Success Beyond The Score

Creative endeavours are, at the same time, energising and draining. Gigging musicians thrive on stage, but once they get off, they are hit with the exhaustion of having given their all to their audience, their clients and their craft. If, on top of performing, they are in charge of logistics, finances and/or organisation, as it was the case for the women who put together the Time For My Music's evening showcase last October, this fatigue gets dialled up to eleven.

If you plan to become a professional gigging musician, it's essential that you come up with mechanisms to rejuvenate after shows. There's only so much your body and mind can endure with no support, and if you force yourself to move forward despite signs of alarm like pain, sleep issues, and anxiety, you're going to burn out.

On one hand, there's the physical side of things: take care of your health and cultivate your endurance with an appropriate diet, physical activity and good sleep. Allot time specifically to rest,...

Happy holidays! Regardless of how you spend this time of the year, we hope you've enjoyed it to the fullest, and that you've also caught some well deserved rest. 2024 was quite hectic for many, so let's give ourselves a moment to breathe and maybe give ourselves a pat in the back for the challenges that we overcame.

This is also a good time to remember the big, good moments. For example, the first live concert of Time For My Music at the end of October was a massive achievement for our community. We can't wait to post the professional footage in the upcoming months, but in the meantime—and to add some good vibes to your New Year's Eve preparations—here are two clips from Millicent's performance at the end of that evening:

Count on us for resources and support in your music journey this and every new year. We are dying to hear about what you've got in mind!

Originally, Millicent wasn't going to perform at the Time For My Music evening showcase. However, due to a suggestion by a member of the audience, and with the enthusiastic approval of the women who starred the night, she went on stage towards the end and played some fan favourites like "Ain't Nobody (Loves Me Better)" and "Bridge Over Troubled Waters".

After the show was over, one of the women told Millicent that she was glad to have counted with her performance that night, because she could see first hand how Millicent applied everything she has taught them through the years. Seeing the theory put into practise motivated her, and she could project herself owning the stage with more confidence and ease in the future.

Performing music live is much more than just making up your mind and doing it. Everybody starts somewhere, and Millicent is no exception. She remembers that, when she first started, she stood on a single spot in front of the mic, fixed her gaze somewhere on...

Nowadays, the making of both woodwind and brass instruments is considered an endangered craft by the Heritage Crafts Association. If something goes wrong with your instrument, there are very few places where you can take it in order to get it back on track. When Millicent's trusted sax repairer retired seven years ago, she was faced with the gravity of this problem, struggling so much to find a reliable replacement that she decided to learn how to do it herself. She signed up for a sax repair and maintenance workshop offered by Cambridge Woodwind Makers, which was extremely useful and gave her a new perspective. She talked at length about her experience in this blog entry, and also on her YouTube channel.

While she eventually found a new trusted sax repairer, Millicent didn't completely leave this knowledge aside. As a busy gigging musician, she doesn't always have the chance to take her saxophones to the shop if something breaks, and...

One of the most essential strengths a gigging musician must have is adaptability. Every gig comes with a new set of conditions: from the dimensions and design of the stage, to the size and position of the audience, to the PA system and the staff in charge of it.

Let's make an example out of the latter: for a certain gig some time ago, Millicent asked about the technical set up—as she always does—but a little later than usual. She got a reply through WhatsApp many hours later, and had to continue the conversation the next day. It became evident that the person answering to her wasn't tech-savvy, but rather followed instructions by the tech people at their organisation, which made the process slow. Thinking that this could cause problems down the line, Millicent decided to take her own PA system equipment to the venue, just in case.

When the day of the gig came, the sax mic didn't work, and there was no one among the staff who knew what to do. On top of...

The Government is running an independent Curriculum and Assessment Review with the aim to gather perspectives and evidence that can help refresh and update the national curriculum and statutory assessment system in England. The Musicians' Union is responding to it on behalf of its members, submitting arguments in favour of arts and music education, and you can do the same by answering to the review online before Friday, 22nd November.

The Review has a big scope, and it's looking for solid evidence and potential solutions to the main problems faced in the education of children and teenagers aged 5 to 19. If you feel that you don’t have an informed opinion to contribute to the discussion regarding one specific section of this massive enterprise, it's alright: you can answer only to what matters to you, and your opinion will be taken into account anyway.

The Musicians' Union has highlighted the sections more relevant to arts and music education, and has some advice...

There are many platforms to distribute music online, which offer a number of benefits that are more or less attractive depending on each musician's goals and profile. Maintaining an active account anywhere on the internet requires time and effort, so it's important to choose carefully and go one step at a time.

A great place to build your platform and get work as a musician, especially as a gigging musician, is YouTube. Potential clients don't only want to hear your music, but also assess your stage presence and see you in action, in order to decide whether you're a good fit for their event. What's better for that than a YouTube video? And that's just the start. You can improve your discoverability with shorts, make your music and podcasts accessible through YouTube Music, interact with your audience through text posts, and once you get enough followers, offer subscription perks and even organise donation campaigns!

As independent musicians, becoming...

Angela is a long time member of Time For My Music, our online community for emerging female musicians. She plays the alto saxophone, delving mostly into jazz, although she's a versatile interpreter that's open to other genres as well. 

Last year, motivated by the workshops and discussions that take place in the T4MM community, Angela took an important step in her journey by creating her own YouTube channel.

This is her testimony about it:

T4MM has helped me in many ways. The workshops are excellent. One of the workshops that
has really helped me was the one about setting up a YouTube channel.

I used to choose a few friends to share my songs with and leave it at that, but I considered creating a YouTube channel for a while —I just didn't have the confidence to do it. However, I really wanted to do a gig to celebrate the Jamaican Independence in 2023. For doing so, I told myself: "I am going to start my YouTube Channel." I recorded two songs in one...

Here is the transcription of episode 11 of season 3 of the podcast "Success Beyond The Score". Happy reading!

- Watch the video of the episode here: YouTube

- Listen to the audio of the episode here: Kajabi

INTRO:

Hiya! Hope you are well and [that] you can hear me okay. I'm ready to share a fantastic 11th episode of my Success Beyond The Score. Now, a couple of things to say before we get cracking about the sound engineer.

One is: I did it. I have got to 11 live shows on YouTube. At the beginning, I didn't think I'd manage it, but I did, and I want to thank you so much for being with me, for giving me those questions, and for just rocking up, and liking, and sharing, subscribing. Thank you so much for that. Going forward, just make sure you put the bell on, so you're notified of any future broadcasts I will be doing.

Now, the second thing —before I get cracking on the sound engineer topic— is to remind you that, if you're new here, there have been ten other...

As one of the best-selling jazz artists of all time, Kenny G is a widely known name in and out of the genre. His work is an essential reference of "smooth jazz", a radio-friendly type of jazz that crosses over to popular genres like pop and R&B. As it's unfortunately unavoidable, a sector of the jazz community sees Kenny's formidable commercial success as something negative, criticising him for not staying true to the genre, among other things.

This is what he had to say when asked about it during an interview with The Hang Podcast:

His words ring true and apply to the experience of all musicians, or in a wider sense, to all artists. There's always someone who won't like what you do, and a few more people who won't like that you're successful doing what you do. Part of growing as an artist is to learn from whom to accept criticism, and how to tell the difference between constructive and destructive criticism.

If you're visited by the "jazz police", the...