Tenure and other small updates

The end of most smaller orchestras "regular season" has come which means that many of us are getting ready to throw ourselves into "summer mode". I hope to do a blog about how to string together a lucrative summer as a freelance musician but probably will not do so until I am sure I know how. 

In other news I have gotten the official word and have been offered both tenure and a new contract with the Lansing Symphony for next season! It has been a great year and I am so thankful that things have worked out so well for me. The only downside right now is that it looks like next season will not be using very much piccolo and that means that the number of services I am being offered is less than I had anticipated...More than anything else though, I am happy to have a job (no matter how small). It also looks like I will be featured on an LSO Chamber Series concert in February! Fingers crossed that enough sub gigs come my way to supplement the rest of my concert year.

My own concert series is starting to really shape itself into something I can be very proud of! I already have one group lined up for next season and am in talks with a solo artist for the second concert. This summer will also hopefully be bringing a reunion of my wind quintet the Sparta Winds and we are planning on presenting a program of American composers in July (possibly on the 27th...more info to come soon). I am still trying to figure out a way to guarantee a small fee for the musicians on top of the donations collected at each concert. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

In two weeks I leave for NOI!!!! I am expecting not to blog weekly over the summer but that may change depending on topics that might come up...we shall see.

Until next time!

Happy Practicing!!!!

Auditions and old friends!

It has been and will continue to be a whirlwind few months for me! Sunday through Wednesday I was in Lansing for my last Lansing Symphony concert of the season. I had a great time and have really enjoyed my time with them this past year. Now I wait...hopefully I get good news and tenure is in my near future!!

Thursday one of my best friends Heather graduated form her Master's program at the University of Michigan (I am SOSOSO proud of her!) and Friday was spent at my friend Matt's high school for their production of Carrie. The musical was intense, dark and included death, blood and dancing. It was like an opera only not at all!

Saturday I spent the day driving to Des Moines for the Principal, Second and Piccolo auditions that will be happening the day this blog gets posted. I'm nervous and excited! Possibly I will post a blog about audition processes soon... The preparation time was severely limited so at this point what happens happens and all else is up to fate. This brings me to the exciting part; I get to see my friend Jason!

Jason spent some time with me at the San Francisco Conservatory and was in the Bay Quintet with me when we gave a special featured performance of Mario LaVista's "Cinco Danzas Brevas" as a part of the BluePrint New Music Concert Series. He's such an amazing person and it is so nice of him to put me up so last min. Take a look at the pictures I took below!

Until next week (cross your fingers for good news!) Happy Practicing!!

Up for Elimination

Wednesday marks the end of my trial period with the Lansing Symphony Orchestra as well as the end of the 2013/2014 concert season. I feel so honored to have been able to spend this past year with such a wonderful and fun group of musicians! For me, though, the stress is really on now. The end of the season and my trial also means that I am up for tenure and possible elimination. In all honesty I will be surprised if I am not offered core membership but you never really know. Did those couple out of tune notes or slightly off entrances make a big impact on how the conductor or my section mates viewed me? Maybe I am too eager. Maybe they don't like the way I dress. Maybe I don't engage with them enough in conversation. I didn't laugh at that one joke...the list goes on and on.

What I do know is that I have spent the last few months trying to stay as true to myself and my musicianship as possible while also trying to be the best section member I can. I have tried to hone my blending and soloistic playing (I am piccolo after all) while also trying to make sure my intonation and reliability were both impeccable. If you can count on one person I want that one person to be me. I show up to every rehearsal early to tune/warm up and I do my best to always have a smile on my face. Those things hopefully do not go unnoticed.

Personal skills are more a part of the music industry than schools would give them credit for. We are tricked into thinking that flawless playing gets us jobs but in all reality although you might "win" with that type of musicianship, keeping the job is another story. Remember to keep a smile on your face and be the best team player possible.

Happy Practicing!!

Brandon's Audition Warm Up

Last week I wrote about my regular "stay in shape" routine but mentioned that when I get down to the wire for auditions I have a shortened warm up and technical routine so that I am ready to go with as much time as possible left over to prepare the excerpt list. Starting a month or so (4 weeks min.) before the audition I switch over to this routine exclusively and it is so short I am also able do it the morning of the audition allowing me to really solidify in advance what I will be doing before I have to perform behind the big scary screen. Without further ado I give you "Brandon's Audition Warm Up":

1) Long Tones!!!! Yes ladies and gentlemen I said it again. I really believe in them. They warm up my sound, body, and mind, and give me reassurance that I am in tune and sounding full, pure and beautiful. I do the same long tones I do every day and detailed in my last post. DONT FORGET THE TUNER!

