Loving It

Today, I had to stop and realize how grateful I am to be living the life I'm living. I'm not rich by any stretch of imagination, but I'm so happy that I've managed to find a way to do what I love to do.

This week, I taught guitar lessons to young and adult beginners. On the flip side, I've been practicing my butt off for my own teacher, learning a Wes Montgomery solo, learning "Out of Nowhere," working on "Maiden Voyage," and filling my head with new chord voicings. I finished a few music engraving projects, and I led a church choir rehearsal. I stopped practicing at 11 this evening, and I have a rehearsal tomorrow morning. I'm preparing solo music for a service on Sunday, and I'll be playing with a jazz quartet Friday and Saturday night, where I'll attempt to put my lesson material to practical use. Looking ahead, I'm preparing for an unusual (but fun) "campfire song leader" gig, and on Saturday, I'll be rehearsing with some church musicians, putting together music for a music service that I'll be leading a week from Sunday.

Busy? Yes! I put in some long days to make this whole freelance musician thing work, but it's what I love to do!

Upward Trend

I just realized that I've reached another milestone in my quest to reestablish a career as a working musician. (For those of you who may have stumbled upon my blog for the first time, you can click here to find out why I had to start my music career over again.)

Currently, I make a living by music engraving, working part time as a church music director, playing gigs, and teaching guitar. While I enjoy all of this, I am happiest when I'm playing guitar or singing. My ultimate goal is to be able to earn most of my living by performing and teaching.

This month, for the first time since I started playing guitar, I will have earned more money from gigs and teaching than from music engraving or my church job. Admittedly, the results are skewed, because this is December, which is typically a heavy gig month. Still, this is the first time I've made more money from playing guitar and singing than from anything else. Unless a few gigs fall into my lap, church and music engraving will once again be my main money makers starting in January.

But overall, things are looking hopeful. I see a gradual upward trend from year to year. In January of 2010, I had exactly one gig, and it was a freebie. In January of 2011, I had a handful of gigs, and most of them were freebies. In January of 2012, about half the month was booked with paid gigs. I'm currently booked every weekend in January of 2013, and nearly all of them are for compensation. In 2013, I won't be surprised if there are a couple months where my gig/teaching income surpasses my church/engraving income, and one day I may tally up my totals and discover that gigging and teaching has become my main source of income. That will be a time for celebration!

Onward and upward!

Never Bored

A few years ago, when I was living in Chicago and engraving music full time, my schedule was simple: Wake up and engrave until noon. Walk to my favorite sandwich shop (every day) and have lunch. Walk home and engrave until 5 or 6. Have dinner. Read a book, watch TV, or play a computer game. Go to bed. Wake up and do it all again. Wednesdays were a little different, because I volunteered at the Old Town School of Folk music in the afternoon, archiving old concerts by transferring them from DAT to CD. I even worked half days most weekends.

It was a predictable, boring existence, but that changed once I started playing the guitar.

At first, the only difference was that I practiced an hour or two a day. Then I started taking lessons and eventually worked up the nerve to start playing in public…in nursing homes and church, then restaurants, coffee shops, and paid gigs. I knew playing the guitar would add variety to my schedule, but I had no idea!

I started playing with the intention of becoming a fancy fingerpicker of American folk and Celtic music. Then I veered off into jazz and started dabbling in other styles with InTown Band. These days, I have to stay on top of a lot of different things at once. This week is a perfect example. I just finished playing Rent, I'm preparing Christmas music with Tea for Two, I'm performing jazz standards at solo show tomorrow, InTown Band plays a three hour show on Saturday, and I'm conducting a church choir on Sunday! So much for becoming a folk music specialist.

I'm putting a lot of things together – music engraving, teaching lessons, performing, and working as a part time church music director. I haven't talked to other musicians about this, but I suspect that most other freelancers are also putting together a lot of different projects to make it all work.

