Tag Archives: YES

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12 books for the growing career

ReWork everything you doI’m working hard on my next #PsalmQuest piece – a concerto for Bass Clarinet and Strings, and it is going well, but with the holidays and lots of travel it’s been hard to keep up. Should have something to share with you in a month or so.

In the meantime, here is a list of 12 books all budding/ growing… people should read (At first I wrote “musicians” but realized there is a great deal of info here that is relevant for anyone trying to grow a business or even just their own career, even in the music-related books!).

If you or someone you love is trying to build a [music or other] career, these books will come in most useful. And if they say they have no time to read, unsubtlely mention that reading 10 pages a day (about 10 minutes) takes about 20 days to read an average size book. All 12 of these recommendations can be read in 2014!

  1. Where’s Your Wow? “When was the last time a product or service made you say, ‘Oh Wow!’? This wonder of a book will show you how to create that same magic in your own business.” Ken Blanchard, coauthor of The One Minute Manager® – I love making people say “wow” and try to make everything I touch wow-able.
  2. Savvy Musician “As a music professor, this book has become required reading for all of my students. In fact, I recommend this book to everyone- professionals, amateurs, and students alike. The vignettes are fantastic, the writing style is enjoyable, and the content is superb.” James W. Doyle – It’s important to be savvy in any career. This is worth reading for both interest and gleaning ways to boost yourself in your own industry.
  3. Crush It! “The most important takeaway I found in the first read through is that honesty always wins in an established market that’s playing by an old set of rules.” Daniel, Ottowa – Just take it for what it is: a quick read with some motivational prowess.
  4. EntreLeadership “Full of excellent anecdotes and practical tips on entrepreneurship, hirings and firings, and leadership at its best.” Stephen R. Covey, author, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People – Yes!
  5. The Indie Band Survival Guide “Finally! A comprehensive and practical guide for musicians that explains how to navigate today’s music world without a label. A must-read!” Derek Sivers, founder of CD Baby – Detailed info for anyone interested in how media and marketing work, as well as lots of help for people traveling.
  6. ReWork “The clarity, even genius, of this book actually brought me to near-tears on several occasions. Just bloody brilliant, that’s what!” Tom Peters, New York Times bestselling author of IN SEARCH OF EXCELLENCE, THRIVING ON CHAOS and LEADERSHIP – It’s time we revisit everything we do, especially in the orchestral field. Whatever your industry, go ahead an re-invent the wheel. I am! (see: http://sunfonia.org)
  7. Do The Work! “The gloves come off! Do the Work explains who and what your allies are and how to embrace and utilize them in your creative life or in your day-to-day situations” Robert T. Kiyosaki – Totally in line with my motto since being a classroom teacher in the UK: “Just Do It!”
  8. How to be your own Booking Agent “Goldstein’s book takes a career from oblivion to stardom, on one’s own terms, while maintaining artistic integrity.” RAVI, singer/songwriter, former guitarist of triple GRAMMY nominee HANSON – Extremely useful insight for anyone speaking, selling, traveling, consulting, performing, etc.
  9. Word of Mouth Marketing “A primer chock-full of great stories, tips, and exercises to make you a better word of mouth marketer, no matter what size company you work for. Read it, and you will increase your influence with your customers and make yourself more influential in your company.” Ed Keller and Jon Berry, authors of The Influentials – Not everything is implementable by everyone, at least not immediately. Very useful for career ladders as well as small businesses.
  10. Artist Management “The book lays out all the facts, techniques and pitfalls involved in managing entertainers. I would say this book is very comprehensive and would allow a beginner in artist management the ability to get up and running in the business with ease.” J. Garton – Essential reading for anyone who manages people, whether for their own careers or within a corporate heirarchy. You won’t necessarily need the contract templates, but still…
  11. Ownability “Britton’s new book demystifies the complex world of intellectual property in a simple, approachable voice that’s both comprehensive and soulful.” John Maeda – If anyone ever has an idea, here’s how the US (and global) ownership rules work.
  12. Structural Hearing “This is the best book to help anyone understand the tonal coherence in classical music. It takes you through counterpoint, harmony and analysis.” Lan Qiu – Specifically musical, you may just find yourself a) more interested in live classical music, and b) able to transfer many of these skills, approaches and techniques to your own industry.