2) Scales!!!! Here is where I deviate first. I go directly into Taffanel and Gaubert's (T&G) "Daily Exercises" and do no. 1 and 2 varying the articulations each day at either quarter note equals 120 or half note equals 60. I do all of the Major exorcises in the piano dynamic and the minor ones at Forte. On the morning of the audition I do them either slurred or tongued (no crazy articulations to try and keep me sane). I find this gets my blood pumping and further helps my sound to settle. Always have the tuner on your stand and as you finish each scale hold the note to make sure you're on the green.

3) "Excerpt Technique", Bach, "Tim's Specials"!!!! I've broken this portion down into three different sub categories. "Excerpt Technique" is the one that I do every day leading up to and including the day of the the audition in question.  

        "Excerpt Technique" refers to the technical passages in the excerpts that I have a particularly difficult time with (such as the last arpeggio in Peter and the Wolf or the 3rd measure of Firebird). I take the bits and pieces that I have a hard time with and do them 5 times each at a slower tempo all in a row. This forces me to play these passages every single day and solidify them into my technique. Don't be afraid to go way under tempo for this portion. Slow practice in this case is about muscle memory.

Bach refers to the "66 Studies" book that Richard Sherman swore by while I was at Michigan State. I refer to it as my Bible and have it on hand ALWAYS. They make me feel great to play and keep me from resenting the anal amount of attention to detail that excerpts require. I sometimes play them at the end of my warm up but often times use them to warm myself up after a short break before I dive back into the task at hand.

"Tim's Specials" refers to Anderson Op. 30 no. 1, 2, and 3. He made every single new student work on these with him and they really help me to ground myself and my sound (specifically across hard to do leaps) and have become so engrained in my body that I don't have to think too hard about the notes while I am playing them. Much like the Bach I keep it close at hand in case I need a mental break from the monotony of "excerpt hell".

Guess what? ...that's it!! You read correct the above takes anywhere from 15 - 45 min depending on how much you do and really gets me going in the morning. It is my perfect routine to keep me in shape while also allowing me to do it the morning of an audition without getting fatigued. Try it out and let me know what you think!

Until next week...Happy Practicing!!

Brandon's One Hour Catch all Guide (a daily regiment for the freelancing flute player on the go)

Once each of us reaches a certain point in our musical training we typically have devised our own specific routines for warming up, technique, general practice, etc. It is my experience, however, that many musicians do not easily make the transition from these ideas as "Music Students in Training" to "Professional Musician". As students, these things function not only to get us ready for our day but to improve us at an accelerated rate to be performing at the highest level possible by graduation. By no means do I think that the function of warm ups and technical exercises changes after school BUT often times the 2 - 3 hours a day that a student may spend only on sound and scales is no longer always a viable option considering things such as part time jobs, new time limitations placed on you by practice spaces in the home (aka living in an apartment that implements quiet hours) and the amount of music that often needs to be learned at an alarming rate to support a hopefully lucrative freelance career. This is why today I bring you "Brandon's One Hour Catch All Guide (a daily regiment for the freelancing flute player on the go)".

LONG TONES!!!!  Did you think that because my time was limited I would skip this step? Because if you did you are wrong. Each and every day no matter my time constraints are or when I need to start practicing I start with a healthy dose (10 - 15 min) of long tones. I am partial to a mix of Moyse's boring half step exercises and an exercise prescribed by one of my Mentors Jeffry Zook of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. Don't forget your tuner!! Always shoot to be on the green and if you're not...stop and fix it! On a typical day I start with the first line or so of the Moyse going in half steps (the rhythm being quarter to dotted half note once forte repeated piano) from B above the staff to G# in the staff. Jeff's exercise starts on the C above the staff and extends to the C inside the staff (pictures of this one below **I forgot to add slurs! You would slur from the starting C to the held note each time). The goal with these exercises is a relaxed, open embouchure and increased flexibility of the lips and airstream while still playing absolutely IN TUNE. I find that by really honing in on the middle register I am able to ground myself and my sound in a way that will last throughout the day and makes it so that I don't have to do long tones after each extended break I might have to take in my practice day.