While I enjoy the variety, sometimes I long for more simplicity. I'm not sure I could handle all my current projects indefinitely. What I think is going to happen is that eventually two or three of my projects will outstrip the others. One of my bands may really start to take off, the part time church job may expand, or I may decide to make a stronger effort to recruit a lot of private students. At that point, I would have to make some hard decisions about which projects to keep or drop. Even then, I'll always have enough going on that I'll never be bored again.

Late!

Today was the final performance of Rent at Act3 Productions. It was a terrific show, and I'm looking forward to the next one. In January, I'll be playing guitar in Xanadu, and the cast will be on roller skates!

Although this last show went very well, it was marred by one cast member who was 15 minutes late. The audience patiently waited for this key cast member to arrive. This is the first time anything like this has ever happened at Act3 Productions, and I suspect the director will be taking steps to make sure it's the last time it ever happens. It would be one thing if this person had a legitimate excuse for a one time offense, but tardiness was a pattern of his throughout rehearsals. It's safe to say that this person won't be cast in any future Act3 shows. It's really too bad, because he is a talented young performer, but there are other performers out there who are equally talented – and who show up on time.

Many years ago, when I was an undergrad at the University of Illinois, I fired a musician for constantly being late to rehearsals. I was music director for a campus production of The Wiz. There were two violinists. One was okay, and one was really good. The one who was really good was late to every single rehearsal. I fired him because, as great as he sounded, it wasn't fair to the other musicians who showed up on time, and it affected group cohesion. I started to see eyes roll every time he came in late. When I announced that he was no longer part of the orchestra, the sense of relief from the entire group was overwhelming. I never thought I would receive applause for firing someone.

Anyone who has worked with me can tell you that my pet peeve is punctuality. If it's a gig, I'll be there at least an hour beforehand. If it's a rehearsal, I like to arrive at least 30 minutes early. My idea of being late is arriving 5 minutes early. Most people don't realize I'm serious when I say that there's probably an emergency if I'm not there 10 minutes before report time. I've started playing guitar too late in life to ever be the most talented guitarist in town (unless it's a really small town), but my dependability will continue to help me open doors and build trusting relationships with key players.

While I don't expect others to be as chronically early as I am, I do expect people to show up at the time we've all agreed to meet. To me, there are some important reasons to show up on time.

1. It allows space to prepare yourself mentally and physically for a rehearsal or show.
2. It shows a respect for the other members of a group. If a rehearsal starts late, I often become resentful, thinking that I could be reading, getting some extra work done, or just taking a little extra time at dinner instead of rushing off to a rehearsal that ended up starting late anyway.
3. It shows professionalism. When, in contrast to many musicians, you have a track record of showing up when you say you're going to show up, that's a big plus in developing a good relationship with a venue owner or a booking agent. Also, it may cost you money to be late if you've signed a contract that says you'll arrive at the gig site at a certain time.

I hope that today's tardy young performer learns from this experience. He won't be cast in an Act3 Productions show again, but he's young, and there will be other opportunities. If he takes this lesson to heart, he'll become as reliable as he is talented.

Weekend Full of Music

As the title of this post subtly implies, this weekend has been full of music.

Last night I played a gig at 2 Rules Fine Art on Marietta Square. This was for a gallery opening coinciding with the First Friday Marietta Square Art Walk. Because of the Art Walk, there was a steady stream of art lovers walking through the door, and there were several music lovers in the crowd. There were also some awesome cookies from a local bakery. I've been much better about watching my diet lately, but I have to admit those cookies were irresistible. I had waaaay too much sugar last night!

I was also pleased to play with Tom Olsen, a terrific jazz pianist and a super nice guy. I don't often work with Tom, but not for lack of trying. We're both busy musicians, and our schedules don't often coincide. The planets aligned this weekend, though, and we were able to play not one, but two gigs together.

