National Arts Engagement Day

Author and marketing guru Seth Godin recently made this suggestion: Invent a Holiday...               Find an emotion that needs social approval in order to be easily expressed.  Hook it into something you sell or do.  Discover other organizations that would benefit from the holiday as much as you would.  Voila! Mother’s Day/Valentine’s Day/Festivus/New Year’s. It doesn’t...

Music Business vs. Arts Admin vs. Career Development vs. Music Entrepreneurship

There is a bit of confusion about four fields of study that incorporate music and business aspects: 1) Music Business (aka Music Industry), 2) Arts Administration, 3) Music Career Development, 4) Music Entrepreneurship.  Though all attempt to advance the cause of music-related ventures in economically viable ways, they appeal to different constituents and present distinctive priorities.  This...

Juggling Rhythm

Rhythm may just be the most universal and powerful element of music. But it’s not something most jugglers think much about.  That is, except for Michael Moschen.   Ranked as one of the world’s leading jugglers and one of America’s most visionary performing artists, Michael Moschen has transformed this ancient circus art into a mesmerizing concert form that has garnered critical...

A Better Idea than Beating Out the Competition

“Build a better mousetrap” is the strategy adopted by most musicians.  Believing that beating out the competition will lead to gigs and success, they work tirelessly to play a little better, a little faster, a little higher, a little more musically.  This same tactic is applied to building a website, architecting a concert, making a recording, shaping a teaching studio, and just about everything else...

The Working Musician: Military Jobs

With the possible exception of saxophonists and euphoniumists, few musicians dream of a military career. Yet this path can provide a dependable income, solid benefits, and varied opportunities. “This is a good four year job for just about anyone. It can be a GREAT 20+ year job for many,” explains Michael Mench, Commander of the US Air Force Band of Flight. A special thanks to Commander Mench, who...

Bowed Piano Ensemble

Last week, when visiting Colorado College for a performance of with North Indian Kathak dancer Cynthia Ling Lee, I had the pleasure of meeting composer Stephen Scott. Scott is most known for his piano music, which explores ways to play this keyboard instrument from the inside.  Among other techniques, his 10-person ensemble bows the strings with fishing wire and hits them with detached hammers and...

13 Steps to a Happy Musical Life

Success is a common theme in The Savvy Musician universe.  Of course, there are many types of success: landing a job, performing well, writing a great tune, mastering a technique, getting noticed, going viral, attracting web traffic, moving audiences.  Yet some musicians accomplish many of these things, but still feel dissatisfied with their life in music.  So caught up in making a living, they fail to...

The Most Viable Instrumentation

The combination of instruments that make up an ensemble influences everything from timbral palette to literature available.  But from a business point of view, which instrumentations possess the highest potential of appealing to presenters and audiences?  Is it more viable to stick with standard combinations, or go out on a limb with a novel configuration? A handful of standard instrumentations (i.e....

Challenging Conventional Wisdom

Each day, we make decisions based on conventional wisdom: what makes a good parent, where to spend money, why education is important, how to view politics, which activities lead to happiness and success.  We are unduly influenced by sound bites that dominate the news headlines, and seek simple short-term solutions to complex predicaments. The problem with this, of course, is that conventional wisdom is...

Don’t Quit Your Day Job

This hilarious video presentation, by cellist/composer and TSM artist Zoe Keating, answers the age old question “Should you quit your high-paying tech job to become a professional musician?”  While her talk is tongue and cheek, it does present some of the unique challenges that face touring musicians.         Share and...