Big Dreams, Small Moves: The Daily Approach to Success.

I'm currently listening a recording of a star in the making.

Lilah Senibaldi gave her junior flute recital at the University of Tennessee-Martin last night.

Remember that name. She is going to be a star.


Look, I'm not going to name drop....but I know stars. I can just tell. She's going to be one.

I've known Lilah for a few years now and saw her having one of the problems that I still struggle with at times. We both want to be GREAT musicians. We both want to be great....RIGHT NOW. Lilah was having problems the summer after her freshman year. You see, she was already 19 and not in a major symphony(yes, really). In her eyes, she wasn't at a Paula Robison or Julius Baker level so she was just a hack.

Like me she thought the path to greatness was the equivalent of a 100 yard touchdown pass in football. If it didn't happen all at once and in a very short time it wasn't going to happen at all.

This isn't logical nor is it realistic but then, musicians rarely use logic or spend much time in reality. It is part of our DNA, I think, to have unrealistic dreams and set unreachable goals.

If you're an educator please PLEASE do nothing to squash that. Instead, offer this advice:

Look at runners: Marathon runners train for years to shave a few minutes off their time. Middle distance runners do the same in seconds. For a Carl Lewis or Ussain Bolt, trimming 2 hundredths of a second in two years is a darned miracle.

That's an interesting perspective, isn't it?

The point here is to never stop chasing greatness but do so with small victories. Are you a hundredth of a percent better at your craft today than yesterday? Is the passage which was just stopping you in your tracks yesterday a little better today?

This is PROGRESS.

If, every day you improve a little...even an infinitesimally small amount...how will that add up?

Achieve big dreams with small moves, my friends.

Prove Them Right! Avoiding Toxicity and Embracing Your Support System

I'm a few days away from a birthday. This makes, well, more of them than I care to admit.


No, in case you were wondering, I'm not a big fan of aging. That said, one advantage of getting older is that the ability of self reflect seems to be enhanced over time. I don't know if you'd call it 'wisdom' in my case; as it seems to always take place after the fact. That being said, it does lead to some positive thoughts and a better mindset a good bit of the time. Example-


I was thinking this morning about my return to school in January of 2013 and my path since then and I have to tell you, the more I thought about it the more one sentence resonated in my skull.

I cannot believe how fortunate I am.

I shouldn't have had the opportunity to return, but I did.
Tennessee-Martin didn't have to accept me into their program, but they did.
My parents didn't have to help me afford school, but they did.
J. Berry didn't have to hire me to work at Interlochen after a quarter century absence, but she did.
Mark McArthur didn't have to let me into his studio as a graduate student at UNLV, but he did.
Following Mark leaving UNLV, Dr. Chris Beaty and the faculty at Texas A&M University-Commerce didn't have to allow me to transfer into their program mid year, but they did.
Nicolas at Marca Reeds and Tatsuro at Marmaduke Music didn't have to be as kind to me over the past year or so as they've been, but they were.

The more I think about it, the more I realize that there's a 'Team Andy'......and it has a pretty darned big roster. This is really changing my mindset about things by the minute.

In the past, I've used detractors and naysayers as motivation- "I'll show them!"

Now, the "I'll show them!" is a statement of affirmation for Mom, Dad, my teachers, my friends, and everyone in my corner. It simply means, "I'm going to bust my butt to prove you right." More than that, it means "My success is your success, too!"

So, that brings us to the second part of the title.....avoiding toxicity.

There will always be detractors. Leonard Bernstein had 'haters', Serena Williams has folks who claim she isn't that good. More than this, sometimes situations themselves just aren't healthy and one needs to be objective and learn to recognize a toxic environment when it appears.

That takes time and experience and.....listening to your support system. They can often tell a bad scene even when you can't.

So, what to do when you recognize a situation as being toxic? Well, first, try to figure out if the toxicity can be corrected. What or who is causing the issue? What steps can be taken to correct it?

Here's the big one - Don't be afraid to walk away. NO situation is permanent. NO school is worth being miserable. Yes, you can find another program (if it gets to that).

The POINT is you are studying music because you love it. Even the tough, frustrating situations are supposed to be positive and encourage growth. If they aren't, get away from them.

Your support system will understand. That's why they are your support system.

Prove them RIGHT.

Oh yeah, I have a little website that I'd be honored for you to check out. You can get there at the link below!

Andy Austin Saxophonist.

How to Use Instant Gratification as a Tool

We do live in an instant gratification world now, don't we?

I laughed at myself this week. After a several month hiatus I started posting on here again....


