HELP - PLEASE - I don't know what to do?!?!

Okay friends - here we are again - am in a bit of a pickle and need your help, desperately. I established a wordpress account a long time ago and am not really certain whether or not to change gears and move my blog there.

It is definitely exponentially easier to navigate and write on wordpress - but so many of you have followed me here.

Now, I guess the question is, will you...follow me there?

Let me know your thoughts!!!!

The Concept of a Musician is Changing. Time to Catch-Up!

My meeting at 9am was very productive - though both of us seemed rather exhausted from the weeks events.

Spring Break is no longer a pleasantry I'm allowed to part take in - it's not on my calendar as a "holiday" anymore. Oh how nice it must be to enjoy the moments of an undergraduate degree again.

But you won't see me begging for those years back. No, I definitely learned some really important life lessons in my undergrad and have really blossomed into a thought-provoking, well-mannered individual.

But to the subject at hand. My meeting this morning was about developing a clarinet pedagogy course - which sort of segued into a developing as a musician and performing in general. Questions like, why aren't students and professionals alike preparing themselves for the next stage in their life? Particularly to students, why aren't you actively making choices that will benefit you and your career? Being raised in a fortunate family doesn't mean you can't work at this career - not the career of a musician. No amount of money will make YOU a better performer - you have to work.

But - this then sort of spiraled into a conversation about what our jobs hold for us in the future.

Job descriptions are changing and it's time that we adjust and re-orientate our goals as such. A performing musician - one whose sole source of income - is a slowly dying market. Quite frankly, I won't be surprised if in the next ten years it is all but extinct.

Not that this is a bad thing. No - definitely not. What is evolving lay the foundation for the future of musicians across the world.

The evolution of the super-musician.

Our jobs are no longer to merely play, performer and entertain the public. We are now entrepreneurs, writers, teachers, scholars, administrative executives, AND sick-nasty performers.

It's not the result of a dying art - it's the result of an evolving art. We are too stuck in our archaic ways of the past and unable to forgo ideals of the 50's - music is a new genres. IEP's need to change, music programs need to adjust their curriculum and we need to keep pace with the technological and sociological developments of society.

We are the sole proprietor of our dreams.

And you know - I'm rather looking forward to the future.

New Ideas Motivated by Sleep

Upcoming articles: The Competitive streak: What one learns (or doesn't) on the competition circuit.

A small piece I'm working on about what I've learned over the past 4 years of competitions - and in many cases, what I haven't learned. The advise and preparation from my mentors and my observation of other musicians - and my favorite moment - the poor loser and how to avoid it.

;)

Happy music making!