Sing Play Survive

sound ideas to help make it through music school

Archive for category Frustrations

Correction(ish): U of Michigan NOT the first iPhone orchestra?

Dec 5

Posted by Bryan W in Frustrations, Music Schools, News, Wow! | 5 Comments

zee_pr_thumbOh Twitter. I woke up this morning to a message from a German performance group called ZEE (Zaboura Eichstaedt Experience) who informed me that they performed with iPhones BEFORE the U of M concert. I felt kind of bad for my mistake, until I saw that they were an “orchestra” of 12. Now, I just have questions:

  1. Is an ensemble of 12 considered an orchestra? Maybe they were the first “Chamber Orchestra”, which would mean that U of M can keep their title!
  2. Why do colleges and groups like ZEE insist on using an antique word like “orchestra” to describe such innovative ideas? Is it to make the group seem more credible? I guess that makes sense to an extent, but it reminds me of music schools that have groups with names like “Rock Combo” or “Latin Ensemble”. Do you use those names help keep the riff-raff out of your institutions?

Colleges and “legitimate” musicians: quit being pretentious and come up with names that reflect the spirit of your group! We’re all creative people, so that SHOULDN’T be hard. If the music is good, it won’t matter if you call your group “The Glennhaven Conservatory Festival Portable iTelephone Konsort” or “Band of Geeks”, because people will respect you for what really matters: the quality of the performance…

…and if the music is lousy, don’t desecrate the word “orchestra”. ;-)
Learn more about ZEE at http://www.zeeing.de/home.htm. For a quick peek at a school with great ensemble names, take a look at the Berklee Ensemble Department homepage (and then send them a note asking to remove the word “ensemble” from all the names).

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Five Things You’ll Regret Not Doing in College (Part I)

Dec 3

Posted by Bryan W in Free Time, Frustrations, Health and Wellness, Practice | 1 Comment

I’m going to make a prediction: when you finish music school, you’ll start thinking of a whole list of things you wished you had done while you were there. If you need some proof, think about your last few weeks of high school. Didn’t at least part of you wish that you had tried out for a play, asked that cute boy out, spent more time with your friends, or practiced a little harder for your auditions?

Since you might not know what’s going to be on your college list until it’s too late, I’m starting this series to give you some ideas. Every week or so, you’ll find another five things you should try to do while you still can.

If you’re not in school anymore, please email me and tell me about YOUR regrets. If you ARE in school, please read on…

1. Start a band that has NOTHING to do with the “legit” music you play.

If you’re into classical, cut loose and join a rock band. If you play jazz, start a classical quartet and see how the other half lives. Just try something that you wouldn’t normally do. It doesn’t matter if you “can’t improvise”, or if you’re not a classical music expert. Do your best and adapt, because that’s how you learn and grow. Take advantage of the talented musicians around you. Start a group, laugh at how awkward it is, and learn from it!

2. Sleep in once a month.


Read the rest of this entry »

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Trouble Making School Work for You? Maybe this is why.

Nov 14

Posted by Bryan W in Frustrations, Surroundings | No Comments

This video speaks to some of the issues that college’s need to address if they’d like to stay relevant in the coming years. The issues seem especially true of music schools, so many of which are more concerned with preserving music than they are with taking it further. If you’re in school now, don’t be discouraged–just remember that music schools aren’t perfect institutions, and that there’s still a lot of great things about them. I’m NOT posting this to discredit all of the hard-working people who have dedicated there lives to making music schools what they are today.

This video was released in 2007, so you may have seen it before. If you haven’t seen it in a while, it’s worth watching again. If you’ve never seen it…

I noticed that a lot of people commenting on YouTube were confused by the video. They weren’t sure if the “blame” should be put on the students or on the system. Let’s forget about blame, and instead think creatively about how to use all of this technology in new and constructive ways. Professors, there’s more to “technology integration” than having your students email their papers to you. In the right hands, a blackboard or a piece of paper can be more engaging to students than Facebook or Twitter ever could.

Students, you are experts with this technology. Prove that it can be used creatively and constructively, and not just for socializing (although there’s nothing wrong with that).

What do you think? What are your schools doing to “keep up with the times”? How do you/they do it while still respecting our musical past? Share your thoughts in the comments.

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Poll: What’s Your Biggest Frustration about Music School?

Nov 7

Posted by Bryan W in Frustrations, Uncategorized | No Comments

screaming womanOk, it might seem a little silly to take a poll, since I have had exactly three (yes three) visitors to this blog so far (thank you, whoever you are!).

I’m going to do it anyway, just in case one of them has thousands of friends, and so that I can start focusing my energy toward the questions that need answers the most.

So the question is… what is your biggest challenge when it comes to being a music student? If you could eliminate one source of frustration today, what would it be?

If you DO happen upon this poll, use the “share this” link to pass it on to friends. Better yet, invite them to the blog.


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