Starting Over: One Person’s Journey, part 2

This is the second post of a series from our newest feature writer at PartTimeMusician.com. The names have been changed to protect the musically-addicted (!), but the content needs nothing else to stand on its own. We’re excited to be able to share this with you and welcome your comments!

That said, I’d ask that any encouragement be offered freely and any criticism be offered with civility. I’ve gotten used to the occasional trip to the woodshed from our few irascible-but-dear friends, but please take it easy on the new folk. We’re all on the same journey, even if we take different paths to get there. 

I always had excellent reading skills, a good feel for the English language. That must help explain why I ended up becoming an editor. Unfortunately, that ease does not extend to the language of music. I am, at this point, musically illiterate.

When I first tried to play the trumpet (20 or so years ago), I never learned how to read music. It was always difficult for me and, truth be told, I didn’t really try. But now, with my long-term goal being a second career in music, it was time to do things right.

This remains a daily struggle. After 10 months I am really happy with my tone, range, endurance, intonation, but I am still falling short in my reading. I simply lack the reading comprehension to keep up. Without that ability, all the rest means so little.

Now, I threw myself into the breach by joining a community band in order to force myself to learn how to read music. But three months in and I am still lagging behind. I am so frustrated.

In fact, I just decided not to perform in the group’s first concert because of my faltering reading skills. While this was the right thing to do for my band mates, it is difficult for me. It’s like everyone is reading and speaking this foreign language fluently and I can only catch every other word or so.

I don’t know how many of you have felt this, but I find myself getting lost early and often during rehearsals. My mind, my eyes, my fingers are all slow to the task. I cannot keep up.

To tell you the truth, this is the biggest roadblock I face right now. And self-doubt begins to creep in. That corrosive feeling sets upon me each time I fall behind during a run through. Can I really do this?

I know the solution – sight reading and dexterity exercises – but I wonder if I am up to the task.

Given that I never really learned how to do things the right way as a kid; I am essentially starting from scratch. That doesn’t breed confidence. Because I never did these things before, I am constantly asking myself, “Will I get this? Will I get any better?” While my teacher assures me that I will, I need to prove it to myself.

So, I make do. I am hunkering down on technical exercises to improve my dexterity and working every day on sight reading so my reading skills improve. That’s what I need to do. I just hope it’s enough.

I knew this would be a long journey and I am ready for that. I apparently have just hit my first fork in the road. I press on, but with concerns.

I’d be really interested in your early experiences with sight reading, musical reading comprehension. What challenges did you face? How did you overcome them? At what point did you realize that you had things right?

Take care,
Starting Over

 

Please feel free to contact SO by email at startingover@parttimemusician.com or leave feedback below. To subscribe, please click this link. All the best to all!

Mark

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Annoying and Alienating your Fellow Musicians

I ran across an article about musicians’ manners and had to pass it along, both for its good (anti-)advice and the humor behind it.

Our friends at Horn Matters (HM) posted a great article entitled How to Annoy and Alienate Colleagues in 11 Easy Steps. I’ve been reading Bruce Hembd’s wisdom since he ran the HornDog Blog several years ago. Bruce and his co-conspirator at HM, John Ericson, know that of which they speak…and while this article, like many on HM, are written with the full-time professional as their focus, much of this material applies in whole (or large part) to us as PTMs.

Yes, the linked article is funny…but it’s painfully so in some ways. I can attest that the same type of antics exist in the trumpet section of a community orchestra, a jazz ensemble, or an informal seisun at an Irish pub. Read it and enjoy it, by all means! But as they say, “Don’t let this happen to you!”  :-)

Be a good musician, be a good team player, and you’ll have a great time and get some great gigs. If you see yourself in any of these “11 steps”, mend your ways before it’s too late! You’ll have more fun, more opportunities, and more friends if you do.

Keep playing,
Mark

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Starting Over: One Person’s Journey

This is the first post of a new series from our newest feature writer at PartTimeMusician.com. The names have been changed to protect the musically-addicted (!), but the content needs nothing else to stand on its own. We’re excited to be able to share this with you and welcome your comments!

That said, I’d ask that any encouragement be offered freely and any criticism be offered with civility. I’ve gotten used to the occasional trip to the woodshed from our few irascible-but-dear friends, but please take it easy on the new folk. We’re all on the same journey, even if we take different paths to get there.

Hi, I’m “Starting Over” and in September 2009 I was suddenly out of a job, after my company merged with another. Who knew that this awful experience would lead me back to music and hopefully towards a second career? Surprisingly it has.

After a few months looking for work, I was out of my mind, checking my email every five minutes for call backs from employers. At my wits end, I decided to kill some time by cleaning out my old Benge trumpet. I just wanted to make it through the day, but I got a lot more than I bargained for.

After cleaning the horn (which was hidden away in the basement for 20 years) I decided to try to play it and so it began.  All the old feelings came back and I was on my way.

