What Speaks to You?

What Speaks to You?

It’s the beginning of the school year, and I was going to talk about setting goals or organizing
your schedule, but some crazy things have happened in Baton Rouge this summer. You have
probably heard or read about the shooting deaths of both Alton Sterling and law enforcement
officers and the historic flooding that wiped out over one hundred thousand homes.

Thankfully, I was not involved or even near any of the shootings and my house escaped any
damage from the floods. But I know people, and know people who know people, who have been
affected by these events. Having lent a hand to a couple of households damaged by the floods
and volunteering at church, I can tell you some really amazing stories about the people of
Louisiana. I was floored by how many people came from surrounding areas, and New Orleans
especially, because they knew people needed help. My eyes get watery just typing this. It’s
beautiful to hear people say “y’all had our back during Katrina and now we’ve got yours.” There
is nothing like a natural disaster to bring out the hero in all of us.

No matter how hard a day I might have had, perhaps even in spite of it, when I see people being
selfless and coming together it helps remind me that there is so much beauty in the world. That
is what speaks to me. That is what moves me. That is why I am drawn to music. All kinds of
music. In order for music to even happen, people have to come together, support each other,
and work toward a common goal. It’s one of the reasons we grow such strong bonds with other
musicians.

My students and friends can probably tell you that I think there are two things that can save the
world: better education and music (or visual art, literature, film). It is so amazing to me to be an
educator and watch kids from every race, nationality, and economic background get together
and make music. It doesn’t matter if you are rich or poor or what color you are once you have an
instrument and a common goal. You want people to enjoy what you’re doing, to be entertained
and, most importantly, to feel human. Everything else goes away.

I know plenty of people who are not moved by music and that is okay. It usually makes me want
to play my favorite recordings for them and see if I can get them to feel what I feel, but it’s okay
if they don’t. They will usually say, “but I really love cooking/reading/film/art.” Great! If you don’t
know or feel like you don’t have anything, find it. It is what keeps us going and helps us to
bounce back from failures or the horrible and depressing things that happen around us. It’s what
helps us see the light and the beauty in the world around us and to not give up hope. So, before
you get swallowed whole by your undoubtedly busy schedule, find the pieces, memories,
movies, or meals that speak to you and enjoy them. Revel in them until you feel recharged and
ready to tackle tomorrow. Your sanity and your humanity depend on it!

What Speaks to Mirari

Part of what makes Mirari what we are is that we are human and we laugh and cry together and
care about each other. Being in a group where the members are spread across the country is
hard work and it takes so much advance planning and individual sacrifice. We can sometimes
get bogged down in administrative or financial tedium and by the sheer act of attempting to unify
five individual opinions and ideas. Then we play together and everyone remembers why we do
this. Making music is what allows the individuals in the group to come together and share
something truly special. I think I am safe in saying that making music together with people you
care about, for people you care about, is what speaks to Mirari.

Beyond playing together, we share our passions and ideas with each other. For some of us it’s
running or yoga and for others it’s musicals and singing at the top of our lungs in the car. Each
tour we are all very excited to share new music that we have stumbled across, and our group’s
travel playlist changes ever so slightly each time we’re in the van together. I’d like to make you
part of it and show you the video below. Some will say it’s cheesy, and perhaps that’s true, but
right now this is something that speaks to me and I guarantee you I will make everyone listen to
it on our next tour. Good singing, great production, an interesting arrangement, and, most
importantly for me, a beautiful message.

Maybe this will speak to you too? If not, good luck on your search!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oXreNYWtjPQ

Stay the Course

10,000 hours. That’s how long “they" say you need to work at something to become a master. I have been practicing for over 15,000 and I don’t feel like I am a master. Maybe I should quit? Hahaha, no way.

If you have read my previous two posts, you have noticed a trend (kudos for being able to recognize a trend over 11 months). I am constantly thinking about how we as musicians and humans improve. To me, this is of the utmost importance. Setting and achieving goals is great and totally necessary but what happens when you achieve those goals? Where do you go? What if you only have long term goals and you are finding them impossible to reach?

It’s all about the journey

I recently read an article in an airline magazine about a guy who is putting the 10,000 hours theory (please know that that is all that it is) to the test. He had never played golf and decided he wanted to master the sport in 10,000 hours. His plan was 6 hours per day, 6 days per week. I hate to disappoint you but, at the time of the article he was only through 5,700 hours so we probably won’t know the outcome for another few years. For him, 6 years has turned into 8 years. But I digress! Or do I?

There was a great point in this article and that was that the subject of this experiment will never view himself as a failure because this journey has been transformative. His family and friends agree. He ran into some challenges that got in the way of his project and instead of trying to become a master of golf, his new mission was simply to finish the project. This is the point upon which I would like to focus.