That’s a list of my favourite most useful reading over the past year (I read a total of 32 books). It’s one book per month if you want to take it slow during 2014. Or you can plow through the list and finish them sooner. The choice is up to you.

Question: What book would you recommend reading this year? Please share your recommendation in the comment section below and help out your fellow readers.

 

 

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Why I’m the slowest car on the road

 

Over the past few years I’ve noticed I’m usually the slowest car on the road.

Today, find out why.

And hear about one of the decisions/ choices I’ve made that causes it!

And then, if you dare, listen to how your own driving decisions are directly affecting the society we live in today.

Click to play the video below to reveal all.

In case you’re wondering: yes, my wife gets totally embarrassed whilst everyone else is passing us!

We all have a multitude of decisions to make everyday, and I’d love to know why you think it is OK (or not) to exceed the speed limits. Seriously, whilst I am not yet convinced that my own desires and assessment of safety are more important than the law of the land I choose to live in, you may have some valid reasons for speeding that I’d like to hear about.

Please let me know in the comments below what you think about speeding/ ignoring the laws of the road/ whether or not driving has become a right more than a privilege, and any other related thoughts.

As always, I reserve the right to delete any inappropriate comments.

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#PsalmQuest Bass Clarinet Joint Commission!

Well, this turned into an amazing project!

A local performer reached out to me and said “We should work together!” He was very generous in sharing what a good reputation I have amongst some of his colleagues, so with my esteem duly stroked I said, “Sure!”

Bass Clarinets rule!

clarinette familleTurns out Calvin Falwell is a Bass Clarinet geek. Geeks are cool these days, so that is a compliment. It is also a compliment because I used to play bass clarinet myself when I was 12. You can hear a little about that story on the video below. You can imagine how excited I was when Calvin suggested I write a concerto for bass clarinet and strings.

YES!

Well, some international celebrity solo musicians have the label backing and royalty income to pay for commissions out of their own pockets, whereas the vast majority of enthusiasts and professionals like Calvin don’t. He is a remarkably busy orchestral and opera clarinetist with a hefty teaching schedule at the University of South Florida as well, so I’m thrilled to be working with him.

But how can we make this work? Well, speaking of thrills, I’m trusting that whatever I compose will be thrilling for you, too. Perhaps there’s a way we can partner up and not only produce a piece of music that ROCKS (Calvin’s term), but that we can perform and record – possibly even put on film.

Many small parts = one HUGE outcome

(Click it to tweet it)

As I state in the video below, many small contributions can make a much bigger impact than one or two large grants. So instead of finding someone who might generously donate $1,200 for this piece, why don’t we pool a tiny portion of our own resources together and make it happen much sooner!

Think about that – the more people you share the video below with, then that many more people can participate in jointly commissioning this new concerto! We all win!

  • A fabulous new piece of music gets composed
  • It then gets performed, possibly as part of the Festival of Psalms in May
  • We can get it professionally recorded (and I’ll even send you a CD if you put up $100) so you don’t have to put up with a computer generated MIDI audio file

AND,

  • If you share the video below with enough folk, we can get it filmed and put on Youtube, too – with your name as one of the commissioners or contributors!

Past success:

The last time I wrote a piece of music and invited you to participate, we pooled together more than 650% of the intended budget! 6.5 times the amount I was expecting. This goal is somewhat higher but I think we can still achieve it (especially if you know any clarinet players!) Share the project several times over the next month, and we could even exceed our goal 🙂 Wouldn’t THAT be terrific!

