a dose of music: a classical injection - part 11

So continuing to speak of new music, I heard this Chinese music on the local classical station the other day and it caught my ear. Its music from a new album put out by Deutsche Grammophon with Lang Lang called "Dragon Songs," and has a bunch of 20th century written Chinese pieces featuring piano. I've only heard what I could on the radio and from the clips on the Deutsche Grammophon website, but I think you'll enjoy the music. I thought it was pretty cool. After all, its probably not what you typically listen to day in and day out. Here's the website link, give it a listen.

http://www.deutschegrammophon.com/special/?ID=langlang-dragonsongs

a dose of music: a classical injection - part 10

If you happen to have read my post in April on new music, you'll know how I feel about it. Regardless of whether you read it, I thought I'd suggest a few new pieces that I actually do like. Personally, John Adams' is one of my favorite contemporary composers. He's a minimalistic composer, which roughly means the composer uses a chord, rhythmic idea, phrase, or other item in a repetitive fashion, without altering it (much), for a long period of time before changing to something else. It can be a very powerful technique. A few pieces of his that you might want to check out are "A Short Ride in a Fast Machine," "Grand Pianola Music," and "Harmonium." Jennifer Higdon is another living composer who I enjoy. She isn't a minimalist composer, and I don't know how she would classify herself, but I view her music as a sort of neo-romantic style. Some pieces of hers that I like are "Concerto for Orchestra" and "Blue Cathedral." Also try checking out Christopher Theofanidis' "Rainbow Body." Another really cool piece that I just discovered is Wynton Marsalis' "All Rise" which is for (jazz) orchestra and chorus. This is only a small taste of the new stuff thats out there, and you may not even find these selections appealing to you, but thankfully I feel there are a lot of choices in styles of new music to choose from these days, and more than likely you'll find at least something you'll like.

who does that?!

So the other day I got this email to do a gig in NY. It miraculously fit in between two other gigs I had going on in Philly so I was pretty excited that it would work out. The email gave the dates, times, locations, TBAs on some of the other locations, but pretty much provided all the info, except the important stuff…the bread, the moolah, the cheddar, a.k.a. green cash amounts. So naturally, I wrote back asking how much the pay per service was (Per service pay is how a lot of musician gigs are paid. Each rehearsal or concert is considered a “service,” and usually, and hopefully, a concert will pay more than a rehearsal service will). So, you would think, “Oooo, a gig in the ‘Big City.’ That must pay some cash, right?” Wrong. I get an email back saying, sorry, this gig doesn’t pay. Whoa, whoa….what? Doesn’t pay? Are you serious? This gig was seven services. Monday, Wednesday, and Friday night rehearsals (pretty late too, 7-10 pm), a Saturday rehearsal, a Saturday evening concert, a Sunday rehearsal, and a Sunday afternoon concert. Maybe I live in some alternate universe, but that’s a lot of time and a lot of work to not even be paid!? I mean, this isn’t a benefit concert or something, where all the money made from the concert sales is donated to a cause, and where the performers usually aren’t paid either as they’re “donating their services to the cause as well.” And believe me, I’ve done my share of these too, so its not like I don’t do the charity work. But this isn’t even that. I’ve done gigs like this that don’t pay (non charity concerts), many times, with the thought process of, “Well, you never know who will be at the gig, who will be listening, or what contacts will be made, so you never know.” And this is usually the mentality for musicians without a steady job, unfortunately. Thus, people who like to exploit this mentality are actually able to find people to do the work for free. But seriously, who are these people that ask musicians to do work for free, then expect to keep all the money made? I mean, I expect this concert was charging for tickets, but maybe not. Regardless, even if this isn’t some sort of benefit concert, the musicians should still be paid (I think musicians should be paid at a benefit concert anyway). Anyway, this really disgusts me. And not to constantly be comparing the ‘music world’ to the ‘normal world,’ but lets be honest with ourselves, who does that anywhere else!? Most volunteer work is for a cause...a reason…right? Not just exploiting work.

