You mean... there's a world outside the practice room?

            When you spent upwards of four hours a day in a practice hallway, it can be pretty easy to forget there’s a world outside the walls of CFA. “Fresh air? Social life? I’m sorry, I have no clue what you’re talking about.” If you sympathize with this post already, it’s for you. I imagine this feeling is even more overwhelming at a conservatory, but as a student at Carnegie Mellon, I have other subjects available to me. Even at universities, you’ll meet students who want nothing to do with classes outside of the music school. There are people who can’t wait to get their general studies courses out of the way, and make a point to take classes with the lightest work load and simplest, most limited curriculum. In my opinion, this approach is a complete waste of resources. Why pay to come to a university with such a fabulous reputation and not take advantage of the other classes being offered? It is important to study other subjects, partially to stay sane, but mostly for the sake of being a well-educated member of society.

            When you find one thing you’re really good at and passionate about, it’s very tempting to study it at the exclusion of everything else. However, it can be detrimental and limiting to focus your studies this strictly. As a music major, you go to class with the same people from 8:30 in the morning until 2:20 in the afternoon, and then rehearse with them from 3:30 until 6:00, or sometimes later. I once had a dress rehearsal that began at 11:00pm, and on another night, a recording session that started at 10:00pm and didn’t end until 1:00 in the morning. Your hours are odd because you have no choice but to record, or have a dress rehearsal at whatever time the hall is available. You see these people all day long, and study nothing but music- literally, all music, all the time. It’s amazing for a while, but eventually, I burned out.

By the end of my high school career, I was admittedly excited for this lifestyle, and had every intention of pursuing the conservatory experience. However, this experience is different in practice (no pun intended) than in theory. Because high school often means being bogged down with subjects we don’t enjoy, and going to class with people who don’t understand why we practice so much, many new music students are excited to study that interest at the exclusion of all others. I was in the same boat. However, very soon, I started to realize that music, which used to be my hobby and escape, was becoming my career. You can’t really look forward to an evening practice session after a tough day of rehearsals. I now know that I need to get out of CFA for a little while each day to be happy with my career, and not burn out.

However, it’s funny how long music students can go without becoming conscious of the fact that they don’t have a legitimate hobby. You’ll have things you do in your free time, such as number puzzles, blogging, hanging out with friends (and no, listening to music does not count), but nothing that could be considered a hobby. If a music student had (by some unfathomable miracle) a few available hours in the afternoon, chances are they would feel guilty if they didn’t use that time for practicing. It’s a fortunate cycle, because this is how we get our practice hours in, however, it's also how we gradually lose interest in other things.

            Taking classes outside of the School of Music is an effective way of ensuring that we keep our hobbies from high school, or take up new ones. In my opinion, it’s important to go a little outside of your comfort zone. Those who stay open-minded to interesting opportunities are more likely to be well-rounded people. For example, who in CFA (who isn’t already doing BSA) would consider taking a biology class, or calculus? Ordinarily, very few, as CFA students aren’t required to have credits in math or science. But why not take a science class? There’s bound to be a great introductory course at CMU, so why not go a little outside of your comfort zone?

            But obviously, you don’t have to take a class in a subject to consider it a hobby. Sometimes it’s a matter of thinking of something that has always interested you, and just doing it. A music friend of mine at CMU once asked me what I did for fun, and when I didn’t have a legitimate answer for him besides, “Umm… practicing? And number puzzles?” I realized it was time for a change. Simply talking to people of different majors can inspire you to study other subjects, as well challenge you intellectually. So whether it’s taking up tennis, joining a club, or registering for biochemistry, get out of the practice room! Challenge yourself to think in a different way, and you’ll learn something that could help you in music. You might just be glad you did. 

Computers in the practice room

It used to be that the only pieces of electronic equipment you needed in your studio were a metronome and a tuner. Many people still feel this way today. However, 21^st century innovations in interactive software and recording technology are proving to be remarkably beneficial in the practice room. From microphones to user-friendly accompaniment software, it’s all here. Welcome to the new and improved personal studio!