Here –

Watch the video and see what it’s about, what you get, and how you can help others participate:

You can help Conductor Composer Stephen P Brown write a Concerto for Bass Clarinet and Strings

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I’ve got 7 years left – #PsalmQuest Compositions

Some of my compositions were recently submitted as materials for another Masters-level qualification which would permit me to teach higher education in the USA – something my experience and approach is well suited to. The application was not approved, and that hurt. When I shared the assessor’s report with my select circle, most of the reactions were along the lines of “These comments make no sense,” and “I haven’t got a clue what he’s on about.” One comment suggested how the assessor seemed to be looking for negative things to say and ended up saying the same thing about each piece that was submitted. There is no recourse to appeal the assessment, and therefore I particularly reveled in one friend’s description of the assessor as a “Schmuck” (all in good jest to lighten the weight I’d put on his career-jolting opinion.)

A colleague in the academic world seemed to corroborate but put it like this:

You have wonderful ideas and a sense of exploration. Maybe there is a voice in your head wondering if anyone will like what you are doing so you play it safe. As with any creative venture, safety does not result in efforts that fully show one’s capability. I also think you have been limited by [composing for] players with modest ability and so you have had to avoid writing anything that pushes the envelope too far. Break out of that. Quiet the voices of questioning that I can imagine are speaking to you and see what happens.

Wow! Nice! Thank you, G!

 

My action plan must be:

  • Something that doesn’t require seeking the participation of musicians I can’t afford or are of “modest ability.”
  • A project that doesn’t require coming to you with my hand out asking for funds.
  • Something with changing flavours, aromas and colors that last over a long period of time.
  • A project which produces results but is not dependent on what happens to them.
  • Something that can be created with the resources I already have, and that can be shared with you if you’re interested.

 

Major influences:

Heard of Chris Guillebeau? Several years ago he set himself the goal of visiting all the countries of the world by his 35th birthday. He just completed his quest ON his 35th birthday last month. 193 countries in less than 11 years. No-one else has ever accomplished it.

Most of Bach’s work, much of Mozart’s, Beethoven, Verdi, Poulenc, Vaughan Williams, Taverner, Part and a multitude of other composers have written music influenced by the Bible, including two of the most amazing pieces ever: the ultra-famous Messiah by Handel, and the incomparable Belshazzar’s Feast by William Walton (watch below). Even outlying members of the post-WWII British atheist movement, including composers such as Benjamin Britten and John Rutter, often turned to the Bible for source material. So why not me?

 

I recently heard a reading of Psalm 33 and it caught my attention. It is far from famous but its descriptive content is unique. There are many pieces of music in the world influenced by the psalms, but… all of them? Yes. Plenty. But that’s like asking if every country in the world has been visited. Until Chris G set his goal, no one person had visited every country in the world.

My Quest:

To advance my composition skills by writing 150 pieces of music based on each of the 150 psalms by my 50th birthday in 7 years’ time.

How on earth will that get done? I have a plan. [In fact, I’ve already started].

It’s going to be a fascinating journey! I hope you’ll stay the course with me.

 

keep-calm-and-stay-the-course

Update Jan 8, 2014:
Project going VERY well! 13 completed and two more underway. In the meantime, I’ve adopted the hashtag #PsalmQuest to help organize my composition project. Spread the word! [Click it to tweet it]

Update Sept 10, 2018:
Four years of web content got deleted through malware that also infected by backups. Regardless, this project was on hiatus for three years during my Dad’s rather cruel terminal illness (PSP) and I am only now figuring out how to re-incorporate the #PsalmQuest schedule back into my daily routine. I doubt the project will be finished by my 50th birthday, but the important thing for me right now is to simply finish.

 

Tell me in the comments below how you’ve overcome adversity or a big disappointment. Did it spur you into action? Did you setup a project or quest? Did you move onto something completely different? I’d love to hear how you managed to move on with your life. Go on, add a comment, and then share this post so others can benefit, too:

 

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Fish for music, not chips

I’m not obsessed with fish. Really!