....and noticed myself getting SO FRUSTRATED when the 1000 views per article became 40-60 views. I kept periodically checking and thinking 'Why did my audience abandon me?!'


Ok the massive narcissism aside (Really dude? Your 'audience'? 1000 views is hardly 'viral'!) is it that important that people provide me that instant gratification by reading my thoughts RIGHT THEN? Is what I'm writing so drenched in insight and wisdom that they must absorb it immediately? I started to realize that it isn't so much a conceit issue as it is the way we're now groomed in our society. We must have that feedback RIGHT NOW! We need that gratification NOW!


Face it, we've become the society that has drones deliver Amazon packages to us in a few hours because two days was too long to wait. We're the society that yells at the microwave after 3 minutes because whatever crappy food we're waiting on isn't ready. We want everything right now!

I think this is something that really frustrates young musicians in the practice room. "I've been practicing a month now! Why am I not a virtuoso yet?!"

So...I started thinking about that. This is, oddly enough, not an area where I have a huge problem. I don't have to have instant gratification in the practice room. Sure, it's cool on those days when my tone is particularly rich or everything is just 'clicking' technically but I've managed to get the mindset that it is indeed a process and I'll get there when I get there if I keep working. However, were I one who required such instant I would suggest this.



It's a simple trick; used as an instant gratification reward for getting your crap done in the practice room. So let's put together a scenario......

Pretend your practice schedule includes the following for a particular day..

• Warm ups
• Long Tones
• Harmonic minor scales in 4ths
• Bob's Big Book of Etudes #45
• Movement 3 of the Big Giant Concerto measures 55-70.

Ok, add this to the end: 5-10 minutes of whatever YOU want to play IF, and only IF, you successfully put in the work on the scheduled work. 

Ok, so it isn't technically INSTANT gratification. You do have to wait an hour or so. That said, after just an hour of effort, you get that prize. It's something to look forward to on days when your motivation isn't as high.

Give it a try.....and read my blog! (Or don't....I'll keep writing them regardless...)

It's Just Hard Sometimes...

Writing this blog can make me feel very vulnerable sometimes.


I often delve into my own frustrations, my own fears, my own weaknesses. It's scary stuff....


....almost like being on stage can be scary stuff.


This is one of those vulnerable moments because to make some points I have to let you into my psyche.

The past few years have been very difficult for me as a player.

You see, my last year or so of undergraduate study was crazy. I had confidence on a level I'd never had before. I was a showman on stage. I was winking at the accompanist, working the crowd, and was never afraid to cut loose. I won the concerto competition, was a featured soloist in the jazz band, and received Performing Artist of the Year awards from my school.


and then grad school started and everything took a nose dive.

I didn't have a single what I thought to be good or even DECENT solo performance. One was a borderline disaster. The rest of the studio seemed to think I was a joke. Hell, most of the department seemed to think I was a joke. The thought of stepping on stage was just terrifying to me.

It was almost a blessing when I received word from my major professor last summer that he was no longer going to be teaching there. It was my out. It was a way to start over. "I'll take a year off, work, and practice my tail off.", I thought. I was in contact with several programs whose teachers, for whatever reason, still saw potential in me and I thought I could get in somewhere else.

That year turned into about three months.

I had an opportunity fall into my lap. The professor and I shared a common teacher. We got along really well and the school seemed like a good opportunity. Besides, my girlfriend was already doing grad studies there in clarinet. How perfect was that?

My initial audition was just for the professor since it was over winter break and no other professors were in town. It went fairly well. He made a video to show the others. It was enough to get me in; at least for the semester.

I had a follow up audition a few weeks ago. It also apparently was enough to get me in but I still lacked that feeling I'd had in undergrad where I walk in fully believing that I was about to blow minds and change lives with what I was going to do with my horn.

Now, I have my first public performance here in a few weeks for a composer's conference. It's a world premiere. To say I'm not yet comfortable with performing this piece is an understatement.

So where am I going with all this?


Well for starters, I cannot fully put my finger on why things went so cockeyed at my first grad program. I just know it did. What I CAN do is work on how to get out of the funk I'm in. This is what I think is relevant and just might help others.

• I'm in a funk because I care so deeply about what I'm doing. This is my life. This is how I best tell people who I am. This isn't just important. This is ME. This is the biggest part of who I am.
• I'm in a funk because I miss the thrill of performing as a soloist. I used to champ at the bit to get on stage. I need that back. The thrill of being on stage and truly entertaining people is something I must have in my life. 
• I'm in a funk because I don't want to let down those in my corner.

