Go Cyclone-twisted-cardinal-thingies!!!

I'm sitting in my office with my feet up on my desk in my new house in my new city. Boxes are scattered about every room waiting to be emptied. I moved weeks ago but once I got the place livable details like books, pictures, curtains and clothes stayed packed away. I don't anticipate that changing too soon. I can walk from the bathroom to the kitchen relatively unimpeded. What else does a guy need?

Fall is in the air! Sure it's still 85 degrees and 90 percent humidity but music for the first sets of the season are beginning to arrive in the mail and calls for sub work are coming in. It's nice to finally wind down this barren summer and get regular gigs on the calendar (and regular checks rolling in!).

Next week I start a new job which is exciting. I'm looking forward to teaching these students but it's the horn seminar that has really got me thinking. I've never done anything like that before. If I'm doing it right, I should learn a lot preparing for this weekly lecture/discussion/chamber music/masterclass hour. I might troll for ideas sometime so beware.

I am conflicted about one thing: Most of my students are MusEd or non-majors but there is one freshman music performance major in the studio. I've yet to hear the student play but the fact remains, serious performance majors should be studying with professional musicians who have “made it”. I've cobbled together a nice freelance/adjunct existence but until I win some sort of full-time gig I'm not qualified to teach anyone else how to do the same. I've decided to devise a set of rules:

So you want to be a performance major?
(1) You must regularly seek out lessons with working, full-time, professional horn players. I know more than a few. I'll give you their numbers.
(2) You must attend summer festivals and learn where you rank among your peers.
(3) You must seriously consider a second major. Hey if athletes gotta learn something actually useful in order to play, why shouldn't you?
(4) You must seriously consider transferring to a reputable horn performance institution during your undergrad or, at the very least, attending one as a Master's student. (This rule may get me in trouble with my new boss so it will probably exist as “unwritten” but certainly not unstated.)

And just one rule for me, the teacher: Blow no smoke. Sure. Give the kid encouragement. Time to grow. Time to see how he or she develops as a player. See what kind of worker they are. See how bad they want it. But ultimately confront them with your opinion of their chances of success early enough in their academic career that they can change course.

Any other rules you all can think of?

Actually I think this sort of thing is often much less dramatic than it is played up to be. There are lot's of people, not just musicians, who graduate into competitive job markets without the requisite skills or talent to seriously contend for their dream job. And you know what? By and large they survive and find a place to call home and do just fine. There are lots of ways to make a living as a musician that don't require winning an audition against Curtis graduates. I just don't want to lead someone down a primrose path. I won't do that.

Now, if you'll excuse me, my Bonnie Rait playlist is almost up and I need to find the box with the tortilla chips in it so I can enjoy some of my brother's new wife's family's homemade salsa. (Follow that?)

Oh and by the way, I'll be posting every night for the next month as an experiment. I hope it doesn't start getting all stream-of-consciousness and shit by the end of the week!