music that he idolized.

When I see people acting courageously I can’t help but be more courageous myself. As a result, every act of courage I witness is a gift to me.

Thank you, Bill. You were one of one and a real one.

Mallory Thompson Quotes

Back in 2018 I had the good fortune to see Dr. Mallory Thompson in action at the Shenandoah Conducting Symposium. She is a dear friend and mentor and I surprised her by not only crashing the symposium but then playing in the ensemble while she worked with the conductors.

I had my phone on my stand the entire time because I was frantically taking notes. She is a phenomenal musician and master teacher.

Here are 45 Mallory Thompson quotes that I jotted down over the two days I was there. She discusses stick technique, score study, creativity, putting in the work, rehearsal technique and so much more! Enjoy!

• “Conducting is just body language with a baton.”

• “Conduct your students like playing piano isn't a punishment.”

• “Piano needs tone.”

• “You're going to leave here with too much information. You need to come up with a hierarchy and a pedagogy for how you are going to implement this stuff.”

• “Don't work on 10 things. You'll get discouraged. Anyone can improve one or two things.” 

• “A staccato two pattern is a V. A legato two pattern is becoming a U. A really legato two pattern is becoming a saucer.... Then tighten the V for more staccato.”

• “I did this. I put a piece of paper up on the wall and mirrored it. If you want to do this, don't think you can do it without doing the work.”

• “You practice that 30 minutes a day for a month and you'll never have to think about it ever again.”

• “Conducting is getting rid of stuff and responding to what you hear.”

• “We're either going to celebrate great playing or incite great playing.” 

• “When you're playing with a kid, you don't think 'I need to be playful. What does that look like?' They'll run screaming from you.“ 

• “You have to be a human. You can't take something that requires creativity and make a checklist out of it.”

• “What you have to have as a priority is looking at things in a creative way.”

• “Welcome to the work...You can't take somebody else's words and think it'll work for you. It's like listening to a recording and trying to conduct a piece that way. It won't work because you did not do the work to get to that interpretation.”

• “You can't take Carlos Klibur's moves. They're not going to work for you because you didn't do the work.”

• “We don't do cut offs. Releases.”

• “There's a difference between being in time and moving through time... It changes the resonance of a group when you're pulling them through time.” 

• “When writing in a cue, draw an arc with an arrow leading to where that entrance is going so you bring them in in motion.”

• “You do it by doing it.”

• “I do not believe that you want that crescendo. I believe that you want it as an intellectual construct, but I don't believe you *really* want it.”

• “Wanting things doesn't mean time is suspended. Time has to be there.”

• “I'm going to lead. But I can't really go anywhere until I feel the sound come back to me (on the first note.)”

• “This is where you have to look like the greatest musicians sound.”

• “If you want it, you have to be willing to do anything to get it. You have to be willing to look ridiculous.”

• “When something is already fine and you keep going after it, it is either going to make it louder or heavier.”

• “Let them fail temporarily. And then let them fix it.”

• “Pulse is a feeling. Pulse isn't numbers.”

• “If I'm teaching music, I need to study music.”

• “If you're too busy to score study, I think you need to reevaluate how you are spending your time.”

• “Knowing a score is like getting to know a person.”

• “Score study is not score marking. Don't mark who has the melody. Learn it!”

• “We're willing to let things fail to let something else succeed.”

• “I start with rhythm because rhythm fixes a lot.”

• “Really great professionals never sound like they're playing anything fast. Everything has space.”

• “Rhythm fixes pitch. Rhythm fixes tuning. Rhythm creates a greater awareness of balance.”

• “Get the rhythm to speak and be resonant.”

• “Rhythm is key to style.”

• “Focus on something great. The only thing that will get my attention faster than a bad cymbal crash is a really good cymbal crash.”

• “I'll say 'Let's start by blending. Don't even worry about the tuning.'”

• “The thing about pulse is that we can't work it for them to feel it. They have to feel it. That's something that has to be taught, not shown.”

• “I use the word listen a lot. I don't use the word watch very often.”

• “(Why she has a band play by itself when it's dragging rather than beat time for them:) I'm not going to damage my arm because you guys won't listen.”

• “My path is mine. You may go faster than me, but I'm running my own race. This is going to take as long as it takes.”

• “The instrument is the messenger, not the message.”

• “Is the music singing or dancing? How can I empower the song in the dance? And how can I empower the dance in the song?”

The Doubt Never Goes Away, No Matter How Succesful You Are

“Dear Writer,

The doubt never goes away, no matter how successful you are. So why not write anyway?

Signed,
Your Future Readers”

—#1 New York Times Best-Selling Author Angie Thomas

What a generous thing for Angie Thomas to say.

We can all fall into the trap of thinking that the doubt we feel is because we aren't good enough or because our work isn't good enough.

