Sound Bits: Page 9

In a recent conversation at Harvard University, Yo-Yo Ma said he is devoting the rest of his life to thinking about the social impact of music. It’s a bold statement, but one that fits within the music ambassador’s mission of bringing people together through music. After we just talked here a couple of weeks ago […]

(Spoiler alert: I don’t have an answer to this question, just more questions! But I think it is worth exploring…)  We live in a tumultuous time when the Chicago Symphony goes on strike for 7 weeks over salary and pension benefits, and at the same time the California Symphony has doubled its ticket sales over […]

Have you heard about the concept that a task will take as much time as you allot for that task? So if you give yourself a week for a task that you could complete in two days, it will probably take…a week. This is known as Parkinson’s law. We often hear stories of musicians, organizations, […]

Content marketing is, in a nutshell, developing free educational content (like a blog, article, video) that helps consumers, without any ask or sell involved. It’s just free, high quality content – plain and simple. It’s a different method of marketing from direct asks (“Check our our awesome product, and buy it here!”) or more overt […]

Do you think of yourself as a good storyteller? Or maybe you know someone who you consider a good storyteller. What makes them (or you) good at it? I think sometimes we don’t even realize how often we are engaged in storytelling. For example: Pre-concert talks? Teaching? Writing an article about music? Program notes? Being […]

You know how certain moments in time just stick with you? You remember every detail? One of those moments for me is when my grandfather explained risk and reward. In his usual calm demeanor, he explained that risk was a necessity if I was going to win or succeed at something. When you stop and […]

Here is a good exercise: take a piece of paper and draw a line down the middle. On one side, write down all the ways you earn income now (you can even do this if you are a student). On the other side, write down all the ways you COULD be earning income. Sure, some […]

Those of us with long winters (Upstate NY anyone??) know that this time of year you start to get cabin fever – you feel the need to get outside and break free from the hold of winter. By this time in the year we also tend to feel a bit worn out, needing something to […]

If you peruse lists of books for artists and freelancers, “The Freelancer’s Bible“ by Sara Horowitz pops up frequently, and for good reason. It’s a solid 474 pages of useful tips and perspectives for individuals (and groups) in all artistic sectors who are pursuing some amount of freelance work. There are many practical sections and […]

Many musicians struggle with varying degrees of performance anxiety. If you do, you are not alone. Much has been written on the topic, and fortunately there are a lot of resources out there to help. It takes time to explore the information and strategies that are out there, but if it helps you become a […]