i talk a lot about how to organize your practice.
i use carefully planned calendars to guide my practice sessions. i’m methodical. i’m constantly reprioritizing my work and adjusting my schedule.
but that’s all… so… nonmusical.
where’s the artistry in organizing? where’s the emotion in systematizing?
in order to become a professional musician, you have to craft a delicate balance between the logistics of practicing and the artistry of music-making.
and oboe players are the perfect example of the balance between organization and artistry.
they have to prepare beautiful phrases that often lead the melodies in orchestra. but they also have REEDS. they have to spend half their practice session caning, and bambooing. they slice and shave and honk on their reeds and sometimes they run out of time to practice.
but the good ones find ways to balance everything.
this video is about how nathan hughes organizes his practice.
he’s the principal oboist in the metropolitan opera, and he’s a faculty member at juilliard. he’s a beautiful player, and has some great advice about how be an organized and artistic musician.
it’s our second interview in a new series about developing successful practice habits. here’s the first.
want to have a simple, daily practice schedule?
learn to maximize your time, reduce stress, and show up 100% prepared to every performance.
the best part? it’s free.
imprecise rhythm is something that can get you cut from an audition IMMEDIATELY (regardless of your instrument). and great rhythm is something that an audition committee can sense, both consciously and subconsciously. hearing someone play in the pocket just feels good.
well, i have a few tricks up my sleeve to straighten out my rhythm, and today i'm sharing one of the most effective strategies.
things i do on audition day:
warm up by playing on the hotel pillow,
watch vast amounts of tv shows on my phone, and
never drink coffee.
when i was in detroit in february i got to interview three great DSO musicians on how they approach audition day. pretty fascinating to see how their approaches are so different from each other.
i’m endlessly fascinated with how musicians practice (as you know). so i was fortunate to talk to augustin hadelich, international violin soloist, about how he gets ready to play a different concerto with a different orchestra every week.
one way that i keep myself sane is to make a practice schedule and keep it up to date. you can use paper and pencil, a word document, evernote, or a wall. in today’s video i explain how to get it set up.
i’ve been getting lots of messages from people having trouble finding motivation or direction now that they’re at home all day. i’ve been dealing with the same issues, but i’m finally out of the funk.
so i made a video about how to get motivated and set practice goals (during coronapause). check it out.
this is an interview with nathan hughes, principal oboist of the metropolitan opera and faculty at juilliard. he has to practice and make reeds… every day. anyone who wonders how to balance the artistry and the project management of being a musician should watch this.
some days i’ll feel good about my playing. but some days i'll walk into the opera pit and question whether i really deserve to be there.
i’ll think <with an extremely fred savage from the wonder years voice>, “i wonder how i ended up here. oh well, i guess i’ll pretend to be a professional musician and play the triangle again today.”
it’s called imposter syndrome.
but just because you experience imposter syndrome doesn’t mean there’s something wrong with you. problems are figureoutable. anything you’re lacking as a musician is something that can be analyzed, addressed, and eventually solved.
in today’s video i’d like to tell you about my experience with imposter syndrome, and how i’ve worked to overcome it.
i've worked with hundreds of musicians on audition preparation. and nothing - NOTHING - has been as effective and life-changing as when they start self-recording the right way.