But the truth is that we have doubt because literally everyone has doubt at times - and that especially goes for anyone brave enough to make something and then share it with the world.

When an author who has received the kind of professional validation that Angie Thomas has goes on record as saying that her doubt never goes away it is empowering for the rest of us.

So why not write anyways!

And I love the fact that she has this quote coming from "your future readers."

If we let the doubt win, and we don't make the thing (or worse yet, make it and then are too scared to share it!) then we have no "future readers."

So here's to having the courage to tell the doubt to get lost and to simply keep making our art!

The world needs it now more than ever.

Everything Must Be Paid for Twice

(The following originally appeared on the TEM Blog)

I stumbled onto this blog post and it has my head spinning! Here’s an excerpt:

“If you look around your home, you might notice many possessions for which you’ve paid the first price but not the second. Unused memberships, unread books, unplayed games, unknitted yarns.”

The author points out that there’s a first price (which is usually money) to acquire things like books or a budgeting app but that a second price must be paid in order to actually use the thing, like taking the time to read the book or set up the app.

He argues that the second price is frequently higher than the first price and speaks to the negative effects of accumulating things where we have yet to pay the second price:

But no matter how many cool things you acquire, you don’t gain any more time or energy with which to pay their second prices—to use the gym membership, to read the unabridged classics, to make the ukulele sound good — and so their rewards remain unredeemed.

I believe this is one reason our modern lifestyles can feel a little self-defeating sometimes. In our search for fulfillment, we keep paying first prices, creating a correspondingly enormous debt of unpaid second prices. Yet the rewards of any purchase – the reason we buy it at all — stay locked up until both prices are paid.

How does this specifically relate to my own journey as an entrepreneurial musician with a portfolio career?

I am a firm believer in online courses. The best of them offer instant, in-depth access to the world’s foremost experts on just about anything. We have never lived in a better time to learn, really learn, from the best in the world.

But there is a problem with online courses.

There’s always another one!

I have purchased a number of online courses that I haven’t even begun. And purchasing yet another course, no matter how great the sale is or how relevant the material is to my journey, isn’t helping me dig out of that hole.

So in 2022 I made a rule that I am no longer purchasing any online courses until I actually complete some of them. It’s not like I’m sitting on a dozen of them but the number also isn’t two! And with each passing purchase I felt a little more overwhelmed by all of these uncompleted (and sometimes unstarted - which I just made a word) courses. So I’ve hit timeout.

I also bought a subscription to QuickBooks last year to get organized with my finances so that tax time wasn’t so chaotic.

But it turns out that second price of that purchase was a lot bigger than I thought it would be. I not only had to set it up but I then had to keep inputting data over and over and over again.

You might be sitting there wondering “well how the hell did you think it was going to work?” and you would be right to ask that. I just underestimated how much work it would be to stay on top of the data input.

I don’t regret the decision and don’t consider the subscription wasted money. I needed to experience it before I realized that two days of chaos at tax time was a lower second price for me than updating the app every week (meaning 50+ times a year.)

I would recommend the four minutes it will take to read the full blog post. It made me more thoughtful about acquiring things and encouraged me to use the things I already have - both good things!

I’ll leave you with two questions to ask yourself:

What things have you acquired where you have yet to pay the second price? And for each, should you pay that second price now, get rid of it, or stay the course?

Dealing With Frustration in the Practice Room - Zenas Kim-Banther

Trombonist Dr. Zenas Kim-Banther shares a strategy for dealing with frustration in the practice room and generously shares that it took her a long time to get good at this strategy - even though you'd think it would be easy!

Find her full interview here: TBJ211

"What about this passage is giving you the frustration? Is it the consistency? Getting the center of the notes? Is it the rhythm? Is it pitch?

And then just narrowing it down and just keeping it to the most simplest elements.  

If it's something super frustrating, just say, 'I'm gonna spend 10 minutes on this, walk away, do something that I really enjoy,' inviting peace of mind, and kind of go at it.

It sounds so stupid, you'd think you'd figure this out earlier on in your playing. But it took me a long time to really just stop myself from just playing it over and over until it magically gets better. And that's what I yell at my students about all the time. But it's really hard when you know what it should sound like but there's a couple of blocks along the way from getting there.

—Dr. Zenas Kim-Banther from TBJ211

TBJ205: Remembering Floyd Cooley - Brass Legacy Project

The music world lost a giant last month when Floyd Cooley, former Principal Tuba of the San Francisco Symphony, passed away.

For the latest installment of the Brass Legacy Project I invited six former students of Floyd's to share stories of him as a player, teacher and person:

• Kevin Harrison - Axiom Brass

• Daryl Johnson - Louisville Symphony Orchestra (retired)

• Pete Link - Kyoto Symphony Orchestra

• Mike Roylance - Boston Symphony Orchestra

• William Russell - Boston Brass

• Jerome Stover - Sam Houston State University

I never had the privilege of meeting Floyd which I regret. But after being a fly on the wall for this conversation, I feel like I got to know him a little bit and that is a gift.

