If there is ONE problem out there that every musician suffers from, regardless of age, skill level, profession, or whatever, it’s self-doubt. Self-doubt, I swear, kills more careers and opportunities and dreams than anything else out there. At least a third of the messages I get on my social media are about how to improve confidence, how to stop doubting the sender’s abilities, how to believe in themselves, how to…
Read MoreHow To Be A Better Singer
What is your foremost priority as a singer? I’m gonna bet that, unless you are already literally the best performer in the world, your goal is something along the lines of “be a better singer.” The problem is, that’s a pretty gosh-darn vague goal. Just “singing better” doesn’t mean very much. Your first step is to sit and think for a bit. What do you really mean when you say you want…
Read MoreImprove Your Music Practice
Practicing is the 800 pound gorilla in the room when it comes to musicians and time management. It’s true. I know a some people who seem to have everything super together and get all their assignments and responsibilities done – EXCEPT practicing. They’re procrastinating their music practice by doing other things that are also technically “helpful” and “useful,” but are completely unrelated to their actual career goals. Yes, wonderful, their…
Read MoreHow to Practice Music Around Finals
The problem with finals week is that everything is suddenly due at once. The project is due the same week as the big test is due the same day as the massive paper is due the day before your jury. For the average music major, this piles stress on top of stress, because somehow you have to know all these composers from 600 years of music history, AND have the…
Read MoreNine Ways to Network with Professors
It turns out that music faculty, in general, can be kind of intimidating. Who knew? Certainly not the flute professor who wears all black and is permanently scowling. However, one of the most important things you can do for your music career, both right now and in the future, is to be A) recognizable to your professors, B) liked by your professors, and hopefully C) trusted by your professors. In…
Read MoreSelf Care Musts for Musicians
It’s getting to be recital season, jury season, finals season. It’s getting to be near the end of the semester, when all those things that seemed SO far AWAY and unlikely to ever actually happen are suddenly less than a month away. That is TERRIFYING for a lot of people, I know. For musicians it can mean (combined with that musician-y trait of perfectionism) spending too much time practicing, too…
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