Now, even though it's taking me a while to really internalize the following statements, this in the reality on which I need to focus.

• Because I care so deeply about what I'm doing, I have a bad habit of setting impossible standards for myself. This is a process and what I hear as a horrible performance isn't necessarily what others hear AT ALL. 
• Two extra years of practice means my ear has continued to develop and details I previously either didn't hear or didn't know to notice are now ever present while I play. It means I'm continuing to grow as a saxophonist and a musician.
• Those in my corner only want the best for me and only care that I work hard, succeed, and find happiness.

I think so much of the time our growth can be difficult and painful because we make it so. Our fear, our doubts, our inability to just let go just get in our way. This isn't necessarily a bad thing. It means we care. It means this is something that matters to us.

I don't have a real answer on how I'm going to get my confidence back to where it was in the spring of 2016. I just feel that my first real step was this admission and knowing I'll find my way back.

If you're having the same issues, I hope you find your way with me!

Your Reputation is YOU.

So, yeah, this is a continuation of my last post.....which not so many folks read. It's amazing what happens with a hiatus.

The more I look around each day the more I'm reminded of one of the cool things about being back in school later in life:


Man I am sooooooo glad social media wasn't around when I was 19.


Seriously, I doubt I would have made it through school or gotten a job ANYWHERE. I had a penchant for humor when it wasn't appropriate, inappropriate humor when it was even less appropriate, and just a general penchant for sticking my foot in my mouth. Impulse control issues, ADD, and social media are a bad combo.

Over the years I've gotten better but still, I'm always learning. You see, young grasshoppers, wisdom is acquired slowly....and all too often....very painfully.

So where am I going with this?

It's pretty simple, kiddos, there is SO MUCH MORE to the field of music than how much you know or how well you can play.

I had a conversation with undergrads recently. They asked me, as a saxophonist, the biggest difference between when I started years ago and now. I explained, the difference is pretty striking...

When I was an 18-20 year old, there were three or four universities where the true bad asses resided. I mean, the guys who could really PLAY. There was Michigan, Michigan State, Indiana, North Texas, maybe a smattering of others. Oh, and it was either jazz or classical. You didn't see guys who could really do both.

NOW-

EVERYONE can PLAY. I don't care if it's the professor at PoDunk State U in Bumblesnort. They are likely a beast and, more often than not, they can not only play classical lit at a high level but solo over ii V I's with ease.

It isn't just enough to be good anymore. EVERYONE is good. High schoolers are beasts now.

This isn't meant to discourage anyone. Keep working and you'll get there. I tell myself that daily. The point is that there's so much more to this whole thing. Here's what is important.

• Remember that your words AND deeds follow you. Everybody knows everybody. You may not think so but yeah, the music world is much smaller than you think.
• The above is especially true on social media. The internet is forever and screen shots are a thing. You might have deleted the ugly thing you impulsively posted but yeah, people probably saw it. Someone might have saved it.
• You're going to screw up. You might screw up badly. OWN IT. Say 'Yes, that was me.' Apologize, mean it, and do your best to make it right. The response will be remembered as much if not more than the gaffe.
• Work your butt off. Yes, it's ok to relax. Yes, we all need breaks. The problem comes when the breaks aren't the exception but the rule.
• Treat your classes like job training. This is supposed to be your career. Treat it as such. 
•  Choose your battles. There are ways to handle situations; especially with professors. If you pick a fight with a professor (of course I don't mean physical here) you are going to lose. Even if you think you win; that will follow you. There are ways to handle things. Be professional. Follow protocols as outlined in your student handbook.
• As a followup to the above statement. If you skip class with the excuse "The professor doesn't teach to my learning style." or "The professor doesn't know what they are doing." you just lost any argument you had. How would you know what and how they're teaching IF YOU AREN'T EVEN THERE?!
• It isn't enough to want the gig. It isn't even enough to earn the gig. You have to continue earning it every single day. The people who do that.....those are the ones who are consistently successful. This applies to Dean's list, chair placement, rank in the studio, a job, whatever. Simply put in the work.
•     Try to be someone who's pleasant to be around. I know some folks are introverts. I get it. I am somewhat of an introvert myself; though I often come across as outgoing. You don't have to be the life of the party. You simply need to be professional, easy to work with, and pleasant to be around.

Folks, being a success comes down to two things. Attitude and effort. I know I'm not the first one to tell you this. However, everyone needs a bit of a reminder and for someone to occasionally impart wisdom gained over the years....and often the hard, painful way....

Keep your game face on.

Get to work.