This morning, Tea for Two played at the Oakhurst Arts and Music Festival, and Tom Olsen was able to join us. The art gallery gig was last night, and the festival gig was in the morning, so this almost felt like one really long gig with a sleeping break. I brought the Tea for Two book to last night's art gallery gig, so we were able to simultaneously play one gig while rehearsing for the next. We were able to pull off this morning's festival gig with a 30 minute rehearsal with the full group. No problem!

The Oakhurst festival gig was fun, but there was a poltergeist in the electrical power supply. We were first informed that they weren't able to get power to the monitors, which would have made singing difficult. When you can't hear yourself in the monitors, you think you're singing too softly. It's easy to overcompensate and start singing too forcefully. Fortunately, the monitor problem was solved minutes before we started. Tom's keyboard amp sounded horrible, like someone was adding a distortion effect. The sound man switched to a different power source. The problem went away, but returned about halfway through the set. There was nothing to be done at that point, so we soldiered on. Meanwhile, I was experiencing no problems whatsoever until my amp blew just as the emcee was introducing us…literally seconds before we were to start! There must have been a power surge. My amp emitted a loud pop and then went dead. I sang the first song with just the piano to back me up. The sound man motioned for me to keep playing, and he ran around, took my cord, and plugged me directly into the system. We were finally able to hear my guitar about halfway through the first piano solo. My amp is sitting in the shop now, and I hope it's nothing more than a blown fuse. The City of Decatur is going to reimburse the cost of the repair.

In spite of the technical problems, we enjoyed the festival gig, and we heard good comments. I was especially pleased that the emcee and the sound guy were both very complimentary in talking with us after the set. We kept our heads through the technical challenges and didn't freak out on the sound man. (Rule #1: Don't piss off the sound man.) While I would have preferred not to have to deal with those problems at all, in a way, I was glad we experienced them, because it demonstrated to me that the people I'm working with are real pros who can keep their cool in challenging situations.

I'm not playing any more gigs this weekend, but I'm still enjoying plenty of music. Tonight I attended a concert of German lieder performed by some stunningly good classical singers who were accompanied by Erin Palmer, the former accompanist at NWUUC. Tomorrow morning I'll run the sound board while Ken Sizemore leads a special music service at NWUUC called "Songs of Protest and Change," and in the afternoon I'll be heading to Anthony's Pizza to hear live bands all afternoon.

This weekend is more music-filled than most, but as I look at my weekly schedule, every day is filled with music in some form…gigs, rehearsals, practicing, jam sessions…it's all good. I'm one of the fortunate few who can honestly say that my way of making a living makes me feel alive.

Getting There

I'm beginning to feel like I'm starting to get somewhere with my music career. This is old news to those who follow my blog, but to recap: I started out as a trombone player. While I was a musician in the Air Force, I injured my lip to the point where I couldn't play anymore. After the Air Force, I started freelance music engraving, building my clientele to the point where I was doing quite well. Financially, I was raking it in, but I wasn't very happy. About 7 years ago, I started learning to play guitar, and this reignited the fire. I just knew I had to be a musician again. I soon started cutting back on music engraving so that I could spend more time practicing the guitar. While my guitar playing improved rapidly, my finances suffered greatly. Among other factors, my dedication to the guitar and curtailed income contributed to a failed marriage.

The past few years have been musically satisfying but financially lean. I've had to borrow money for groceries, and I've literally been down to my last dollar more than once. I'm fortunate to have a landlady who understands my situation. I've been two months late on rent, but at least I've always been able to catch up. Still, I understand that even her patience will only go so far.

Fortunately, things are looking up. I'm starting to get better gigs, I have enough music engraving work to keep me busy (but not too busy), and my music director position at NWUUC is just what I need – a steady job that is personally satisfying, and not so time consuming that it detracts from my performance aspirations.

I'm not getting rich from all of this (at least monetarily), but I've managed to right the ship, and I'm finally to a point where I'm not so stressed about my bills. I've had doubts about my path over the last year, but I'm glad I hung in there. I've met some difficult challenges, and I sense that things will continue getting better.