Of course it’s a favorite dish of mine – I grew up in “Fish & Chip” land (and to be perfectly honest, still have not yet found anything that comes close to it in the USA). On overnight camping trips to Hastings we’d walk the promenade, play on the beach and watch the boats land on the pebbles before unloading their stock, indulge in crazy golf or the indoor amusement center (I once won £130 in pennies!) and then head to the local chippie. You really can’t get fresher fish than that! And, at that time, it was all cod with the occasional haddock or flounder. Yummy stuff.

So white fish has played a big part throughout my consuming life. No surprise, then, that moving to Florida opened up plenty more opportunity for immediate (i.e. fresh) and inexpensive fish dinners.

But what was this thing called Grouper? Eventually I tried it. And really liked it! Big, meaty, fleshy, moist, almost impossible to overcook white fish. It is great in a sandwich, or just plain. Don’t spoil it by deep frying it in less-than-perfect batter, either. I began eating Grouper almost everywhere I could, and eventually came across this video:

Can you believe the size of this fish? Not all species of Grouper are this large. Some are bigger:

No hoax: check here

http://www.hoax-slayer.com/giant-warsaw-grouper.shtml

So, how could I do anything but write a piece of music about this giant in a piece about the place where I discovered it? So, movement three of “Tapestry Tampa Bay” is, in fact, called Grouper!

The movement starts out deep underwater, with some bubbles floating up from a rock-like bulge – actually a fish. The rock slowly turns sideways as more bubbles escape from underneath it. As it opens its mouth to impersonate a yawn, a few more bubbles interrupt and the fish gets annoyed. “Do you mind!” he exclaims. “I’m yawning.”

Again, an attempt at a yawn. More bubbles. Eventually, the fed-up fish doesn’t care and if it could growl, it did so. No more bubbles.

So off he heads, into the warm swirling waters. Being such a large fish means very little disturbs its direction or wake. Smooth and flowing, the gentle giant surveys his domain. Occasionally little spurts of bubbles emerge from his mouth, but all-in-all he is a happy fish. It takes a lot of energy to move such a large body, so eventually King Grouper settles down for a nap.

Is that really a piece of music?

Yes.

You wait ’till you hear it! And now, we are preparing to have the concert broadcast live online, too! Look out for details soon.

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Up and up and up and…

Fifth Dimension’s “Up, up and away in my beautiful balloon” comes to mind. Not that the song has any bearing on my composition, but the title simply reflects the experience of driving over Skyway Bridge – the gateway to Tampa Bay.

It’s a scary ride. If you repeatedly get in line for the latest roller coasters at theme parks, you may just wonder what all the fuss is about, but for most mere mortals, Skyway Bridge [Wikipedia link] causes anxiety rarely experienced elsewhere. Up, and up, and up, and up you go – with supports between the driving lanes (not on the outsides) and only a concrete barrier between your 65 mph vehicle and a 175ft drop into usually calm warm water.

Interestingly, the access to the bridge on both sides is a long causeway. There are a lot of causeways in the Tampa Bay area, which fascinate me – some are literally two or three feet above the water line (Route 60, perhaps) yet never seem to get wet (except when it rains). I don’t think I’ve ever been in an environment where a lake or sea doesn’t have moments of swelling.

Surf Sailing from the approach to Skyway Bridge

– yes, it’s that far.

Anyhow, both sides of the bridge host fishing piers and state parks (actually, they are the approaches to the previous bridge), but the north side also sports beaches and several water enthusiast sites, including surf-sailing.

The beginning of the second movement in my piece reflects the monotony of driving on a long, flat causeway by utilizing a Philip-Glass-like compositional technique. Although there’s much to look at for passengers, it’s a boring drive. And, of course, one has to slow down at the toll booth and then pick up speed again. It’s in the music, too.

Then begins the climb. The ‘up, and up, and up. And up… And up’ climb. There’s no descent in the music because descents always are a lot quicker than climbing, and usually we’re so relieved to be over the apex that we don’t even notice coming down. Until we reach the other causeway, and enjoy the ride a little more – reflected in the music by a more relaxed tempo (speed).