Most musicians end up teaching at least a little, in order to help make ends meet. Some teach as their primary source of income. The thing is, to the young musician, there is no real guide to how to start teaching in the first place. It can be confusing to begin, I know, but as someone who has started teaching recently (look at the top of the page! There’s my…
Read MoreHow to Handle Failing an Audition
If you are, were, are going to be, or even considered being a music major in college, then you know the fear of Not Getting In. (Heck, in broader terms this applies to college in general, too.) It’s the fear of finishing the application, of doing the audition, of getting through everything, and then being told, “I’m sorry, but we had many wonderful applicants this year and you were unfortunately…
Read MoreHow to Practice Music Without a Teacher
If you’re similar to a lot of music students out there, then the moment summer hits, you find yourself without a teacher. This might be because either you met with your teacher through your school, or because you (or a parent or significant other) decided it wasn’t worth the time and money to take lessons during the summer. Both are fair reasons. Now, I’d definitely promote taking lessons if laziness…
Read MoreHow to Find and Choose Repertoire
So you’ve finally hit the point in my musical career where you’re not just allowed or encouraged, but expected to bring your own ideas for new repertoire to the table. It’s intimidating, since before about 98% of what you’ve performed has always been at the suggestion of one of your teachers. You don’t really have many immediately apparent resources for finding new rep. What are you supposed to even do?? I’m in this…
Read MoreHow and WHY to Plan Your Classes Out
So! You’re an incoming freshman, or you’ve just changed your major, or you have just decided that you want to make sure you know when you’re going to graduate. Basically, you wanna know what you’re actually going to be DOING for the next couple years, and want to avoid being in school for three years longer than you need to be. Which is completely fair! The problem is that I…
Read MoreHow to Handle Impostor Syndrome
“I’m not as good as my classmates.” “I have no talent.” “I don’t deserve this.” “I’m never going to succeed.” “If people knew how bad I really am, they’d laugh at me.” All of these great comments, and more, brought to you courtesy of Impostor Syndrome! The insecurities-recommended way to talk yourself out of a career in music! Try it today! Impostor Syndrome is, to put it in scientific…
Read MoreHow to Fight Audition Nerves
Auditions! They’re scary. That deserved a line break. Maybe a crash of thunder or something. Ominous music. That kind of thing. This drama is because auditions are basically the boogeyman of the music world – to quote Eric Whitacre, the rockstar of the choral world, “The terror of performing never goes away. Instead, you get very, very comfortable being terrified.” It’s true, honestly. I still get butterflies in my…
Read MoreWhy You Should Take Lessons Over the Summer
Summer is a time of laziness. Golly gee, do I know that. However, that’s no excuse to totally ignore your instrument. In fact, summer being such a lazy time is actually a good reason to keep up with your instrument – being relaxed and having less pressure (read: not having juries!) means you can focus better on things. The problem is that during summer, there’s no enforced structure for most…
Read More5 Signs You Should Major in Music
If there’s one question I have gotten more than anything else, it’s probably “Why are you so excited about a choral song?” Answer: Because it’s a Stephen Hatfield piece, duh. Now, if there’s one question RELATED TO THIS BLOG that I’ve received the most, it’s “How can I know if a music major is right for me?” Answer: that’s a lot harder to figure out. However, there are some signs that…
Read MoreHow to Use Your Summer
Hey! Are you like me? Do you ALSO have huge plans for stuff you are going to accomplish over the summer? And yet, do you wake up in September to find you didn’t do, like, anything? Awesome! And by awesome, I mean the opposite of that. We have a problem, you and I. We suffer from Summer Procrastination-itis. Summer Procrastination-itis can be rough. It stems from having too much free…
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