I was talking to a band director friend last night and we got on the subject of stage fright. I said that I thought most folks would use their performance nerves/fear as a way to focus on the music while on stage, therefore putting forth a more accurate, musical result. He suggested that many players […]
The People You Meet – Thanksgiving 2017 Version
You never know who you’re going to meet at a party, or what their hidden talents might be. It’s always interesting to hear some people’s stories after they learn I’m a musician. Most will tell me they used to play an instrument in high school or college. Others will say they have no musical abilities, […]
Performing ‘Taps’ for Veterans Day Amid Distraction
Veterans Day (https://www.va.gov/opa/vetsday/) was last week, but I continue to think about what it means to play trumpet for a crowd of veterans and vet-supporting families. Military personnel are all over Washington, D.C., and those who have served or are currently serving our country have no more presence to American civilians than here in the […]
Common Musical Slang
We musicians can sometimes be a strange bunch. Take the lingo: We throw around words like “gig,” “axe,” “riff,” and lots of other slang terms for musical events and items. If you are not used to it, this specialized vocabulary can be as confusing as a webmaster talking about search engine optimization, or a writer […]
How to Be Prepared When Subbing
Just like the professionals, if you’re a good community musician and your name gets around, a local amateur group may ask you to sit in on a rehearsal and/or gig. Subbing in a community ensemble can be very rewarding, especially for those who don’t mind sight-reading, or who enjoy networking with your fellow musicians. Ideally, […]
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