You Are What You Do- The Professionalism Pep Talk

Yeah so it's been a while....



So where have I been? Ok, well, I left Vegas, moved back to Tennessee, moved to Texas, began teaching middle and high school saxophonists, and then had another graduate teaching assistant position drop in my lap.....


.....and in the middle of all that, I've been watching and listening to college students from many many schools. (I just pictured Commandant Lessard from the Police Academy movies. Yes, I'm old.)

Here's the thing, folks. Many of you could use some guidance, an attitude adjustment, a swift kick in the posterior; however you prefer to phrase it...

Ok, the name of the blog is Ye Olde Music Major and this may be the official "Get off my lawn" entry.


The facts are the facts folks. When you enter school as a music major you might be following your passion. In the real world, though, you're also training for a career. Were it simply about passion, I would have had a doctorate in the 1990s. I'm speaking from experience here. I have done the stupid things about about to list. I've paid for them. Read and absorb what I'm about to tell you and perhaps you'll follow a smarter path.

STEP ONE- SHOW THE **** UP!!!!!

Seriously, I don't know why this has to be mentioned. For starters, YOU'RE PAYING FOR THESE CLASSES. I get it, as a freshman or sophomore things like music theory and music history don't seem very important. THEY FREAKING ARE!!!!! You WILL use them. You WILL use what you learn in class piano. This stuff is important, guys. Even if you're lucky enough to perform for a living you'll need to know the history behind what you play so you're stylistically correct. You'll need to know how harmonic progressions work. You'll need to be able to conduct effective score studies.

You need to show up and be prepared when you do. I'm not saying you have to have it mastered every class. That simply isn't going to happen. You'll struggle in some areas. We all do. The point is to show up, with a good attitude, prepared to the best of your ability, and you have to try. Oh, by the way, you have to have good grades to graduate. Schools hiring band directors do tend to look at your grades and if you're looking at grad school....well, schools do care about GPAs.

Which leads me to my next point...


STEP TWO- LEAVE YOUR ATTITUDE AT THE DOOR!!!!

I don't care how good you think you are. I don't care if you really are that good. If you have serious attitude problems or are an habitual flake; people aren't going to want to work with you. A positive, humble, professional approach will take you much further than just having 'chops'. There are a ton of folks with 'chops' who have to keep their chops at home because people don't want to work with them.


STEP THREE- COMMUNICATE EFFECTIVELY


A lot of issues in college departments simply come down to communication issues. This isn't just with students either. Professors and administrators are equally guilty. Do your part to avoid this. Email is the preferable means of communication. It gives you a record that you did your due diligence in any situation. Covering your backside in this manner gives you an answer to questions caused by communication problems.

STEP FOUR- ASK QUESTIONS

Yes, this is part of communication but important enough that I feel it needs to be mentioned separately. If you don't understand something, ask. If the professor, conductor, or administrator doesn't do an adequate job of answering the question, ask again. If they blow you off, ask their boss. Remember that you pay to attend school there. They should remember that too.

Ok, here is a MAJOR caveat to that paragraph.

Faculty is there to teach and guide you. They aren't there to spoon feed you or do your work for you. Neither, by the way, are graduate assistants. This isn't middle school. Suck it up, buttercup. Some things you have to figure out on your own. If you show up for a lesson having practiced an hour or less total for the week; a teacher can't make you play better. If you don't come to class, a review session isn't going to suddenly provide you with all the info to do well on an exam. This is called learning to be a professional.

STEP FIVE- LEARN YOUR INSTRUMENT

One of the most maddening statements I hear in music is "I shouldn't be asked to work so hard on my instrument. I mean, I'm just going to be a band director.". Real talk: If I hear a student say that, I will NEVER hire them nor will I recommend them to anyone for a job. If I cannot trust you with one instrument, why should I trust you to lead 40 or 50? You don't have to master your instrument to be a good music educator, true, but you have to try like hell. It makes you a better musician. It teaches you problem solving skills that you can then pass on to your students. Lastly, if you set such low standards for yourself as an instrumentalist, then how on earth can you set high standards for your students?


FINAL STEP- WATCH THE BRIDGES YOU BURN

My undergraduate professor, Dr. Doug Owens, once said and explained that statement in a studio class and it has stuck with me ever since. In the age of social media, we (myself included) do a fantastic job of putting our foot in our mouth and losing coming common courtesy and decency. I'm not saying that one cannot go on social media and express themself, debate issues, what have you. I'm saying that the wrong statement, even one made in jest, can come back to haunt you. Take care in how you act and what you say publicly. Remember that you are in training to be a professional musician; whether on the performance or educational end. People need to have a high opinion of you because you will need them to help you get jobs, into grad school, etc. The folks you see every day are going to help you get a job, or not. Your reputation is the most important thing you have. Keep it good.


