Welcome to the New Year. Now what?

I’ve been intending to write a “look ahead” since the month began, pointing to the promise of the new year…musically speaking, of course. Before we begin, though, a quick review is in order.

Mark posted a very nice article here at the beginning of last year. (Go ahead, click the link in the previous sentence and read the article; I’ll wait right here.  :-D) The three key points he hit were:

1. What’s done is done
2. Look for the opening(s)
3. Set realistic goals and GO FOR THEM

While I think he covered the top 3 quite well, I’d also like to add the following as an important fourth point:

4. Don’t be afraid to adjust your plan

Goals are wonderful things, and please don’t take this as license to scrap a goal every time things get tough…but life has a way of changing around us. If we don’t adapt as our situation changes, it’s a recipe for frustration. So set your goals, large and small, and by all means work diligently to achieve them! But take the time to periodically re-examine them to see if they still make sense…and if not, change them so that they do. Be honest with yourself, mix equal parts realism and optimism, and get busy! This year has such wonderful potential for you as a Part-Time Musician; help yourself make the most of it.  :-)

Wishing you all a very musical year,
Kathy

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Thoughts on the Old and New Years

As this year draws to a close and a new year approaches, it’s a perfect time to pause and take stock of the ups and downs of the past and consider the year ahead…but there’s no reason we can’t have a little fun with it. Feel free to join in!

Last year was a good, but hectic, year. Like everyone else with too many irons in the fire, it’s a struggle for us to find time to work job(s), keep up with family, practice, play, and tackle additional necessary tasks – like posting! This year will be better.

Music is usually best when it’s shared with others, and most of us share it most of the time with friends and family. We had a great time last year in informal jam sessions, intimate concerts, chamber gigs, and orchestral performances…and we’re really looking forward to more in the year ahead!

Medical struggles of friends and family alike have taken some bandwidth over the past year, but thankfully, outcomes have been (overall) quite positive. Things like that also tend to make you more thankful for the people in your life, so let me pass it along: thank you all for being a part of our lives. Now, go hug your kids and call your family & friends you haven’t seen in awhile. Really.

Hollywood may not “get it” in many ways, but they’re starting to understand the value of a good soundtrack. This past year (the past few years, actually) has seen some good music roll forth from the movie & TV moguls. While many parts of society fail to recognize the value of music education and music in general, it’s true that popular entertainment helps drive values. Admittedly, that cuts both ways…but in this case, movies and TV are doing a good thing. Enjoy it, support it, and encourage it!

For the next year, I’d be happy if we just added to the high points of the past year and turned down the low. Nothing revolutionary, but incremental improvement is more than most accomplish with new year’s resolutions. Meeting more great PTMs, refining and sharing the music, and experiencing more of life with loved ones as we go: can it really get much better than that?  :-)

Wishing you all a joyous, fulfilling, and musical new year!

Kathy

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Why there is no Trumpeter’s Christmas!

Everyone knows the old stereotype of trumpeters being a bunch of attention-hungry adolescents who delight in lording their skill over each other by belting out borderline-obscene high notes. This elegant and reverent morsel of Christmas music will dispel that myth, once and for all. Or not. Click the “Play” (arrow) button below the picture to listen.

One way or another, folks, this will have you in tears.  :-)

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All the best to you and yours,
Kathy

P.S. – Mark wishes me to assure everyone that he not one of the musicians featured in this selection. Really.  ;-)

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Quote of the Day: Ludwig van Beethoven

This edition of PartTimeMusician.com’s Quote of the Day is brought to you by composer Ludwig van Beethoven, who obviously knew a thing or two about life and music. 

“Music is the mediator between the spiritual and the sensual life.”

Although it is rarely used this way nowadays, the word “sensual” here refers to the physical world, or things we experience through our senses. Herr Beethoven identifies something that many of us know instinctively and some even write dissertations about: the connection music makes between that which we can see and that which we cannot.

As you study, practice, or perform your music, remember that it fulfills a much greater role than chasing away silence; whether Twinkle or Tchaikovsky, music helps us reach heights unattainable through physical means.

Keep playing,
Kathy

P.S. – For more information about Ludwig van Beethoven, please see this article as a starting point. While we seldom think of them in this way, composers were real people with often-fascinating lives. Check it out!

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Culture through music

As lifelong students of music, language, and other cultures, we have long observed how an understanding of another culture deepens one’s appreciation for both: “ours” and “theirs”. We’ve also found that the best way to really know a culture is to learn its language, both in terms of the spoken word and its music.

This article (click link to read) addresses that subject in a way that is particularly meaningful to us as Part-Time Musicians (PTMs). We’ve mentioned before how live performances can boost your motivation…but they can also unlock the “secrets” of another culture – and in so doing, your own – better than most other experiences available to us.

Without regard to the style being played, have you ever walked out of a performance knowing that, in some way, you just connected with the music? Did your appreciation of that genre of music deepen dramatically? And if it was different from your preferred style, did it have the same effect on your music? If so, you understand already. If not, you need to get out to see some live performances!

Exposure to more types of music increases your appreciation of other cultures…and your own as well. Try something new musically! You’ll be surprised where you see the benefits appear.

All the best,
Kathy

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