            The first item one should have handy in the practice room is a simple recording device. Laptops with a microphone and the appropriate software should perform this function. Personally, I use a device from Sony with an external microphone. The external microphone feature makes it easier to adjust for balance if you are recording with piano. The device you choose to purchase depends on its intended purpose, but given the choice, it might be worth it to spring for a slightly more expensive recorder. At the very least, it should not distort sound in the extreme registers or at extreme dynamics, as this would render it useless, more or less. For $300 or less, you should be able to purchase a simple, user-friendly and portable device that can be used to record for most festivals, in addition to daily use in the practice room. It is of course a good idea to hire a professional sound engineer with more advanced equipment for the really important recordings, such as college prescreening.

            I recently attended a master class given by Jim Walker, in which he advised students to record about ten minutes of their daily practice session. Since then, I’ve recorded myself more often. It is important to hear yourself play as much as possible, and not just during your practice. If you play back a recording of yourself, even if it is an informal snip-it of an etude, or just a few scales, you will begin to notice new things about your sound. It’s amazing how critical we can be of ourselves. At the end of the day, you are your best teacher.

            These recorders are perhaps most useful in private lessons. However, IT IS ESSENTIAL THAT YOU ASK PERMISSION FROM YOUR TEACHER BEFORE RECORDING THE LESSON. In my experience, most teachers will be okay with this, but many are not. Please be wary about this and tactful about asking. Recording lessons is helpful mostly because it allows you to take more extensive notes afterward, and concentrate more on your playing during the lesson. Also, when your teacher draws your attention to a flaw in your playing, you are more likely to hear it on the playback. Somehow everything becomes more objective. Either you were rushing or you weren’t. There is no room for uncertainty or argument.

            There is very little that you can’t accomplish on your own in a practice room, with the possible exception of rehearsing with a collaborative pianist. However, a new interactive software called Smartmusic, by MakeMusic®, now makes it possible to practice with a recorded piano part to simulate rehearsal with an accompanist. I have found the library of accompaniment recordings to be quite extensive, and the features to be equally helpful and conducive to individual practice. After picking the piece you want to practice, a window comes up with the selected recording. You have the option of selecting your desired tempo, starting place, ending place, and whether or not you want to hear the metronome or solo line. There is another feature called looping, where the program keeps playing the same designated section until you hit stop. The program records all your takes, and allows you to adjust balance and save takes afterward. Basically, it allows you to better prepare yourself for rehearsal and performance with a pianist. With all this new technology, the musicians who use every available resource in their practicing are more likely to improve as players. As technology becomes more essential to music in the 21^st century, it’s important to keep up with the new advancements. 

            However, beware the disadvantage of playing with a recorded part. While the software is programmed to wait for certain pitches after cadenzas, fermatas, and at the very beginning of each piece, the recording itself will not follow you as a human collaborative pianist would if you make a slight rhythmic error. However, because the recording won’t adjust to your mistakes, it is much easier to hear when you’ve made a mistake, or when you are rushing. Thus rehearsing with your actual accompanist will go much smoother, which is the entire point after all.

            Another significant software is Protools, which is used for cutting and pasting takes, and generally editing recordings. Unfortunately it is extremely expensive, being a tool for professional sound technicians; however, if you are working from a school tech lab and have it available to you, it is worth becoming familiar with. (Just be aware that many competitions prohibit editing takes.) In fact, although not all colleges require music majors to take a music technology course, it is important to familiarize oneself with the technology you might eventually need to edit a recording of your own. Software such as Finale or Sibelius will also prove to be useful. Almost all musicians will need to write an arrangement at some point in their lives. With a program like Finale, it is possible to offer this service.

            Besides portable recording devices and editing software, the Internet can also be a useful tool. Getting one’s name “out there” was once accomplished by making contacts alone, and hoping that this could make freelancing easier. However, this self-promotion is now possible through Youtube, Twitter, Facebook, iTunes, and many other sites. It is now very common and easy to set up your own website, Facebook page, and Youtube account to promote yourself. This way, it becomes easy to refer people to a professionally done recording on Youtube, or your website, when they express interest in hearing you play. All the more reason to embrace the technological advancements of the 21^st century.

            So the moral of the story is, have a computer in your studio, and know how to use it to its fullest advantage. You don’t have to be a tech wizard to promote yourself online, or use interactive software to practice playing with accompaniment. Evolution happens in technology, so keep up or risk extinction.