So, yeah, this blog was a bit of a rant. I felt it was needed and better you read these words than learn the hard way....




.....like I did....

So, Let's Talk About Gear....

I would normally thumb my nose at an article like this........


    People spend way too much time worrying about gear. They'll see someone performing on their chosen instrument and immediate wonder what equipment is being used. What horn, what mouthpiece, what reed, what bow, what strings. So many folks are more worried about the gear than the work. So many strain to see the make and model of the instrument and miss a wonderful performance in the process. To these folks the fact that Jimi Hendrix played a Fender Stratocaster was the reason for his sound, not that he came up with a unique style of playing guitar.
    As an active member of many social media saxophone boards I see it a lot. Folks are more interested in the mouthpiece and horn used by, say, Joel Frahm than what he does in his practice time. More than this, we have folks who spend thousands trying to put together the exact same gear as their heroes in an attempt to catch the same 'lightning in a bottle'; not understanding that even the most talented of these folks spent hours upon hours daily for YEARS to arrive where they were. Their sound was the result of sweat more than gear. Chris Potter would sound like Chris Potter on a student Bundy saxophone with the stock mouthpiece. Understand that a wind player's sound comes from the wind player, not the instrument. One can even see it with pianist. Chick Corea would sound different than Herbie Hancock even if they played on the exact same piano. Every single great musician develops a unique voice due to who they are as a musician; not due to the gear they use.


That said.....



I LOVE GEAR!

I'm fascinated by it. I want to know how things work. I love discussing it. I love exploring it. I can't wait for Paul Haar's online publication The Saxophonist  each month because he does such a great job of approaching gear reviews from not only an academic standpoint (Professor Haar is Professor of Saxophone at Nebraska) but a real world 'trench knowledge' standpoint as well.

Now, having made my admission I want to drive home a few points.

• I have spent years playing and studying the saxophone as well as music in general. I have a degree in Saxophone Pedagogy and I'm in the process of transferring from one graduate program to another. I have spent years learning to play. I have spent years developing my sound and my style. A different horn, mouthpiece, etc isn't going to change that. Grabbing Tim McAllister's gear would no more make me sound like Dr. McAllister than grabbing a Conn 10m tenor would make me sound like Dexter Gordon.
• My interest in gear is more about EASE of playing. I am looking at ways to play in a healthy, pain-free manner until well into my 80s.
• I try out gear with no illusions of a 'magic bullet'. I just enjoy seeing how things work.

Now, full disclosure time.

 I am an endorsing artist for Marca Reeds. Additionally I have working relationships with Marmaduke Music out of Japan and Key Leaves. To that end, I have received free gear from those companies. I talk up their products on social media quite a bit. I do so, however, because I'm a fan of their products. I use Marmaduke's straps and harnesses exclusively now. I do so because I have neck problems and their products allow me to play pain free. I endorse Marca Reeds because they are the best most consistent reeds I've played. I use Key Leaves on my horns because they help keep keys from sticking and with that will extend the life of some of my pads. I am a fan of all three companies because they are good companies owned by some of the genuinely good folks in the industry. 

So, let's talk about some ground rules for gear.

• Being a 'gear head' is fine as long as you understand that EFFORT creates the sound, not the GEAR.
• Make sure your equipment is in good repair. A well set up student horn will blow the doors off a poorly set up pro horn ten times out of ten.
• Just because your hero plays a certain set up doesn't mean it will work for YOU. I picked up a $450 mouthpiece from a student of mine this spring. All I could do on it was squeak every five notes. It was simply a bad mouthpiece for my embouchure/oral cavity.
• If you spend more time worrying about gear than approach to the instrument and/or practice time, you're doing it wrong. $1000 mouthpieces don't create a great sound. Long tones do. 
• Time spent on fundamentals will help you more than the best mouthpiece, horn, etc. 
• If you pick gear, do so based on good information, advice from folks who are truly qualified, and for the right reasons. Will the product make playing easier or more comfortable? Will it help keep your instrument out of the shop? These are the truly important reasons to get a piece of gear.
• If you are a high school student, stop reading and go practice.

Because I mentioned the companies with whom I have endorsement deals/relationships, let me provide their information

Marca Reeds

Marmaduke Music

Key Leaves

Ok, you've read about gear. Now, get to work!