Let’s forget the fact that he started as a beginner and a day after this interview took place he shot a 74 on a pro-level course (most courses have a par between 70 and 72)! Let’s focus on the fact that in trying to get to 10,000 hours and mastery of something, his biggest challenge is staying the course even when 6 years turns to 8 which may even turn into 10. This happens to all of us to some degree, I believe.

Wha, what happened?!?

It is easy to be into something when the learning curve is steep and we are quickly getting tangibly better. But at some point we reach a level where the change isn’t so obvious and the curve has all but leveled off. Our choice when we reach that level (or imagined plateau) has a huge impact on our future.

The process becomes tedious, emotionally draining, and downright frustrating. The cool thing is that all of that happens because we are better. I use the phrase, “I had my ears opened,” when I talk about my time in grad school. What used to be good isn’t good enough anymore.

Push record AND play (not at the same time though, unless you’re using a tape player…)

This is why I love technology. Recording yourself is easier than ever and it can help give perspective. I often hear people say, “I used to be able to do this much better, didn’t I?” Thanks to modern technology, you can be your very own fact-checker. Chances are, you are wrong. IF you happen to be right, then you need to reexamine how you are practicing.

I record almost everything I do. But even more than that, I record myself playing standard solos, excerpts, or etudes and, yes, I actually do listen to them. Many people skip this step which completely defeats the purpose of recording in the first place. Before I even go back to listening, most of the time my thought after I play something is, “huh, it was never that easy before.” That is an awesome feeling and it helps let  me know that I am doing the right thing. Also, when I am going through a rough patch, it is good to go back and listen to recordings and remind myself that I am a good trumpet player.

I do the same thing with Mirari recordings. We often perform pieces for more than one tour and so I get to review recordings after each tour and see where I am and what needs work and also recognize that we are creating awesome music. That helps me become a more confident performer. That helps me stay the course even when the going gets tough.

Things to remember (you could try doing them too!)

I can boil this whole post down to a handful of points:

1- Put your time in. Do everything you can today to be better tomorrow.

2- Record yourself often.

3- Listen often and figure out if you’re on the right path.

4- Acknowledge and celebrate progress. If you don’t, you might be on the fast track to burn out.

5- Persevere through the tough times. Just keep moving. Sometimes it may be forward and sometimes it may feel like you’re going backward. The important thing is that you don’t stop moving. Adjust your clock, set more goals, and keep moving.

Best of luck!

Matt

The Only Resolution You Need to Make in 2015

Happy New Year!

Hopefully you had an enjoyable ringing in of the new year with friends and/or family. Maybe you went to dinner or maybe out for drinks, maybe you played games with your family, or watched the ball drop in Times Square. Maybe you just watched a movie and went to bed before midnight. It was your choice and I am sure you chose wisely. Now we’re on to one of the least successful times of the year. Yup, New Year’s resolution season. We all decide to do something that we’re going to do for the next two weeks and if it doesn’t stick, oh well. There’s always next year.

Building New Habits

I was having a conversation the other day with some friends about building new habits. Though the conversation was completely unrelated to music, I found myself (as I often do) applying some of our conversation to music. We talked about what was required to build a new habit and how long it takes. Different numbers were thrown around, so I decided to do some research. For many years, exercise gurus, dieticians, doctors, and educators sold the notion that you could create a new habit in 21 days. There have been plenty of articles about that, so I’ll just say that the origin of this magic number actually claims it takes a minimum of 21 days depending on the person and the habit. Here's some interesting and much more recent information on developing habits which claims it takes anywhere from 18-254 days to change a behavior.

So, let’s apply this to breathing while playing a wind instrument. Back in 6th grade, my band director told me to take a big breath and blow. Not realizing that I was basically tensing up my entire body on both the inhalation and the exhalation, that’s how I played for three years until I started taking private lessons, then went to college, etc. The point is that I breathe differently now than I did as a sixth grader and it was not a magical 21-day fix.

I use the words “free, easy, relaxed” when I describe the breath I want to take and I am fairly successful breathing that way in my practice. However, I struggle some days when my body or my mind is tired and I find myself taking less than ideal breaths. So, I must always choose to breathe the way that I know will help me sound best, no matter how difficult or easy the decision is that day.