As a kid, I always loved the trumpet, but never made the effort to do things the right way. I never practiced or bothered to learn the fundamentals of my instrument and later I just quit, putting the horn away in frustration. I told myself I just didn’t have the ability.

Now, having picked it up again, I felt a mix of excitement and regret. I was excited to come back to something I really loved, while regretting all the years I wasted away from the instrument. While I couldn’t go back and change the past, I could make up for the lost time with a vengeance. So, even though I was 37, I was determined to make a serious go at this.

I wanted to do whatever it took to become a pro, no matter how tough a road it would be. And I know it’s a tough road, especially with a family and a new full-time job, as a great company made me a job offer just a month after I picked up the trumpet again.

I have been playing for 10 months now, putting in several hours every day. Beyond the fundamentals of the instrument, I am studying every day to improve my reading music, which has always been dreadful. Since I am so early in my journey, each day is a real learning experience for me and I’d be honored to share those experiences with you.

I also would appreciate any advice and encouragement from folks out there who are doing the same thing. God knows, I need all the help I can get.

Take care,
Starting Over

 

Please feel free to contact SO by email at startingover@parttimemusician.com or leave feedback below. To subscribe, please click this link. All the best to all!

Mark

 

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• Starting Over: One Person’s Journey, part 2
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THE Two Keys to Success in Music (and Life)!

I was chatting with a friend of mine recently and he passed along some advice so simple, yet so profound, that I felt it just had to be shared. With all of the excellent advice out there for the current or aspiring Part-Time Musician (PTM) – and I’d like to think we’ve passed along a good deal of it! – it just doesn’t get much better than this.

It’s Never Too Late to Start

However old you are now, whether 8 or 88, you’re at the perfect age to start playing an instrument. If you don’t already play the instrument you’d like to play, for Heaven’s sake, START NOW! What is holding you back…really? Fear of committing to…doing something you’ve always wanted to do? Fear of…not being very good until you’ve progressed a bit? The cost of…investing in your personal growth and fulfillment? Short of physical inability (five year old + double bass = bad idea), there is no good reason for putting it off. IT’S NEVER TOO LATE TO START PLAYING THE INSTRUMENT YOU LOVE!

Something is Better Than Nothing

We’ve written previously about “micro-sessions” for practicing (click here to see article), but to cut straight to the chase, any quality time is better than no quality time…even if it’s just a few minutes each day. You won’t get to Carnegie Hall on five minutes a day, but you could learn a few tunes over the course of a few months, work on tuning and intonation, throw in a few embellishments, and amaze just about everyone you know – including yourself – with your progress in less than a year’s time. Yes, you’ll improve faster with more time and thought invested; but begin with whatever you can and adjust as appropriate. SOMETHING REALLY IS BETTER THAN NOTHING!

These same principles apply to anything in life (fitness, learning a language, reading, etc.), but they hold special importance for us as PTMs. Remember these keys and apply them, and someday, you just might amaze yourself with what you can do.

All the best,
Mark

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Sharing Your Talents with More-talented Kids

Admission: I’m not your typical trumpeter.

After playing through college, I hung up my trumpets for a career with more perceived stability and potential: information technology. I enjoy what I do, and I’ve never regretted my decision. Between building a career and raising a family, I didn’t play for a couple of decades. And for most of that time, I didn’t realize how much I missed it.

Once our daughters began playing violin, I took up the trumpet once again. To make a long story short, I got some good instruction, invested a lot of time and study (and self-study), and have actually surpassed my ability when I was a “playa”. Not bad for a part-time musician, I suppose. But maturity (or old age, if you must!) brings a certain introspection that makes one acutely aware of every fault, great or small. There is no room for a “trumpeter’s ego” when you have a lifetime of polishing ahead of you.

During that same time, our daughters also had excellent instruction, and any “headstart” I enjoyed vanished embarrassingly quickly. Today, our oldest is a college sophomore majoring in Music Performance…and one of her courses happens to be a brass class. Which brings me, finally, to the topic of the post. How does one share knowledge with their more-talented kids??!?

I’m not really teaching my daughter how to play, of course. Her instructor for this class is an outstanding trumpeter and excellent trumpet teacher. But between classes, daughter #1 asks questions of me to “fill-in” the inevitable gaps. Topics run the gamut, from mouthpiece buzzing to building range, breathing to fingerings. I am careful to preface everything I pass along with “this is what I’ve learned/what works for me” and end it with “check with your instructor”…and say a quiet prayer of thanks that my daughter – already a better musician than I will ever become and just getting started, really – is so eager to learn and grow as a musician that she is willing to collect knowledge from even the unlikeliest of places.

Regardless of your past, your present, or your future abilities, I’d encourage you to recognize your abilities and your shortcomings…and proceed anyway. Groom and grow your talents, but be willing to share them, too. Give of what you have, whatever it may be. You’ll be glad you did.

Keep playing,
Mark

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