Berklee Credo

“Flexibility, improvisation, practicality, and the ability to recognize and respond to changing environments”

This is a good time to revisit these thoughts from my old alma mater. We all understand the disruption of the pandemic. Now what lies ahead for musicians? Public performances are out until an effective vaccine appears. And, is widely adopted by the population. In this “age of the crazy” that may be wishful thinking.

For established performers it may be time to consider alternative career paths. This is the path I took 20 years ago in response to the SARS pandemic. As the songs says, “you gotta know when to hold them, know when to fold them”.

For younger musicians though it is a whole new opportunity to reinvent the arts. The established crowd is hoping for a miracle, the younger crowd got one. The status quo is not likely to return. And, anyhow the young will not wait. They are filling the void with viable alternatives. The leviathan of public arts support will need to be reimagined and reallocated post Covid-19

I hope I live long enough to be a witness; it is going to be good.

​David   
 
 

Louis Armstrong is reported to have remarked, "musicians don't retire, people just stop calling". Then we move into community groups of various sorts. Rarely do we hang up the horn completely. 

Over the last decade, as a both pianist and drummer, I have played in:

1. community concert bands
2. community big bands
3. community trad bands
4. avant-garde improvisation groups large and small
5. pub pop trios
6. weekend warrior recording sessions 
7. basement bands of all sorts
8. community jazz jams in pubs around the world, including a few famous jazz haunts
9. oodles of online recordings
10. an occasional "arts" concert
11. classical duos
12. jammed trad Scottish music in Scotland
13. community blues band
14. solo in my basement
15. jazz duos

In these settings I have met countless career musicians. Long after the roar of the crowd has dimmed, we are still at it: playing, jamming, practicing, and swapping tall tales.

We the musicians. 

Cheers, 

David

 Three months of reflection during isolation has yielded valuable insights. 

1. I understand what I value as a musician.
2. I understand whose company I treasure and whose I do not.
3. I understand my value in the musical marketplace.
   

I am sure you have gone through a similar experience.

So, I am still practicing. I also have sought out younger musicians to learn from as well. I am working out safe jamming practices/spaces for piano and guitar trios to meet.

The cinematic noise trio Fade/Dissolve will continue to produce work and post it online. Our newest work drops soon.

I will be taking a live online class in adult education next month. I am reading, creating, dreaming, and scheming.

It is going to be ok, but it is going to be different.

What's the coolest thing that could happen to your musical life in the next five years? I've answered this question, have you?

Stay well.

David

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
​