Test Your Product

So far, I’ve only been talking about my practice sessions, so now let’s take into account the times that I am in various settings with different levels of stress or pressure. Should I breathe differently? No. Do I? Sometimes. I know that I did for a long time and there are still situations where I have to remind myself to be free, easy, and relaxed. When I was in orchestra or brass band or playing as a soloist, I’d be more nervous, and the first thing to go was my breathing. When your breathing goes, you use more muscle. When you actively use too much muscle, fatigue sets in much faster. When fatigue sets in, your brain starts to focus on how tired you are instead of on the music. I needed more opportunities to be in a pressure situation and be able to teach myself how to breathe, think, and relax in that setting. Thank you, Mirari! I perform way more now than I have in the past few years and I plan on keeping it that way.

There is a reason we stress to our students that everyone has to perform for people. You aren’t just getting another performance under your belt, you are teaching yourself how to behave when you are performing. It gives you a chance to get worked up but still breathe and play in the same way you do in your practice. How many times have you heard someone sound amazing in their warm-up and then like a completely different player when they perform? It’s because they are not testing their product. Can you imagine if your job was to build a boat for someone and you never tested to see if it would float before you gave it to the customer? You’ve got to see if it can withstand heat, cold, crashing waves, etc. Can you say “lawsuit”?  

I was fortunate to have Krista Jobson (flute, UT-PA) as a friend while earning my doctorate in Kansas City. I remember having a dress rehearsal for my lecture recital and Krista came to watch because she couldn’t make it to the actual recital (what a kind choice she made to support me, right?). My lecture recital was on unaccompanied trumpet pieces and I was playing some of the most technically challenging music I had ever attempted in my life. Having just one person whose opinion I valued made me ridiculously nervous. I had a pretty big breakdown on the first movement of Henze’s Sonatina. I asked if I could just have some time to work a few things out and she said, “sure, should I leave?” I said, “no, I need to do this while you are here.” She patiently waited as I refocused my brain and got back to playing the trumpet the way that I can. I played again and it was exponentially better than the first time, though it made me wish I had done that months prior. Live and learn. And I have not forgotten that lesson. I play for people as much as I possibly can.

Choose to Choose

One of the important words in the aforementioned study is the word “daily.” Someone in the study decided they wanted to drink a bottle of water with lunch. That means every time they ate lunch they drank a bottle of water. There was no lunch without a bottle of water. Do we really breathe the way we need to every single time we play our instrument? If we don’t, how can we expect that it will ever be a default behavior? That is not to say that if we forget once or twice, we’re screwed, and we’ll never be able to do it, but if we spend more time breathing the way we did in high school than the way we know we should, how will we ever get there?

My thought is that we won’t ever get there. We have a choice to make every time we pick up our instruments. We are choosing to breathe well, choosing to create the best possible tone, and choosing exactly how we want every note and phrase to sound. If we focus on consistently choosing what is best, a very strange thing happens after a while (yes, my ambiguity is intentional)--you get to the point where you can’t play something incorrectly unless you really try.

This new year, I have a new outlook. I believe that we would be more successful affecting change by focusing on the process of creating the habit than on the end result. You know, “oh, I changed my life in three weeks! I am a new person.” That rarely works. Instead, commit yourself everyday to making a choice, and then choosing what is best for you will become your habit.

Cheers and here’s to good choices in 2015!

Matt

That's It! I've Got It!

Today, I had no epiphanies. I did not figure anything out today. Sort of...

Peter Pirotte is a friend of mine who recently won a job playing trumpet with the Navy Band in Washington, D.C. He was one of my roommates in Kansas City and probably heard me say, "I think I've figured it out...." at least every other day. I was constantly searching and having breakthroughs. At least I felt like I was. That made practicing exciting and it was all I wanted to do. 

I am always certain that I am going to find the answer to my "issues." Every time I try a different approach, I am sure it is going to be the magic one that fixes everything. It's really easy to keep pressing forward and get into practicing when you feel that way. It's like you're on the brink of a huge discovery that is going to change the world! Only, it never does.

What it does is change your playing a little bit. And instead of there being a magic tip that will suddenly make you amazing, it is a painful process of minor (sometimes imperceivable) improvements. Those are easy to gloss over, which is why it is good to record regularly. I don't record as much as I should but I constantly have the realization:  I couldn't do that two months ago...or last year.

I will continue to search for those few magic secrets that are going to dramatically change my trumpet life knowing I will probably not find them. As with any magic, it's just more exciting to believe.

So, my epiphany today was that I had no epiphany and that I have to keep on working. Like I said, it is easy when you're making huge improvements all of the time. We are not going to have days like that every single day and it is important not to define our musical self by one "bad day." Doug Reneau, another of my Kansas City friends who now plays in the Louisiana Philharmonic, said to me, "If a scientist has a failed hypothesis, he doesn't view it necessarily as a personal failure. It is merely something that did not work and provided some very helpful data. So you've got more to work with the next time. Practicing should be like that." 

Happy Practicing!

-Matt