There's still plenty that I want to do. I'm content with the amount of music engraving projects I receive, so I don't need to make any more progress in that area. While the music director job at NWUUC is quarter time, I anticipate that this job will expand. I still have a long way to go before I'm getting the kind of corporate gigs I'd like to be playing, but I'm making steady progress in that direction. InTown Band will have a steady gig in the very near future, and we've got big plans for Tea for Two, including recording an album early next year. InTown Band is going to start recording soon, and I'm considering a solo CD.

While I still have plenty of work to do, I've made it through a bad patch, and I'm starting to gain some momentum. Playing and singing has been musically satisfying all along. Money isn't everything, but it's nice to finally be gaining some financial security from all the hard work.

Passing One Up

I've been diligently learning the 1st Guitar book for Rent with Act3 Productions, and I'm quite pleased with my progress. I'm able to play nearly everything up to tempo, and I'll be comfortable with the most difficult sections in another week or two. After that, it'll just be a matter of consistent review and practicing with the soundtrack to develop a sense of how my part fits with the rest of the ensemble.

Today I had to reluctantly pass up a good gig because it conflicted with Rent. It would have paid nearly twice as much with a slightly smaller time commitment. It was another musical, too. I love playing musicals. I'm happy to be the regular guitarist for Act3, but it would have been nice to "diversify" and get my foot in the door somewhere else.

There are some musicians who would have taken the more lucrative gig, but I'm not wired that way. If you constantly go to the highest bidder without regard for the people who already hired you, you may get some good gigs at first, but you'll eventually find yourself with a bad reputation as you burn your bridges. That's not to say you should never jump to another gig, but you should have a really good reason. While I won't earn as much money playing Rent, I'll be playing for an organization of terrific people who have been very good to me, and who have let me know that I'm their first call guitarist for the foreseeable future. If I had taken the new gig, I could have jeopardized my future with Act3 for what might well have been a one time gig…not a smart tradeoff.

Each situation is different, but here are some factors I take into consideration when I'm lucky enough to be contacted for a gig that conflicts with one already on the calendar.

• If the first gig is a freebie and the new gig pays, I'll take the new gig.
• Money is a consideration. I don't know what my breaking point is, but I have to be honest and admit that I can be bought. It would have to be for a LOT more money.
• Enough time to find a replacement. If I had been asked to play the new gig a month or two ago, I probably would have taken it, because it would have given Act3 plenty of time to find another guitarist. If I switched gigs now, I'd be leaving Act3 in the lurch. It would take them time to find another guitarist, and the new guitarist would have had to scramble to learn a difficult guitar book.
• Opportunity. I love playing for Act3 Productions, but if I got a call to play a show at the Fox, or if a well known touring artist wanted to hire me, that opportunity would be too good to ignore. I'd take the new gig.

I'll generally stick with the first gig, but I'll switch gigs given a certain combination of opportunity, time, and money. For the most part, though, it's going to be difficult to get me to drop one gig for another. To me, it's very important to nurture relationships with the people I play for. That means being loyal to my client, and if I do decide to switch gigs, it means helping them find a replacement. I'm not the #1 guitarist in town, but I earn big points by acting like a professional. I show up early, dressed appropriately, with my music prepared, and unless I have a really, really, really good reason to switch, I stick with the first gig and dance with who brung me.

Trombone Again?

Recently, I reestablished contact with Pete Jirousek, a good friend from my undergrad days at the University of Illinois. We exchanged emails last week, and last night I spoke with him on the phone. It was wonderful to be catch up with Pete again. Not only is Pete an all around good guy, but he's an excellent horn player based in Chicago. He teaches at VanderCook College of Music and has degrees from two top tier music schools, the University of Illinois and Northwestern University. Pete's played in several orchestras and has performed in numerous Broadway in Chicago productions. Although Pete is doing quite well for himself as a horn player, there was a time when he thought his career might be over. He didn't have all the same problems I did with trombone, but his story was pretty similar to mine.