Thanks to all six of them for joining me on The Brass Junkies on short notice.

You can find this and every TBJ episode on YouTube, wherever you listen to podcasts or via Pedal Note Media.

Now I'm going to go listen to Floyd's Nielsen 5 recording with San Francisco and Blomstedt for about the 600th time in my life...

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TBJ201: Joe Burgstaller with Special Co-Host Chris Martin

For the first episode of the post-Lance LaDuke era (he stepped down after we hit Episode 200) I was joined by the Principal Trumpet of the New York Philharmonic Chris Martin as my co-host.

We interviewed trumpet superstar Joe Burgstaller. It was an incredible conversation. Joe is one of the most thoughtful players and humans I’ve had the privilege of knowing and he was generous throughout this interview.

He literally started dropping serious knowledge about chamber music 30 seconds into the interview. It was amazing.

Highly recommend this one!

You can watch the episode on YouTube below or head over to Pedal Note Media for all of the links to where to find it.

Enjoy!

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TEM280: Embracing Change

Episode 280 of The Entrepreneurial Musician Podcast is all about embracing change.

I get into all of the massive changes I am going through right now, both professionally and personally, and how I am attempting to cultivate a growth mindset to view all of it as an opportunity to grow.

You can find the full show notes over at the TEM website: TEM280 show notes.

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Practice Coach: Two Tips to Getting the Most Out of the First 10 Minutes in the Practice Room

I’ve launched a YouTube channel for Hitz Academy!

Subscribe to never miss a video about things like practicing tips, developing a growth mindset, preparing for auditions and more.

The very first video is a quick one: Two minutes on two ideas for getting the most out of the first 10 minutes of any practice session.

The Incredible Gift I Received from the Late Larry Rachleff

I am deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Larry Rachleff.

I only had the privilege of working him once but that experience had a profound impact on me as a musician and a human and I'd like to share the story.

30 years ago today marked the first day of the final rehearsal cycle for the Boston University Tanglewood Institute's Young Artists Orchestra and it was our first day under the baton of Larry Rachleff.

This was my third summer at Tanglewood but my first in the orchestra (the first two being a part of the Empire Brass Seminar.) The first six weeks had gone really well with rep that included Bruckner 4 and some other heavy hitters. I was full of confidence.

On the final concert was Petrushka and let's just say the rehearsals did not go very well for me. I'm specifically talking about the bear solo. The first crack at it in rehearsal did not go well and it went downhill from there.

This was uncharted territory for me as a tuba player. I had not really faced any adversity in public as a musician and I expected things to go well when there was a tuba in my lap. But the harder I wanted this solo to go well, the worse I did. It was fine in the practice room and then in rehearsal it kept getting worse.

The second to last rehearsal went so poorly that I ate lunch alone afterwards and didn't talk to anyone for like an hour. I was visibly upset and was very much not teachable in that moment. Larry didn't even say a word to me about it. He just kept going.

The dress rehearsal went a little better but still really badly and Larry waited a few bars before stopping for some other reason (I'm sure intentionally to give me and my 17-year-old fear-based ego a wide berth) and then in an almost understated way simply said "Tuba, it's going to be great tomorrow" and then immediately started working on fine-tuning the clarinets.

I sat there in disbelief and thought to myself "What the $@#% have I shown this guy for him to think it's going to be great??!"

Fast forward to the concert with Sam and Chester Schmitz and all of the Empire Brass Seminar tuba students there and you can already see where this is going.

I absolutely *nailed* it. Best I had ever played it - even in the practice room.

The second the solo ended, as my heart was racing at close to 200 bpm, Larry gave me the most subtle nod from the podium that was accompanied with a loving look like "I told you, kid." I will never forget that look.

I give him *100%* of the credit for my success that day. In spite of two weeks worth of evidence to the contrary, I suddenly believed in myself the moment before that solo hit. And it was all because his belief in me, a 17-year-old kid he had just met, was unwavering. He was a magician.

I didn't think about it this way at the time, but after analyzing it, the entire two weeks were a music education master class in my direction:

What to say and what not to say. When to say it and when not to say it. The words. The tone. The empathy. Inspiring the musicians around you to believe in themselves. Giving all of the credit afterwards, even when you played a huge role in what transpired.

He taught me a lesson 30 years ago that you can't buy. That even when you face extreme adversity (which is not a question of if, but when) that if you believe in yourself, you can accomplish anything. And he also taught me that it is possible to help inspire that feeling in others as a music educator.

Larry, you were a gem and you changed my life and affected my career as a musician profoundly.

Thank you. 🙏