Staying in the game: The best practices, attitudes, metacognitive strategies, and intrinsic motivations of aging musicians
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Tears will flow soon...

1/23/2021

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"Someday soon bands, choirs, and orchestras will gather together again. the conductor will signal for the first note to sound, and musicians will remember it's hard to read music with tears in their eyes." Anonymous internet meme
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Kiss "I was made for lovin' you", 45 years ago in Varsity Stadium and today online

1/18/2021

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Forty five years ago Linda, my girlfriend, and I travelled from North Bay to Toronto to take in the spectacle. This past week I was teaching a 5 year old how to play along on the drums. 
​Life is exciting. 

David
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Who are your favorite musicians and why?

1/16/2021

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Lessons from a Master teacher
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Benny Greb has some true insights into learning. Try this out. 
​
1. Quickly name your favorite musicians of your instrument.
2. Now note what you admire about each of them.
3. Now consider your top 3 choices.
4. Now rate yourself 1 to 10 on your skill with the qualities you admire in their playing. Do not give yourself a 5.
5. Now when you practice, practice those to improve those qualities.
6. Buy his book.
​
​David Story

Effective Practicing For Musicians By Benny Greb Book Review
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A musician's career goes through a number of periods

1/14/2021

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A musician's career goes through a number of periods
1. Student: learning the craft and skills needed to make your mark
2. Neophyte: finding a place to get started
3. Journeyman: paying the bills, dodging distraction
4. Leader: making our mark
5. Teacher: helping the next generation
6. Done
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  1. Who is David Story?
  2. We want David Story.
  3. We want someone like David Story, but younger.
  4. Who is David Story?
It is important to know where you are in this timeline/curve. Some distinctions I've noticed. At the introductory stage you are selling hard getting your name out there and demonstrating your competence. In the growth stage, clients are calling, price goes up. Maturity stage, they start looking for someone like you, but younger and cheaper. Warning, warning! Stage 4, it's over. Time to move on. 

​David
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Seven Tips For Maintaining enthusiasm after 45 years of playing

1/3/2021

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​1.     Find new folks to play with. I did it a decade ago, it's taken me around the world. Got me out of more than one rut. The picture above is one example: Preservation Hall New Orleans, yep that happy guy is me. 
2.     Change instruments. I teach piano, I live for the drums. An instrument I took up over a decade ago.  It changed everything. Made all the old jazz and rock repertoire I'd be playing for years new again. 
3.     Musicians don't retire, they just change bands. Good advice from a forgotten source. Just be gracious as you step aside into less demanding formats. The pressure is off, have fun.
4.     Teach the younger generation. Be open to learn from them. Help them, but realize they are entering a different world than the one you are leaving. 
5.     During these times, the world's best are mostly sitting at home. Call them, book a class or two. They'll be happy to hear from you, you'll be happy to have met them. 
6.     Learn a new musical skill from a reputable source. Good deep. Check out Berklee online: Individual Courses | Berklee College of Music
7.     Play music with your spouse. Suck it up, have fun. Especially if they are not professional. The feeling is great. I know firsthand. 

​Have a great year, 

David
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Advising the young on preparing for music school: Part 3

12/30/2020

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Artist or Musician?
At the risk of an oversimplification: Artists create and lead, musicians execute and follow. 

Art is about  nourishing a unique vision, developing a creative imagination, the courage to persevere in the face of apathy, and craft. All the while keeping the Zeitgeist front and centre. And hustle, lots and lots of hustle.

Being a musician is about skill, teamwork, employability, gear, more skill, and the willingness to serve. 

The training does share some similarities, but the outlook is completely different. Artists are often mavericks, employable musicians are always team players. 

David​
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Adventure before dementia

12/27/2020

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Goodbye 2020!

Let's play a game. Make a list of 10 musical adventures that would inspire you to get busy, get moving, and stay at it. Then pick one from the list and get going.

My 86 year old father just signed up for cello lessons, the first since high school. They are going well. He can barely speak of anything else. He called up the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and asked for a recommendation. He got one.  

