Success Beyond The Score

It’s not a secret that I favour the summer. I like the warmth and the light, the outdoor gigs and the myriad of events. While I appreciate the charm of autumn colours, the joy of Christmas and the cosiness facilitated by winter, it just doesn’t compare.

Regardless, seasons pass. Going with the flow of time, striving to see the best of each moment, is the best we can do.

To make it all easier, remember to:

• Get ahead with preparations: Don't wait until temperatures drop to unbearable levels before checking if the heating in your house works properly or whether the insulation in your windows is doing alright. Bring your winter bedding and clothes out of storage and see if they're fit to use. If you struggle with vitamin D levels, talk with your doctor about supplements and treatments before the clocks move backwards at the end of October.
• Stay active: The warm embrace of the blankets is tempting, I know. Don’t let the cold or the darkness stop you from doing things, though! Some peo
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Sleep was one of the areas of my life most affected by the changes of menopause. My quality of rest and sleep decreased drastically, affecting my health, performance and appearance. I took it to my own hands to fix it, and came up with 1o Things You Can Do If You Are Sleepless And Menopausal. It worked well, although —as it normally happens— there was room for improvement.

Said improvement came from what I learned during the Smarter Change programme with Pamela. There was some fine-tuning of things that I was already doing, and the introduction of a whole new concept:

I set up my sleep when I wake up

A lot is said about the importance of the last couple of hours before bed to ensure sleep quality. However, with Pamela, I learned that the first hour after waking up is just as crucial.

As soon as I open my eyes in the morning, I look for some light. I go to the yard or sit near the window, remove my glasses, and allow the sunlight to fall on my eyelids. Those minutes of quiet, that I...

While the first season of the podcast Success Beyond the Score is already a few years old, it contains valuable information and perspectives that are still helpful. Today, we want to highlight episodes four to six of season 1, which are connected as a series to talk all about business cards:

4. Should I get business cards?

Should I get business cards? When I should get them? This is the first of a three part series about business cards for musicians, singers, rappers and spoken word artistes finding their way in the music industry.

5. What should I put on my business cards?

7 Tips for what should be on your business card - Printing on both sides of the card; Type of Picture; Write-on side; Card weight; Font Size; Card size; and Text content. This episode also includes bonus tips!

6. 10 points of etiquette for managing your business cards.

What is the best way to give away your business cards? Should you give them to everybody? These questions and more are answered in today's ...

Since the beginning, Success Beyond the Score has been a project with international reach. Our resources are available wherever there's an internet connection. In the same way, Millicent has offered saxophone lessons online for years, with excellent results.

Now, she is preparing a new way to reach musicians and singers who want to take the next step in their journey. The idea is to offer you live support and information regardless of your location. In order to do so in the best way, we need your input. 

We have put together a short survey to gather opinions on online courses and online coaching sessions. Answering it will take you just a few minutes, and because we know that time is gold, you'll receive a gift for your contribution at the end.

Click here to start the survey.

If you know more people in music who could be interested in taking courses online or receiving online coaching, we'll be very thankful if you send them the survey too. It's going to be open for a few more days...

Time is always scarce. The more something matters to us, the more it feels like everything else gets in the way. Days are just too short. Or are they?

Look at your typical schedule for the week. There are some fixed things that you can't skip if you want to stay alive: sleeping and resting, eating, hygiene routines, physical activity. Block those out. There are also unskippable commitments, like work or study —with their respective commute time— house chores, and family logistics (for example, getting your kids ready for school). Finally, there are things that enrich and give meaning to your life, like the nurturing and enjoyment of your relationships, or your spiritual journey, religious or not. Once you block those out as well, you will see the time you really have for yourself, and can decide how to best use it.

At this stage, it's a matter of priorities. What do you want to achieve? What are the most important steps towards achieving it? A to-do list will be very handy, as it wil...

Success Beyond the Score is a project born from Millicent's willingness to support men and women in their music journey. Through her podcast, mentoring, courses and resources, she has already helped people at different stages of their careers to achieve their goals.

Last month, she talked about the what, why, how, when and where of creating and achieving your vision in music. The only question left to answer is "with whom". We aren't born knowing! Having mentors or teachers is an essential part of taking our craft to where we want it to be. That's why Millicent is putting together a new way to guide and support singers and musicians in their journey. In order to assist with that, we are currently conducting a survey to assess the topics of greatest interest among our audience, and how you'd like to learn about them.

Click here to start the survey.

It will take you at most five minutes, and you will get a gift to thank you for your time at the end. Your contribution will help us unde...

There's a saying in Germany that translates to something like, "there is no bad weather, only wrong clothing". If you are a gigging musician willing to perform outdoors, you better remember this bit of wisdom!

A few months ago, I was booked to play at a women's conference. I was directed to the garden of the building, so attendants could listen to my music while enjoying some fresh air. Now, you must know that I keep my receiver, microphone and other equipment in a hard case that protects it from collisions and the weather. Once I set up, though, my PA system is as exposed to the elements as I am. That day, once we were done and had all the equipment out, it started to drizzle. Of course, panic ensued! You just can't allow electric devices to get rained over, unless they are made waterproof (and even so, it's better not to risk it).

It was stressful, but fortunately, the light rain passed, and at the end, I could perform. Soon after, I started looking into acquiring some specialised ...

First, we defined the what, then, the why. After that, we looked at the how, and that defined almost everything for us. Now, we just need to make the time and space to execute our plan, and we will achieve our vision.

This sounds easy, and it would be in a world less congested, noisy and stressful than the one we live in. We have responsibilities with our family, friend and community. We have jobs and maintain a home. The technology that's supposed to assist us more often than not becomes an addictive distraction, bombarding us with notifications that demand our attention 24/7. It's challenging to catch a breath and have time for ourselves. 

Despite all this, it's possible to make time and space for our vision by working smarter, not harder. Don't sacrifice sleep or overexert yourself, that will only lead to health issues and burnout. Instead, keep your priorities at the forefront of your mind, and use them to take decisions. You are the owner of your attention, your energy and your ...

Large Language Models (LLMs) have experienced a massive boom in the last couple of years. Their use has spread across all industries, creating a surge of multimedia content generated through Artificial Intelligence (genAI). After the initial wave of excitement, more and more institutions and organisations have come forward to denounce the negative impact of this technology in multiple aspects.

One of them has to do with creative ownership. In order to function, LLMs must be fed gigantic amounts of data. So far, there has not been adequate regulation about the origin of said data, nor how the human creators of it should be recognised and compensated. In the case of music, this has resulted in the work of hundreds of thousands of composers and recording artists being fed to LLMs without consent. To aggravate things, the musical output generated by LLMs is fast to produce and cheap to sell, which has degraded or outright eliminated jobs for musicians.

Updating the existing legislation o...