After speaking with Pete, I suddenly have hope that I could be a trombone player again. I won't go into much detail here about the mechanics of playing a brass instrument. For now, suffice it to say that I can still buzz my lips into a trombone mouthpiece, and if I can buzz my lips, I should be able to play the trombone. The overuse injury I incurred in the Air Force has long since healed, and the problem is more mental than physical. I can buzz a trombone mouthpiece, but when I put the entire instrument up to my face, my lips lock up, and I feel like I'm fighting myself. In the Air Force, I was pressured to play on an overuse injury for nearly three years. Whenever I played a note, it felt like someone was poking the inside of my upper lip with a hot needle. Three years is a long time to experience that kind of pain, and as a consequence, I eventually developed a strong negative reaction whenever I held the instrument to my face.

The challenge will be to unlearn that negative reaction and substitute it with positive experiences. As I mentioned earlier, if I can buzz, I can play. The plan is to simply buzz a trombone mouthpiece for a few weeks to rebuild my embouchure. (An embouchure is what you form with your lips and teeth to buzz or blow into an instrument.) After I've regained some embouchure strength, I'll gradually add the trombone, but I'll still focus more on buzzing than on playing the entire instrument. The success I experience buzzing the mouthpiece should transfer to the full instrument, and I'll eventually be able to replace all those negative responses with positive ones.

Although I haven't played trombone in years, I still think like a trombone player. If I'm sight singing or trying to learn a melody by ear, I'll mentally use trombone positions to find the notes. Sometimes I'll wake up with trombone scales rattling around in my head, and I can still remember the melodies from etudes and solos that I played fifteen years ago. As Pete put it, the knowledge is all there. I'm still a trombone player…I've simply taken a really long break!

I don't want to get ahead of myself, but I can't help imagining what it would be like to be able to play the trombone again and add it to what I'm already doing as a guitarist and singer. I was a classical trombonist back in the day, but I suspect I would have fun exploring jazz trombone. I don't know exactly where I would fit in the Atlanta scene. Not to brag, but I was awfully good back when I had my chops, and if I reach that level again, I'll be able to carve out a place for myself. It would be really cool to be flexible enough to be called for gigs or studio work as a guitarist, singer, or trombonist.

First things first, though. It's time to get a trombone mouthpiece and start buzzing!

Wish Granted

When times are tough, I'm often guilty of that useless mind game "if I could travel back in time, what would I do differently?" Part of that fantasy involves investing in Microsoft. I would have stuck with piano lessons. Also, in hindsight, there are a couple girls that probably would have gone out with me, but I was just too scared to ask them out at the time. Alas, I'm still hopelessly shy in this area.

Most of my back to the future fantasies involve music…starting guitar at age 9 instead of 39 for example. Another one is my choice of college majors. I can't imagine being anything other than a musician. I would still have majored in music, but I often think that I would have enjoyed being a choral music education major so that I could go on to lead choirs. It came in a roundabout way, but it appears that, with my new job, my wish to conduct choirs has been granted.

In a recent blog article, I wrote about being hired as music director at Northwest Unitarian Universalist Congregation. So far, I'm loving the job. One of my main responsibilities is leading the choir. When I first took the job, I had a minor case of buyer's remorse stemming from nervousness about making a major change in my life. Having sung with this choir, and having served as interim music director three times, the choir members were already familiar with me. Not that I was expecting a rebellion, but I wasn't sure how the choir would react to the difference between "interim substitute" Tom and the "in charge" Tom. In our first choir rehearsal, I made myself clear about how I like to work. They've gone along with me, and so far, working with the choir has been a dream. Rehearsals have gone smoothly. The choir season is off to a good start, and I'm looking forward to making great music with them for many years to come.