Its funny too how most musicians feel bad about what they're charging, or feel bad asking to be paid after say a lesson or other sort of service, as if playing your instrument or taking time to teach someone else how to play their instrument isn't worthy of being paid. Or that the amount being asked is just 'silly.' After all, its just music. The worst is after say, a wedding (or other gig) when payment is not promptly given. You have to ask...which can be quite awkward and humiliating to the musician, and simply should not have to be done. This has happened to me before, and on more than one occasion. This is just unacceptable. I had a teacher that compared this situation to doctors. Does a doctor have to ask for payment, apologize for the money they're charging, or more importantly have to ask for it after treatment? After all, isn't the knowledge he or she studied so hard for to treat you with just as valuable? They're certainly not going to treat you without being paid. Just because its music, doesn't mean it took any less time to learn or any less skill to master.

is music hard work?

The other day I was having coffee with a friend I haven't seen since high school and we were talking about what we've been up to. While I'm sort of in a transitional period since I graduated and I don't have a steady job, most of my time is consumed by practicing, preparing for auditions, and doing the occasional arranging/composing, interspersed with gigs and hopefully some teaching. All too often I find myself explaining to someone what I do, usually downplaying it, or the amount of work, effort, and time I put into it. Simply put, when I tell someone what I'm up to on a daily basis, which is usually just "practicing," it ends up sounding like I don't do anything. The fact of the matter is, music is hard work and quite time consuming, despite how it might come across in say, a conversation.

Music is a slowly developing art, which is probably why many beginners give up before they get good enough, simply because the time it takes is too consuming compared with the progress they feel they're making. Even when you've entered the professional realm of music, the same holds true, and progress actually becomes an even slower process. Depending on the instrument you play, you can only practice so much at a time, and only so much in a day. Not to mention, you will usually want to spread out your practice time with rest time, otherwise you may injure yourself. If you use this method, it could become an all day process.

While it may sound silly, practicing a musical instrument is also a physical thing. It may not be like running a marathon, but many a days, I've finished a practice session and I'm a little sweaty, my face and arms are tired, etc. Its mental too. If you're really focusing on what you're doing while you're practicing, a whole days worth of practicing is quite tiring. It never ends either. Even professionals with great orchestra jobs still practice, not only to maintain their ability, but to also forever improve themselves. Its like having homework every day of your life. While I do believe in taking breaks from practicing, I've spent many vacations and holiday breaks practicing because an audition, competition, or important performance was coming up. This never ending practice regiment can even become tiresome, especially mentally.

While most musical jobs aren't "9 to 5," they do take time and effort, and often require odd hours. Musicians usually work when everyone else has off since its a form of entertainment. This means evenings, weekends, and especially holidays. While the average worker can't exactly be late for a job, it probably wouldn't be the end of the world. It wouldn't be the end of the world for a musician either, but being late for a rehearsal is pretty much not an option. Here, you usually have to plan extra, extra time to make sure you won't be late, and preferably, be early. As far as I know, the average worker isn't expected to show up at least 15 minutes before official work "start time." Ok, that may have been a bad example, but maybe you see what I'm saying. Performing isn't always the most relaxing thing either. While its hopefully usually enjoyable, it can also be quite stressful. After all, you're on the spot, and you really shouldn't be missing notes...ha. Anyway, I'm certainly not saying being a musician is harder than any other job, and I'll be the first to admit, its not nearly as bad as most. However, it is hard work, and it does take a lot of time, despite how "What I did today..." might sound, or the seemingly slow progress that is made after hours and hours of practicing. So its a little frustrating when people seem to think you don't do anything because you spend most of your day practicing, and not at a "real job." I suppose I shouldn't be too upset, as I'm often the guilty one for either playing down the amount of work it really takes, or making a joke about the amount of work we actually don't have to do ;)