Before I tell you about 2015, I would first like to say that 2014 was a good -- yet very difficult -- year for me. While I was very active in playing, teaching, and making more professional connections, it was a very hard year for my family. 

While I generally welcome problem-solving, 2014 had enough problems to make me very tired, very fast. I would like to take the wisdom and strength I gained into 2015, where I feel I have a renewed spirit and generally positive outlook.

I recently set some goals that will not only make me a better horn player & teacher, but a healthier all-around person:

Summer Music Olympics has been ongoing for almost a month at J.S. Cable Music Studio. The kids are having a blast, and here's a look at forming the course and activities for Week 1 of 4.

Here's what I've learned about forming the course:

• The course is one hour each week for four weeks, and if there are energetic attendees, that is plenty of time!
  
• Depending on the length of the games, we were able to complete 3 to 5 activities in one hour. Always plan more than you think you will need!
• Since I am not a trained music educator, it took me a LOT of time to brainstorm activities. Luckily, there are also a lot of seasoned educators out there with great resources, such as Susan Paradis's Piano Teaching Resources.
• Attendance was low (I had two great attendees), and their mother said holding it later in the day might get more attendance due to competing day camps. I held it from 2:30 to 3:30 PM, so maybe next time I'll try 6:00 PM. We advertised at several neighborhood locations, but next time I plan to do much more!
• The first time you host the class, it will take HOURS of work. I underestimated the amount of preparation it would take, and as a result undercharged for registration. However, once you get the initial work done, you will be able to reuse most of the games for the future. 
• Always test your games out with friends before the day of the class. Doing this helped me time games and find mistakes that would have hindered game play in class.
• Make sure some games are competitive, and some are not. I tried to have a good mix so that they were not keeping track of their medals the entire time.

Week 1 of 4 Activities:

• Opening Ceremonies - Torch Rhythm Relay: History of the torch ceremony, then students pass torch to one another and choose a rhythm they'd like to clap from the markerboard; this one is good because it is noncompetitive, like the actual running of the torch.
  
• Opening Ceremonies - US National Anthem: Sing/Learn the first stanza of "The Star-Spangled Banner" in preparation for National Anthem Trivia during Week 3.
• Pinwheel Spinning Competition: Students get timed blowing a pinwheel as long as they can - this is to get them to see what it might be like to be a wind musician. This is also an exercise I use in my horn studio, but the Olympics kids loved it!
• Sound Memory Game: Played like the standard memory game, but students are looking for matching sounds in plastic Easter eggs. It was very difficult to make distinct sounds, even to the most discerning ear. The combinations I settled on were (1) plastic straws & salt, (2) toothpicks & spaghetti, (3) rubber cap eraser, (4) silence, to illustrate that silence is just as important as sound, (5) metal binder clip, (6) popcorn kernels & bottlecaps. I tried dozens of sounds for about two hours, so these were carefully thought out!

• Musical Bug Shuffle (Board Game): This is one of the resources I got from Susan Paradis; she named it the "Ladybug Board Game." This bug-themed game is kind of like Candyland, but children draw cards that are notes on treble or bass clefs, and piano keyboards. This has helped the students reinforce the clefs they were weakest at. There are also trick cards, and I made up some extra cards that say things like "Your reed broke - lose a turn!" and "Good job practicing - move forward three spaces!". I made game pieces by drawing bugs on cardstock and using binder clips to stand them up. This game moves quickly, but you can put a few boards together to make it last longer if you need more material. See PDFs of the game here.
• Music Notation Bingo: Used the letters         M-U-S-I-C instead of B-I-N-G-O. There are tons of versions of this game, but I settled for one that used musical symbols I wanted the kids to know like rit. and <. 

This concluded week 1 of 4. The first week was lighter on physical activity, but that was more than made up for in later weeks. Stay tuned for more!

Do you ever get distracted during your practice sessions? Do you find it hard to focus on the task at hand? I work at night, and that means most of my practicing has to take place during the day. My brain is constantly processing random to-dos. I find that I can start a long tone, and halfway through the tone, my mind wanders to my grocery list. This frustration led me to incorporate a simple kitchen timer into my practice sessions.

For example, if I am buzzing on the mouthpiece, I will set the timer for as little as five minutes at a time. While the timer is ticking, my priority has to be the task at hand. If I find that I am getting distracted, I simply acknowledge the distraction, file it away for later, and remind myself that I am currently in the process of doing something else. 

Sharp focus is like a muscle - it takes some exercise to build up. After working with this method for awhile, you may find that you can bump up the length of the timer. While this timer trick works for any task, I have found it invaluable for making the most out of my practice sessions. 

What tricks do you use to help yourself focus?

We're all sick of the nine-letter "S" word dominating the media about federal budget cuts, so I'll spare writing that word here, but I do believe it is important to cultivate awareness in students about the state of the US and global economies since they will have to support themselves and possibly others.

When I majored in music, I did not think about money or the likeliness of getting a job in music. I never thought about ANY of that until graduate school when my teacher described the life of a freelancer. While a seemingly glamorous life, one should not think that it is easy work, or that it is an easy market to tap into. Many of the freelancers in large cities have been working in their area for several years, if not decades. Those that love it and stick with it have no doubt paid their dues and worked very hard to forge their own path, a path that I hope to walk in my own music career.

Music as a profession will almost never have as much demand or compensation as fields like surgery, architecture, etc. People need skilled surgeons to survive and buildings need to be designed in a way that they will stand strong. There are times when the arts are needed, but if you look at Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, they are not a basic need, but at the top in the realm of self-actualization. 

At this time, I make the majority of my living working a non-music job. I work in music outside of this job, but I hope that someday I might be able to sustain my family solely with music. However, whatever may happen, I will always perform music as it makes up a part of who I am.

I was raised in a large family as the oldest of five children. My parents did a good job of raising us to believe that nobody just hands you things in life--this includes work! For the next several weeks, I will be focusing on how I can forge my own path in music, as well as join the paths of others.

Why then, should one strive to be a professional musician? This generates some good questions:

• Why do you like music?
  
• Would you like to work as a musician? (job v. hobby)
  
• Would you still make music if no one paid you or gave you public recognition?
• What are your life goals?
• What are your career goals?
• How do you define personal success?

Have you asked yourself these same questions?