As with Moyse you repeat each doing once Forte and once piano

SCALES!!!! I move immediately into my first round (yes first round) of scale work for the day and it takes about 10 min depending on tempo marking, etc. By this point most of my readers probably have their own favorite methods memorized and selected but just in case I will include what I am currently using in my first leg of technical work (this does change from time to time). While at Michigan State University, Richard Sherman gave me a great way to work scales on a weekly basis staying on one key for an entire week. Lets start with C Major and a minor. First you do the scales in sextuplets, two octaves once through slurred (including all three variations of minor) and then again through tongued. Since I will be spending a week on this I use the following metronome markings; M- 60, Tu - 72, W - 80, Th - 80, F - 92, S - 92, Su - 92/100. Broken chords follow (always in the same tempo as the scale) and pictured below are how I play them. The progression is; I, vii, iii, vi, IV V ii, V7, I. Strive for smoothness between notes. Lastly to complete this particular process I use Maquarre's "Daily Exercises for the Flute". You are to do every single exercise in the keys you are working on that week (all the C Major and a minor ones for example) and the chromatic exercise every single day. Metronome markings are (in eighth notes typically); M - 60, Tu - 72, W - 80, Th - 80, F - 92, S - 100, Su - 100.

Slur each group of 4, start on lowest note of chord but do full range.

ETUDES!!!! Guess what? Now that we have started our week in a general key area we have a pre-prescribed key to do etudes in for the week! This can be done however you choose but I tend to use one particular book at a time. Right now, for example, I am working out of Boehm's etudes since they are easy enough to work up in a week with minimal time. The metronome markings vary but each day the goal is to increase in time so that you are at performance tempo by Saturday or Sunday. I only do two actual etudes a week on this regiment but considering the amount of music I am preparing weekly I feel that so long as I am making an improvement off of them that is more than enough.

MORE LONG TONES!!!! That's right after a short couple min break I go into another leg of some kind of sound work. This could be two of the Moyse "Tone Development through Interpretation" exercises (done of course with the tuner on the stand) or any other tone and intonation specific exercise you like. Right now since I'm trying to really learn how to control my new flute and its tendencies I am obsessing over Moyse's low register exercises that start on p. 10 of De la Sonorite. Whatever you choose just make sure you hold yourself to the highest standard of intonation and general sound that you possibly can. Now that it is warmed up use it appropriately and do not give in to laziness!

MORE SCALES!!!! To finish out my regiment I make sure to hit all the scales so as to leave no stone unturned. Once again use whatever method you find most fulfilling but I prefer Taffanel and Gaubert's (T&G) fourth exercise from their infamous scale book. How I do this exercise varies but either I pick a tempo (often at the half note such as 66) and use a different articulation from the top each day OR I pick a tempo (often at the half note such as 72) and do them completely articulated. I also do the chromatic exercise (which I believe is the 10th) in between the flat keys and sharp keys and the articulation is opposite of whatever I am doing with the fourth exercise (meaning if I do all articulated on 4 than I do mixed articulations on the chromatic, etc). The key here is to make sure that you have no "halfed" notes or "cracks". If you make any kind of mistake, stop and fix it. This will help your technique to continue to grow in leaps and bounds and give you a great sense of consistency across the entire instrument.

And there you have it! This regiment takes me typically one hour (although sometimes the slower tempo Mondays may take a bit more) and as long as I take a nice break after (since this is very intense) I am totally warmed up and ready to tackle anything else that my day has to throw at me. This is not how I warm up for auditions but perhaps that deserves its own post another time.

If you have any suggestions on how I could edit the way I do things that you feel would benefit my playing please let me know! This regiment took me a few years to really figure out and solidify but it is ever changing and I think that variety and change is necessary to keep your playing fresh and constantly improving.

Until next week...Happy Practicing!!

What do I do if?

I spent this last week in Lansing for a MasterWorks cycle with the Lansing Symphony Orchestra and every time I am there I tend to really think back on my time at Michigan State and how much I have (or in some respects haven't) grown since being there and what exactly might be in my future in terms of my career. I was lucky enough to see Avenue Q while I was a student here and this whole week I have been thinking of the song "Purpose". It starts; "Purpose, it's that little thing that lights a fire under your ass. Purpose keeps you going strong like a car with a full tank of gas!". 

I consider myself to be enthusiastic, optimistic and am constantly reaching for the next thing. I have my down moments of course but my ability to keep working towards my big goals no matter what happens is something that I am very proud of. Given the current status of my art in society though I must admit I have been wondering lately "at what point might this not be feasible? Should I explore other options?"

