For clarity of mind
Focus
Distraction control
Calm
Connectedness
Listen to your breath, what does it have to teach you today?
Tips on Performing with excellence and full engagement:
1. Lots of exercise and sleep: get your heart rate up doing your favorite aerobics (sit ups, walking/running/zoomba, whatever). Getting your heart rate up (that means sweating!) gets the adrenaline OUT of your system come performance time. Lots of stretching, especially first thing in the morning, before bed, and in your down time before you play. Sleep: reset that brain, get as much good quality sleep as you can.
2. Eat/Drink: Take care that what you are putting into your body is fuel for the machine to work like a high performance sports car. Nutritional! Avoid salt, sugar, caffeine, alcohol, LOTS of water and bananas :)
3. Mental Prep: stay focused on the music and how to get from point A to point B. Fully engaged in the performance! If your brain wanders, snap back to the present as quickly as possible. This is something you can practice now ... Practice Performing!
4. Performance time: BREATHE! Cool, beautiful air in, tension and negativity OUT. As you breathe, don’t be talking to yourself or thinking through performance steps, just breathe…no-mindedness…let the brain rest (like yoga class). Don’t think about the competition, focus on being the storyteller that YOU want to be, and when you’re in the room, it’s Storytime! Be compelling w/ character and color, you know the notes and rhythms..this will set you apart from the pack.
5. Transcend technique so that the art grows out of the unconscious,,, you must let the unconscious come forward.
Focus and Distraction Control :
“A calm mind reflects the clearest focus just as a tranquil lake casts the clearest reflection.”
tune into your body and task
stay connected to what you are doing
do NOT let distracting thoughts interfere
trust your body to do what it’s been trained to do
block out everything else in my world, except me and the music.
STOMP on the ANTS (automatic negative thoughts)
“Adios” inner critic
No judgements, stay in the present
Trust your body to lead
A mind unconscious of itself that is not at all disturbed by effect of any kind.
It fills the whole body, pervading every pore
Flowing like a stream, filling each corner
A state of “NO THINKING”, emptiness, no mindedness.
.
SETBACKS:
A setback can drag you down OR serve as a reminder to focus more fully on the next step=redirect energy in a more positive way.
NO Condemning, judging, question along the way, you will lose your connection.
Favorite Reads…
The Power of Story, Stress for Success, The New Toughness Training for Sports-Jim Loehr:
In Pursuit of Excellence, Terry Orlick
The Performer Prepares, Robert Caldwell
A Soprano On Her Head, Eloise Ristad
Rubinstein Sonata for Flute and Piano
Very excited to announce that this wonderful sonata, terrific recital piece is being published by Southern Music, to be released in December. Just finished editing the video recording and hope it soon becomes a staple of the repertoire…https://youtu.be/isdo3-Rxg-I
Beryl Rubinstein (1898-1952) was quite a force, as a concert pianist, composer, educator and in leadership…truly remarkable.
Saying Farewell...
“Saying farewell is also a bold and powerful beginning.” - A. Ralston
Pt. 2 GIVE A LISTEN- Great Women in Jazz
Women jazz composers have had a very difficult path, I’m so glad their creative spirits are still available to us through YouTube, thank you to the beautiful people who took the time to post these, good karma on you!
When you need a smile, check out some of these wonder women…
Lovie Austin (1887-1972)- Blues composer/pianist
Lil Harden Armstrong (1898-1971) Ragtime composer/pianist
Valeda Snow (1904-1956) Composer/Trumpet/Singer- Hollywood, had to move to Europe to work
Una Mae Carlisle (1915-56) Composer/Singer
Ginger Smack- (1920-1995) Boogie Woogie Composer/ Violinist
Dorothy Donegan (1922-1998) Composer/Pianist Classical,Stride, Boogie Woogie, Modern
Tashiko Akiyoshi
COVID and the Music industry
We hear a lot about restaurant workers in the news these days and how hard the pandemic has hit that industry. What you don’t hear is that the Music industry was the first to shut down and will be the last to reopen. Performances/ Live Concerts will not happen again until we have confidence in congregating after a vaccine is rolled out. This has been devastating for performing musicians of every genre…classical, jazz, rock, blues, choral, instrumental, folk…
The musicians of Lincoln Center, Broadway, Carnegie Hall, Boston Pops, Hollywood Bowl, Ballet are largely freelancers (those who have multiple employers and perform at many venues) who have not seen a paycheck in a year. This has been devastating to many, soloists and freelancers alike. (The orchestral musicians on salary have seen their salaries reduced but are largely still being paid while the concert hall is dark. )
Please consider helping out with a donation to your local musicians union, musician in need, favorite venue or club. Thank you for investing in the effort to “Keep the music playing!”
What have YOU been doing in quarantine? Where has your creativity led you?
Just curious… where have your creative pursuits led you during this time? Have you given yourself time and space to explore, dig deeper, try new things, go outside your comfort zone?
What have you learned?
Do tell!
GIVE A LISTEN: Centenary Celebration of 19th Amendment, "You GO, Girls!"
Aug 26, 2020 marked the 100th anniversary of the Women’s Right to Vote in the United States…how far we’ve come and how far we have yet to go. In some fields, the sexes have achieved balance, but in the music industry, there is still a ways to go. Sadly, because of the pandemic, many celebrations, premieres and commissions have been tabled or will be rescheduled once things open up.
Why is it that composers are only thought of as men? Why is it that male composers are the ones that get programmed? Why are we stuck in our programming, always looking backwards rather than forward?
It’s time for enlightened leadership at the top, (Exec Directors, Presidents, Artistic Directors, Programming) where these decisions are being made so that what we bring to audiences is a more honest representation of our culture, our world, our time.
Why is history, his story? Have we not evolved?? It’s time for ComposHers to be heard !! They’ve been around a long time, centuries in fact.
The elitism/classism that’s so rampant in classical music needs to make way for new ideas and works that reflect something other than dead, white, Western European males. Honoring our heritage and masterworks are crucial to the art form, just as imperative as being open to new ideas whose time has come.
My challenge: For those of us who have some control over programming, let’s make an effort to bring a female voice to each concert we do this year, each student we teach, etc. “Consider the Ladies”.
Some great talent I’ve been enjoying recently, give a listen…
-Jessie Montgomery
-Nina Simone
-Maria Schneider
-Margaret Brouwer
-Monica Houghton
-Louise Farrenc
-Lili Boulanger
-Valerie Coleman
-Jennifer Higdon