Success Beyond The Score

He who would learn to fly one day must first learn to stand and walk and run and climb and dance; one cannot fly into flying.
—Friedrich Nietzsche, in ‘Thus Spoke Zarathustra’

This quote invites me to reflect about the process inherent to creativity. What comes before what when learning how to be an artist —musician or otherwise. Why is it like this, and how it conciliates with the notion of "learning by doing."

• What are your thoughts in regard to the creative process, within the idea expressed by this quote?
• How does this impact your music journey?

I would love to read what you think.

There are a myriad of different jobs under the umbrella of music professions. They interconnect and collaborate to make the creation and sharing of music possible. Some of us specialize at an atomic level, some others pick up more than one skill, some are jacks of all trades. During my many decades in the industry, I have mainly enjoyed performing, teaching and mentoring. For the longest time, though, I had the dream to add music production to that set of skills. 

Whilst I am forever grateful to those who have helped me produce my music, including my album Reflective Notes and my single Take Me To The King, I always nursed the interest to produce for myself. Finally, over the last 15 months, I have been able to fulfill that aspiration by attending courses offered by the Xylo Aria's Music Production for Women initiative. 

I have learned so much, both at a technical and a creative level! Now I am able to do things like this special live arrangement for the band The Mowatts:

 

 

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This year, the Young Classical Artists Trust (YCAT) organised their fifth version of Musicians' Mental Health Month. With a focus on Imposter Syndrome, they are offering a number of resources for musicians, ranging from coaching and therapy sessions to blogs and Q&A articles on the subject.

Imposter Syndrome, which consists in the persistent inability to believe that one's success is deserved or has been legitimately achieved as a result of one's own efforts or skills, affects people in all professions. It can become debilitating, opening the way to anxiety and paranoia. If you have confronted these feelings before, please know that you are not alone, and that there is a way out of this negative mindset.

This page on the MU's website contains a summary of the activities and resources of the YCAT's Musicians' Mental Health Month. Share it with friends, it might help more that you think!

Continuing with our journey down memory lane, today we bring the two episodes of the podcast Success Beyond The Score dedicated to the award-wining international operatic soprano Abigail Kelly.

Her engagements include a variety of roles, like the female lead in the ‘The Marriage of Figaro’, which she performs in various languages – Italian, Russian, German and French. Abigail is the Ambassador for the National Touring Opera and is passionate about making opera available to all. Abigail is a workshop leader and vocal tutor and has been featured in Black Hair and Beauty magazine.

In the first part, episode 6, Abigail explains why she chose to become an operatic soprano, the things opera singers do which singers in other genres do not, her journey to becoming a full-time musician, and the impact that COVID-19 had on her life and career.

In the second part, Abigail gives her insights on how to bounce back; dealing with fame and the mundane; tips for building a full-time music career...

Contracts, regulations, taxes, liabilities, trademarks and copyright. There is a big legal side to working as a musician. Not all of us, particularly those who are just starting, can afford hiring a professional to take care of that. Even if you have the resources, you still need to know your way around legislation to better communicate with your advisors, protect yourself and your audience.

With all this in mind, on Wednesday 22 April 2026, Millicent will be teaching a FREE webinar via Zoom about legal know-hows for gigging musicians. It is open to everybody who has access to the internet and wants to learn! All you need to do is sign-up following this link.

If you would like to have an idea of how the sessions go, here we have a couple of examples.

• Click here to watch a segment of the session about how to promote your music.
• Click here to watch the answer to a question submitted by a participant to that same session.

Please, share this event with everybody who could be inter...

"What we play is life."
—Louis Armstrong, in ‘His Own Words: Selected Writings’

When I came across this quote, it prompted a lot of thoughts and ideas. I am interested in knowing what it brings to your mind. Try listening to some of the timeless songs of Louis Armstrong, which are his thoughts put into practice, to reflect.

What does "what we play is life" mean to you, as a musician? You can tell me here.

So far, this year we have offered two free webinars for emerging musicians: ‘How to stream your live music performance’, and ‘15 ways to promote your music online and offline’. They were successful and enriching experiences that gathered testimonials like this:

I found [‘15 ways to promote your music online and offline’] really interesting and informative. There were so many fundamental and incredibly useful tips that had somehow passed me by, e.g., adding information about yourself in the signature of your email – genius! I absolutely agree with the “concentrate on one social media platform at a time” approach. It will make my life a lot easier.

We are very happy with these results, and we are going to bring you more of these opportunities throughout the year. Here is a basic outline of what is to come:

• April: Free webinar about the legal framework for musicians and copyright.
• May: Exclusive events for Time For My Music members.
• June: Short paid course about how to get book
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On this Easter Sunday, let's continue revisiting season 2 of the podcast Success Beyond The Score, introducing the next guest: Louise Dengate.

Louise is an exceptional vocalist and coach. After finishing her music degree, she first became a receptionist, but realised that it was not for her, and set out to grow her music into a full time career. She now has a Gospel choir, does teaching, coaching and has a music agency. During the pandemic, she navigated by developing her passion about psychology and the stage, and worked together with her husband, who is also a full-time musician, to continue their careers while also growing their family.

Here is the first part of the interview:

And here is the second part, where Louise talks about her career highs and lows, the challenges of being a female director, how to make music your career, and some truths about reality TV competitions and their influence on success:

We hope you enjoy hearing Millicent and Louise's conversation again....

On May 7, Wales will vote to elect the 96 new members of the Senedd Cymru (Welsh Parliament). In preparation, the Musicians Union has written a manifesto that describes actions to improve conditions for music, culture and the arts.

Election time is one of the best to make your needs known to leaders and politicians. If you are unsure of how to proceed, the MU has outlined some actions and provided templates in their website.

Don't sit back and wait for others to decide how your community is going to be managed. If you work in the arts and culture sector, it is vital that you make your experience and struggles part of the discussion for a better government. Let's pave the way to make Welsh music and culture shine brighter than ever!

Once done with our revisit of season 1 of the podcast Success Beyond The Score, today we want to direct your attention to season 2.

First aired in 2021, and produced under the constraints of the COVID-19 pandemic, this season introduced two big changes: the presence of guests, and the video call format. The episodes, available now on YouTube on top of all the usual podcast streaming platforms, started with a brief intro:

The first guest of the season was Tony Bean, the CEO and founder of 5AM Records. He is an international artiste developer, songwriter and record producer who has worked with major record labels such as Polydor, Motown and Warner Brothers. Tony has worked with Kelly Rowland of Destiny’s Child, Usher, Christina Aguilera, Lemar, Beverley Knight, Kenny Thomas, Tyrese, Alexandra Burke, Freddie Kofi, Nu Life, Monique Thomas and Eternal, to name a few.

The first part of the interview, which constitutes episode 2, starts with Tony talking about what it is like being a se...