By no means am I ready to throw in the towel. I had a conversation with my friend Katie recently and she was telling me about how she is gearing up to start her own Music Therapy Practice. She cited me as being a constant source of inspiration for her because of the way that I have been able to start to make something out of literally nothing in terms of my career. I moved to Detroit with no students, no gigs, and no guarantees but have since been able to gain all three. Although I could not support myself the way I am currently working, the potential is there and I am young enough that desperation in terms of financial security has not yet set in. On self reflection though I do worry about how I might be able to make this career full time considering the way a large portion of the public views me and what I do.

Becoming a classical performer took a lot of thought and, frankly, guts. I understand that I will most likely never be rich, famous, or "in demand" so to speak but hopefully I will still be able to live some kind of comfortable and secure life. I don't do this for the recognition. I play because I have to. I need to. I can't live without doing so. Fingers crossed that it all works out in the end but until then I still will be wondering; "What do I do if?"

Efficient Practice Time on a Busy Schedule

If you're still in school you know this scenario: "I'm performing on two friends recitals this week and we have an orchestra concert this weekend and my big audition is coming up and my recital is a week later and now this composer is asking me to premiere her piece but only has half of it written and it's hard! I don't have time to practice!!!!"

If you're not in school perhaps it looks like this: "I open at the coffee shop every day this week and I'm simultaneously trying to prepare for this and next weeks orchestra concerts of Tchaikovsky and Bernstein and I have a quintet performance coming up as well and between work every day and rehearsals every night I just don't have time to practice!"

We ALL have these moments no matter how life is going for us outside of music (aka if you are a full time musician yet or not) and it is a real problem that seems to have no good solution...but fear not! I have a few suggestions that just might help to lessen the stress of "too much music, not enough time" syndrome!

First you need to prioritize and plan out when your practice time will be. Although we would all love to block our practice time so that we can get a majority of it done all at once life brings in obstacles making this virtually impossible on a day to day basis. This means that if you have 20 min, use it! If you have 10 min use it! A lot can get done in a small amount of time and physical face time with the instrument is not the ONLY way to practice. Score studying, listening, going over tricky fingerings are all things that can be done any time any where. If you have to be at work by 9, wake up a bit earlier so that you can get in a nice warm up before you leave in the morning. That way when you come home you can just play a few notes and get straight to the meat of whatever it is you need to really get done that day. By playing first thing you are also making sure that your instrument stays on your brain all day and when you get home you are more likely to pick it back up again no matter how tired you are because you have become consumed with needing to hear its beautiful sounds again. If you can take leisurely time to practice, do so! Enjoy your instrument and feel free to intersperse things you enjoy with things that need to get done. We tend to forget that we don't play or sing only because we have to but also because we LOVE to. I recommend that at least three times a you week play something that brings you pure and unbridled joy or else the spark will start to sputter and your passion will begin to stale. Write out a schedule each week and include a minimum amount of practice time. If you do more great but at least you have a place to start at.

My battered "Bach Bible" is always within arms reach while I practice

List out how you will use your practice time. Break down all the music you have to learn into what is hardest and then order it by what is coming first, second, etc. By keeping in mind what will be most difficult to learn (even if that work is not being performed this week) you will always be ready to start rehearsals on the piece when the time comes. After piling up your music like this on the stand take the time you have set aside for practicing and actually assign how much time you will devote to each individual piece, movement or even measure. This might seem a bit extreme but if you are on a crazy time crunch it is really helpful to break it down this way so you don't spend too much time on a passage or work that could be looked at later or is a bit easier to comprehend/nail down in the fingers. I have also heard that after about 10 minutes of work on one thing the brain starts to cancel out what you're doing in order to better process what you were doing before. Typically I set aside 10/15 min per passage depending on its length. 

Example of how I break down my music per min.

Keep a journal! Lets say I'm working on a technical passage. I used to write the tempo I ended at in the margin of the music...until I realized that there were so many numbers there I had no idea which one was the one I should start with! By keeping a journal I can see exactly where I was tempo wise the day before or even the week before and also how much time I spent on it so that I can adjust each if need be. The journal also reminds me that although I sometimes feel I did not get much done I put in the time and the effort and did indeed succeed for that day. An improvement (no matter how small) was made and that makes that days worth or practice worth it. If you miss a day the journal also keeps you organized and on task so you can come right back to the music as if you didn't skip out on your duties. (Perhaps I will do an entire blog on this topic...)

My journal is small and easily portable

I date each day and separate hours practiced by short lines while separating each day by a long squiggly line.

Hopefully you find these tips helpful! I am more than likely going to continue on with these more kind of "advice" blogs now that I have some experience in the "real world" under my belt so if you have any suggestions for future topics that you would like me to touch on please feel free to let me know! 

Happy Practicing!!