Balance

10. March 2009 · 2 comments · Categories: Ramble, Videos

I taught three students today. This is the typical number of students I have in one day. Sometimes I add in one more, but three is a good number, as it fits well with their school schedules and my “done by 6:00” plan.

I was thinking today about what a former student told a colleague of mine some years back. “She’s good, but she’s strict.”

Hmmm.

I was surprised to get that comment from the adult student, as I never thought I was all that tough on that particular individual. But yes, I can be strict. I actually have to work at not being too strict too frequently, although I will always be demanding.

I also try to balance the demanding stuff with a bit of fun. Today I demonstrated the power of music by showing a student the “Scary Mary” YouTube video:

And of course I try to get students to really embrace the oboe. What can beat the sound of an oboe. I mean, really, what better instrument is there?!

Well … English horn. Okay. There’s that. 😉

Most Artists Didn’t/Aren’t/Won’t Make A Living

10. March 2009 · 2 comments · Categories: Links, Other People's Words, Quotes, Ramble

Update
A really smart guy I know has left a few comments to this entry, so do check those out!

Cory Doctorow has a 23+ minute video that includes some thought-provoking words. I will have to listen again to really wrap my head around it and see what I think. He suggests (around 14:45) that most artists have never made a living making art. Discouraging or just truth?

He also says these things:

  • 10:30 The purpose of copyright law can’t be to ensure that this person gets rich or that person gets rich … the purpose of copyright law needs to be creativity itself.

  • 13:28 Technology giveth and technology taketh away. The point of copyright shouldn’t be to say that the way that we started making money for musicians in 1930 will be the way that we continue to make money for musicians in 2030 It should be that we ensure that we have the maximum number of musicians making the maximum amount of music that reaches the largest possible audience.

I’ve never read anything of Mr. Doctorow’s, nor had I seen his site before; a friend alerted a group I’m in to this video, so I checked it out, especially because the quote that my friend sent to us was about the “maximum amount of music” quote. (I did notice there wasn’t anything about quality in that quote. Perhaps it went without saying that the music should be of high quality? Or perhaps it’s just that quality is in the eye ear of the beholder?)

In any case, some might read the quote or hear him talk and be ready for a fight. Me? I honestly am still pondering.

Do I make a living? I don’t know! What is “a living”? I’m married, and my husband has a full time job. So it’s always difficult for me to figure out if I could survive on my own as an oboist. I think I could. I’d be a rotten, rotten waitress.

MQOD

10. March 2009 · Comments Off on MQOD · Categories: Quotes

Classical music is going to be extinct by the end of the 21st century. There…I said it. I, as a classical musician, get to listen to all my colleagues whine and complain about the lack of jobs and the lack of interest in classical music anymore. I just sit back and watch them and wonder how they don’t see why this is happening. We have totally lost sight of the fact that we play for an audience, and audiences like to not feel like they are stupid. They like enjoying the music not trying to figure it out. I hate how musicians nowadays make themselves to be this elite group of people that are way above everyone else. Just because we have training doesn’t mean we have to write music that only we can understand. Musicians need to get back in touch with their roots and realize that we need to reconnect with the audiences. A musical performance should be an interaction between the performer and the audience, and not some display of elitism that leaves audiences feeling inferior and stupid!

You might want to read the whole thing.

Now I’m off … gotta go get in touch with my roots.

TQOD

10. March 2009 · 3 comments · Categories: TQOD

I only tip street musicians if they are in full black-metal corpsepaint garb and playing the oboe

I Read It Online, So It Must Be True

10. March 2009 · Comments Off on I Read It Online, So It Must Be True · Categories: Read Online

And I just love it!

Now let me tell you about my most valuable discovery. Music can not only improve your overall health, it can also help you lose weight! Eating dinner while listening to Mozart helps to improve your metabolism and food digestion. When you eat while listening to the pop or rock music you automatically start eating faster. As a result you swallow bigger pieces making it harder for your stomach to digest the food.

Which inevitably leads to extra pounds. “When we listen to classical music, subconsciously you get an image of luxury, wealth and sophistication”, explains this phenomenon psychology Dr. Adrian Nort. It improves our mood, and makes us take our time and eat slowly enjoying food.

Exercising while listening to the classical music help you lose weight a lot faster than listening to loud fitness pop music. Why? Maybe because during the experiment a first group of people listening to Vivaldi music worked out on a stationary bike a half an hour longer than the group who was listening to the pop music.

Even if you are not a big fan of classical music I urge you to try it! What do you have to lose except for the ugly looking cellulite, extra body fat, and bad eating habits?

Well how ’bout that? I can feel the weight disappearing as I listen. Cool.