We’ve been busy!

Just wanted to fill everyone in on some goings-on behind the scenes here at PartTimeMusician.com and ask for some feedback. If you’d like to have some input into your site, please speak up!

Technology-wise, we’ve upgraded the site’s software, stem to stern. The look is the same, but everything should work just a little better.

We’re also working to increase the portability a bit so we can update more readily “from the road”. Some of you may remember a recent attempt to post from an event at which a (superb!) jazz group was playing. The post was nothing fancy, but it gave us a taste of the value of a “drive-by” posting. Like the difference between a live performance and a recorded one, an article posted during the event often can capture more of the moment than is possible to do later. Why not seize the moment? 

Finally, a question: Would you like us to pass along exciting deals on musical instruments, gear, sheet music, and recordings when we learn of them? We’ve avoided that in the past, as limited-time offers don’t mean much a week, month, or year later…and our primary focus has been on articles that have long-term value. That said, we all appreciate a great deal. So…what do you think? Would you like an occasional heads-up on something enticing? Please drop us an email to let us know!

Just wanted to let you know what we’re doing behind the scenes; thanks for all you do as well. Now get out there and PLAY! 

All the best to you,
Mark

Related Articles:

• Please check the Recent Articles and Topics to the right for more great articles!

Take in the Music

As I type this, we’re at an awards ceremony for one of our daughters, and we couldn’t be more proud! Events like this make you pause and reflect upon the blessings we each enjoy.

A very nice surprise at this very nice event was the music featured leading up to the awards. Laying down some of the best smooth jazz you’ll ever hear was a pianist/vocalist and a saxophonist…although they are both really more than that. Their music did more than fill in the quiet spaces; it engaged you.

Great music is wherever you find it. Take it in!

Keep playing,
Mark

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What to do when work takes you away

I just returned to town from a several-day business trip, and the absence from home, family, and instruments made me think about the many things in life that take us away from our playing obsessions…whether for short time or long. How do we as Part-Time Musicians (PTMs) cope?

Trips like this are a rarity for me, thankfully. Many twelve-hour days in a row, punctuated with a couple of all-nighter work sessions, tend to take their toll! Enough so that I intentionally did not pack a trumpet mouthpiece, finger exerciser (for guitar/bass), or anything else to help me “stay on the instrument” sans instrument. I knew this would be an intense trip, and I wanted to keep a sharp focus. Now that I’m back, there is some ground to make up musically, of course…but so what? It isn’t the end of the world.  :-)

Within a few days, I’ll be “back”…and where rough spots remain, I’ll enjoy the effort it will take to polish them. This is one thing that really came home to me during this trip: no matter what life throws at us, no matter what detours come our way, we should enjoy the journey. Life is meant to be lived, not to be stressed. Music is a key part of that enjoyment, and while we should all strive to improve each day, it should be an enjoyable effort, not a burden.

May you all find peace in your playing,
Mark

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Modern classical music and the brain

If you want to pick a fight with someone, just pick on their music.  :-)

This article from our friends across the pond really hits several nails on the head(s). In it, they highlight why modern atonal compositions are so difficult to fully appreciate, much less enjoy, even for the well-trained; to the general concert-going public, they are a bothersome chore to endure. I’m convinced that feeding audiences a steady diet of “this is good for you, you must take it” has contributed to the steady decline in attendance within orchestra halls everywhere. Rather than expanding the art, we’re strangling it.

A friend of mine who holds season tickets for a major symphony pointed this out to me years ago, and although his assessment was much less scientific, it was just as accurate. In his words, atonal compositions lack “toe tap-ability”. He enjoyed stretching his brain with the “new stuff”, but what kept him coming back was the “masters”, tonal compositions whose performance resulted in the audience humming them as they left after the concert.

Modern movie music composers understand this, and helps to explain the success of movie music performances in concert halls. They nearly always pack the house.

There will always be room for music that presses – or even shatters – boundaries. Yet this may not be the best goal:

“We measured the predictability of tone sequences in music by Arnold Schoenberg and Anton Webern and found the successive pitches were less predictable than random tone sequences.”

“For listeners, this means that, every time you try to predict what happens next, you fail. The result is an overwhelming feeling of confusion, and the constant failures to anticipate what will happen next means that there is no pleasure from accurate prediction.”

You may want to read the bold portions again and give them some thought. Less predictable than random? It’s sobering.

Lest I be branded a classical music heretic, I have to say I do enjoy some modern pieces, and I can appreciate aspects of nearly all of them…even those I heartily dislike. That said, the linked article goes a long way toward explaining why “classics” – music that has staying power, regardless of genre – become classics: they are approachable to the listener’s (and performer’s) brain. It’s all in the brain waves…  ;-)

When it’s all said and done, though, it’s all good…and variety just makes it better. So whatever you play, keep playing!

All the best,
Mark

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The Best of PartTimeMusician.com: January 2010

We’re now well into 2010, and it’s time for a quick look at last month’s topics and a note of heartfelt appreciation. Thanks to everyone who is a part of the PartTimeMusician.com family – writers, readers, commenters, well-wishers, subscribers, and all who have contributed in any way – for all you do to make this site the information hub for your playing addiction.Below are some of the “blue ribbon” articles from January that you may want to revisit:

January 5:  Three tips for setting – and reaching – your goals
January 8:  Music publishing for the masses? About Sibelius First
January 11: Keeping it fresh: learning a new instrument
January 13: Music matters
January 14: Fun with music: a classic(al) cinema moment!
January 19: PTMs in the news: “passion players” in the UK
January 21: From virtual musician to real musician
January 25: Build Your Own Soundproof Studio
January 27: Citation/ticket for bass players

And the usual (well-deserved!) plug for your PTM advertisers: if you’re in the market for something, please check with them first. They’re good folks…and their prices, service, and quality are tough to beat. Check out their ads in the right column, and please give them the chance to earn your business. By doing so, you’ll be giving back a bit to the PTM community without paying a single dime more! And please don’t forget about the PTM Guide; we guarantee it will save you money, and all updates are free…forever!

All the best to you all, and thank you for another great month!

Keep playing,
Mark

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• The Best of PartTimeMusician.com: 2009
• The Best of PartTimeMusician.com: November 2009
• The Best of PartTimeMusician.com: October 2009
• The Best of PartTimeMusician.com: September 2009
• The Best of PartTimeMusician.com: August 2009