Performing live is over for the foreseeable future. Going to any kind a show prior to either the virus dies out or a vaccine miraculously appears is done like dinner.

Time to reimagine the future.

What's not happening?

• large ensembles
• jazz camps
• Tranzac club performances
• Array studio performances
• conventions and in-person workshops
• student recitals

What can happen?

• social media video posts
• online communities
• piano and guitar trios performing in safe spaces
• duos at my house
• online recording projects
• collaborative online projects
• learning new musical skills to share with my students
• practicing my instruments: Piano, Drums, Synthesizers, and DAW
• composing for my students
• personal online learning
• collaborative projects with other music teaching professionals

David

We've all heard the stories of one choir member infecting nearly all of her choir mates! I can't imagine any return to normality until there is a vaccine. 









What's out:

1. community bands of all types
2. jazz clubs
3. festivals
4. in person music lessons
5. jamming

What's in:

1. practicing
2. studying
3. online recording/jams
4. taking care of our musical deficiencies

Stay healthy, 

David

Covid-19 WTF! You may have caused a more rapid and catastrophic seismic shift than what talkies did to silent movie ear stars in the 1920’s. Or, synthesizers did to studio musicians in the 1980’s. Or, Napster did to the recording business in the early 2000’s. Those events took a few years to upturn everything. Covid-19 about 2 weeks.

Truly a black swan event.

Now what?

Good question. Time will tell. In the meantime, time to step up and take care of business.

1. Take care of your tribe, act responsibly.
2. Take care of yourself.
3. Be gentle with yourself and temper your expectations on how you will spend your time waiting for a resolution to a global problem.
4. Be a good citizen. Not an irresponsible jerk or worse.
5. If you are riding a dead horse, best to get off. Mourne and move on as soon as you can. It is time to reimagine your future.

David
 

Perhaps too many of us are. And, maybe we don't give a shit either. But if you feed yourself from music in some way, it might be time to get up to date. 

I teach piano. Classical and Jazz piano play lists are stuck and rarely move. Bought a new book of modern piano music. Turns out many of my adult music students are hip to the artists therein. 

With Dad and Granddad bands, playlists can be just as stuck. So, I've engaged a drum teacher half my age and asked him to show me his world. Staying as fresh and open as I can.

​David

Darn Tootin' it does. This won't last forever. Reach out everyway you can to stay in the loop. Project positivity, keep moving, keep practicing. Be ready.


David

Take care of yourself.

1. Sleep 8 hours a night.
2. Eat well, no junk food.
   
3. Stay sober.
   
4. Go for long walks.
   
5. Stay connected online to your friends. Reach out.
   
6. Curate carefully mental inputs: Newspapers, radio, TV etc.
   
7. Practice and start to resolve those pesky issues in your playing.
   
8. Take some online lessons
   
9. Exercise carefully
   
10. Netflix
    

​David

Your high school track days are over. Remember that as you consider how to maintain fitness after 60. Recovery is neither quick nor easy. So, rule number 1 is don't get injured. Rule number 2 is seek some professional input before starting to exercise again if you have been inactive. First stop is your doctor. No point dropping dead in the first week. 

Here is the recommendation for  a seven-day cycle: 6 days of activity, one day of rest from Dr. Stuart McGill is professor emeritus in Spine Biomechanics at the University of Waterloo. He's our age, these are his recommendation.  Check out his article on the CBC website. https://www.cbc.ca/life/wellness/how-to-change-your-fitness-routine-to-stay-strong-and-mobile-as-you-age-1.5471940

​

Cycle 1: 

Day one: strength training
Day two: something else, like biking, walking, something to "get the old ticker going"
Day three: mobility training
Day four: something else
Day five: Strength training
Day six: rest
Day seven: mobility training

Cycle 2

Day one: Something else
Day two: strength training
Day three: something else
Day four: mobility training
Day five: rest
Day six: Strength training
Day seven: Something else

and so on

I’m going to try this new routine over the next six weeks and see what happens. 

David
​

Reach out and stay connected. I've sent and received a number of messages from friends and music making colleagues this week. 

Jim and I had a coffee date on Zoom to talk jazz. A little awkward to start but good none the less. 

Pete and I agreed that after this passes we will reconnect and play some music after so many years apart. 

Tim and Rory and I are in contact. We all miss the monthly jazz trio sessions. 

William, Gordon, and I continue to make our "Cinematic Noise" videos via file transfer. 

It all helps. 

David

Fifth week, wow. An unknown number of weeks to go. Let's stay busy with positive activities. 

1. Rest
2. Exercise
3. Practice
4. Eat well
5. Keep up our network by virtual networks
6. Plan for the future
7. Reconnect with your spouse
   
8. Enjoy Netflix
   

This will end.

​David

I had been doing the following things on a regular basis.

1. Worked with Piano coaches with whom I met monthly for both classical and jazz piano pedagogy studies.
2. Worked with a Drum coach I saw weekly.
3. Consumed music podcasts about coaching, customer service, marketing, and music pedagogy.
4. Participated in numerous online groups involved in professional music and pedagogy.
5. Practiced piano and drums daily. I usually rested on Sunday.
6. From time to time I played in a professional setting.
7. I attended live music events most weeks.

I did the following things on a yearly basis:

1. Attended summer music workshops around the world: USA, Canada, Italy, and Poland
2. Took music and cultural holidays around the world. Last trip over New Years was to New York City.

How did I practice in my studio?

1. I had an overall goal in both the piano and drums. These were lifetime goals.
2. I had yearly goals which were posted in the studios.
3. My studio space was well organized, it was easy to get started.
4. I followed the direction of my coaches/mentors/teachers.
5. I worked on the following areas:
   1. Technique
   2. Etudes
   3. Sight reading
   4. Repertoire
   5. Ear training and Transcriptions
   6. Score study
   7. Metronome work
   8. Theory
   9. Student work
6. I journaled my progress in various ways.

 
Now what? No jamming for the next few months or even longer. No face to face, mano a mano interactions of any sort.
 
A few assumptions before proceeding.

1. This will pass.
2. I want to be here when it does.
3. Music making will resume in some form or another, though there will be some changes in how our cohort goes about it. Some bands may never start up again.

The plan is simple

1. Stay healthy, follow the suggestions of legitimate authority. Eat, sleep, and exercise like a champion. Be here and be available when all this passes.
2. Keep the business going. Financial stability has never been more important.
3. Enjoy this extra time with my spouse, an unexpected gift.
4. Practice diligently, research, and network, so I will be a stronger musician when this event passes. So, I will work on the following:
   1. Classical piano, going deep on student repertoire, get back in shape. My goal is musicians' hands not teachers' hands.
   2. Jazz piano, exploring both the bebop and post-bop idioms. Second build up my collection of standards and original work. Finally master the art of spontaneous modulations. 
   3. Create electro-acoustic work with my friends online.

​Best,

David Story