My wife, who will be retired when this is published, just completed her first violin exam at the Royal Conservatory of Music. It was a big success. She could barely wait to start the next level. See this link for a full description. My first violin exam - David Story Online Toronto Piano Teacher .

In the reality series "Travels With My Father, "daddy" is 80 and he's game. 

So, if you are healthy enough to move, get moving I say. 

I'm off to practice, 

​David

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Meaning a life: refusing to be victimized by experience

12/24/2020

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Meaning a Life. Shortly after the book appeared, the poet Michael Heller praised its sensibility in the New York Times Book Review: it “has that rarest of qualities in an autobiography, a story of lives refusing to be victimized by experience."

Easy for me to promote. I've a job, my health, my ability to still play, my social circles of musical colleagues, my hopes and dreams. 

Regardless of those "privileges", we are ageing musicians. The circle of opportunity is closing. It's difficult to renew our fan base when our cohort is slowing dwindling and to potential younger fans we look like their dads or worse, granddads.

Screw it. 

We Boomers are going out swingin', rockin', poppin' scrappin', and tootin'. No stopping us. 

What have we overcome to keep playing?
  1. cancer
  2. divorce
  3. Covid-19
  4. deafness
  5. blindness
  6. forced early retirement
  7. alcoholism 
  8. retirement
  9. mobility issues
  10. dental mayhem
  11. poverty
  12. drug addiction
  13. extreme wealth
  14. dis-interested families
  15. arthritis
  16. concussions
  17. multiple surgeries

(I've compiled this list from the experiences of my students, jamming colleagues, and jazz camp buddies.)

  • Yet we play on.
  • Our intensity has not dimmed. 
  • I'm humbled
  • I'm impressed

I'm going to go and practice. 
​

David

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The future of Jazz Camps

12/20/2020

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Let's play guess that tune.
"I dwell in possibility" Emily Dickinson
Good question. Over the last decade I've been to jazz camps, jazz workshops, and jazz conventions in Canada, USA, Italy, and Poland, All of them were unforgettable experiences. 

​Looking ahead...

The thought of being in a small enclosed space with a bunch of senior citizens and college age kids is a non-starter for me. Hanging out on Bourbon street on a Saturday night taking in the all sights seems like a  distant hope. Jamming in the French Quarter or a New York basement just sounds dangerous.

​Even when a vaccine arrives this thing is not going to be over if lots of folks refuse to take it. Herd immunity will take longer if a significant portion of the population refuse it. ​

If we want to return to our former life as musicians we must support and follow all the health directives. And, encourage others as well. 

In the meantime stay safe, be smart, work out, network daily, encourage your  discouraged friends, hug your spouse, and practice like mad. 

David
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Advising the young on preparing for music school: Part 2

12/17/2020

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Repertoire, repertoire, repertoire. 

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  • They that know the most tunes wins. 
  • Learn these tunes from recordings.
  • Write your own tunes, create an original book, explore your uniqueness, nurture it, celebrate it, honor it. This is really all you have to sell. The world doesn't need more musicians, it needs artists. Artists who capture and interpret the times we live in. 
  • Your repertoire needs to be broad. In the old days, a musician's spoke of "bags" which broadly translated refers to how many styles the musician was competent in. Check this out: Music Genre List - A complete list of music styles, types and genres (musicgenreslist.com)
  • Start developing musical alliances in a few of these different styles and start learning and  jamming together. 
  • Jazz started before 1940, learn the major tunes and artists from each decade. At a Glance: Jazz History By Decade (liveabout.com)
  • Jazz survives because it absorbs the sounds of it's time. Learn to play pop music in different styles to integrate it into your personal sound. 
  • Show up on day one of school a professional in need of polishing, mentoring, and guidance. Your teachers should be able to confidently recommend you to employers from day one. 
Next up: "Artist or Musician? Which one are you?"
​
 David

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    Author

    David Story: Professional pianist, drummer, composer, and educator. Well into his 5th enthusiastic musical decade, David works with adults pursuing musical dreams in the autumn of life, while he maintains an active presence in the Toronto arts scene.

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