Why play music?

            As a flutist, there are certain questions I answer on a weekly basis. It is mainly non-musicians who pose these questions, be it to kill a few minutes or simply for the sake of friendly conversation. “Oh, you play the flute? That’s the sweetest thing; my daughter plays too!” Or how about this one: “Do you practice every day?” Or better yet, “Have you ever played in an orchestra?” Alright, one more, and this one really takes the cake: “Have you heard of James Galway?” I find myself answering the same questions every time I tell people I am a music student. For this reason, it is refreshing whenever I encounter a question that catches me off-guard. I was speaking to a non-major friend about music when he asked me, “Why do you play music?” It really is a simple question, but it’s not exactly light conversation. Looking back, I don’t think I ever gave him a straight answer.

Everyone has a different reason for doing what he or she does, and the same is true for music. My first year at college was in many ways overwhelming, and I often found myself wondering if this was really what I wanted to do. While I’m still open to the possibility that I may want to do something completely different in a year’s time, music remains my most worthwhile career path.

Art is a result of human nature, and more specifically, a need to communicate. Music is unique in this regard because it is sound, and thus more closely related to language. In fact, it was Charles Darwin who first proposed that speech evolved from music, and not the other way around. Although one can debate this philosophy, it has been proven that music evolved with the idea of society, and the interaction of human beings in general. Just a few years ago, fragments of 35,000-year-old bone flutes were found, making them the oldest instruments ever discovered. Because people concerned themselves with music making in ancient times, we can infer that it was in some way essential (or at least extremely beneficial) to societal structure. This is still true today. Music remains a reason for social gatherings, and a demonstrative way of expressing sentiment. This is all the more reason to want to be a part of it.

Music also stands alone as an art form that delivers a message to an audience without the need for a visual display. Visual art also delivers a message to its viewers, however, once complete, a painting will always be the same combination of lines, colors and shapes. Others may interpret it differently, but no matter how many times they study it, it will only ever be presented one way. The unique characteristic of performance is that there is an infinite number of ways to perform any piece of music. This means the chances of hearing two identical live performances of the same piece twice are next to nothing, which keeps things interesting. You’ll never be done learning about music that was written hundreds of years ago. 

            That being said, notation is realistically just about the only guaranteed consistency. A composer specifies how they want a piece to sound through notation in the score, and as performers, we do our best to honor that. But in performance practice, what happens, happens, and variation in sound and interpretation from player to player is inevitable. However, a piece of music is always a composer’s attempt to portray an idea, emotion, or even sometimes an object.

A composer friend of mine one said that people write and perform music to tell others something important. Mahler’s Second Symphony, while written in the late 19^th century, still says a lot about Mahler’s thoughts regarding the beauty of the afterlife and the idea of resurrection. In this work, also known as the Resurrection symphony, Mahler kills off his hero in the first movement, which was originally intended to stand alone. Later, he added the subsequent four movements, three of which depict Mahler’s vision of the afterlife. In the fifth and final movement, the hero is resurrected. This story could, and has been told in countless program notes, but to hear the story come to life is an indescribable experience. This reminds me of a statement in one of my professor's Repertoire and Listening prologues that made an impression on me. “It’s when words fail that we resort to metaphor. Music serves a metaphorical function.” Music is a unique way of saying something without actually saying it. As a musician, my ultimate goal is to get inside a composer’s head and accurately portray his or her ideas to an audience.

So at the end of the day, that’s why I play music. It’s easy to get so wrapped up in the world of musical jargon and the technical analysis of performances that we forget why it so important. If you let it, music can transcend any other experience you’ll have in this lifetime. There will be certain pieces and performances that, when you hear them, will make you forget where you are and whom you’re with. Everything seems to drift away; the experience becomes otherworldly and completely transcendental. I’ve wanted to be a musician since I was twelve, but I never understood why until I opened myself up a bit more to what I was hearing and playing. It’s an experience entirely its own. Whether you play music or simply appreciate it, I hope you have this experience at least once in your lifetime. I am a different person because of it, and for me, there is no other career more worthwhile.