Of course I won't love every single rehearsal, and I won't love every aspect of the music director position. Not everyone in the congregation will be 100% pleased with the direction I have planned. I will run into hurdles. I will have setbacks. I will make mistakes. Worst case scenario, I may have to be on a committee. Overall, though, I feel like I'm right where I'm supposed to be, and I'm pleased my secret wish to work with a choir has been granted.

How Did I Get Here?

This is crazy. How did I get here? Tomorrow I'm going to be standing in front of a choir as the latest music director at Northwest Unitarian Universalist Congregation. If things had gone as originally planned, right now I would have either been the band director at a college or a really big high school. Instead, 25 years later, I somehow I wound up a freelance guitarist, music engraver, and brand new music director. Here's the chain of events that have led up to this point.

1. I entered the University of Illinois one year early, majoring in music education, where I was consistently praised for my teaching and conducting ability by a notoriously difficult teacher. Student teaching was a dream. I was on my way.
2. After two dismal jobs as a school band director, I realized that I wasn't cut out for public school teaching, or possibly I found myself in two impossible situations. Either way, I gave up my aspirations as a band director and went back to school to study trombone with Elliot Chasanov at Kent State University.
3. While studying with Elliot at KSU, and again at the University of Illinois, my trombone playing improved immensely. I won an audition and began a performance career in the Air Force.
4. The Air Force gig started off well. I really enjoyed it. The plan was to put in my 20 years and then seek out a college teaching job. Then I developed an overuse injury that halted my trombone career. Suddenly, the Air Force wasn't quite so fun. So much for that.
5. While in the Air Force, I learned how to use Finale to prepare printed music. I loved it so much that I decided to become a freelance music engraver. I'm still a freelance music engraver. I'm very good at it, and I'm proud of the work I've done. (1,300 publications and counting!)
6. After a year of struggle, my freelance music engraving endeavor really began to take off. I had lots of work and was making very good money. I had finally found out what I was going to do with the rest of my life, until my (then) wife gave me a guitar for Christmas!
7. Learning the guitar rekindled my dreams of being a performing musician again, so I set to learning guitar with a vengeance. (Unfortunately, this had a detrimental effect on my marriage, and that's all I'm going to say about that.)
8. I started off wanting to play Celtic music and singer/songwriter music similar to David Wilcox or Susan Werner, but then I hooked up with a jazz guitar teacher, and then I got hooked on jazz guitar.
9. Over the next few years, I was in and out of a few jazz groups, and I started and stopped a few of my own. Eventually I found a balance between my own solo playing, subbing in big bands, and my jazz vocal combo, Tea for Two, which I think is going to be a big winner.
10. While working on my jazz guitar chops, over the years I also became more and more involved with the music program at Northwest Unitarian Universalist Congregation. I never really wanted to start going to church, but I went because my (then) wife wanted to go. She eventually left, but I stayed, and there I remain. I started off singing with the choir, and then I worked up the courage to begin playing guitar for services. I eventually became a substitute conductor as needed, and I served as interim music director three times. This last time, when the job opened up, it seemed like the right time to apply, and tomorrow I'll be standing in front of the choir.

I'm the type of person who likes to plan. Unfortunately, life often seems to have different plans! Maybe it's the improvisatory nature of jazz that has influenced me, but lately I've just decided to let the universe have its way. I still make my plans, but I'm no longer surprised when life takes a detour. For now, I'm equal parts music engraver, performer, and church music director. This finally feels right, like I'm where I'm supposed to be.

New Job, New Directions

A few days ago I celebrated my 45th birthday. I'm not big on parties, so this birthday was low key as usual. I received a few phone calls and about a million birthday greetings on Facebook. My Tea for Two partner treated me to lunch. Aside from that, about the only thing I did was win the music director job at Northwest Unitarian Universalist Congregation. That was a pretty nice way to celebrate my birthday.

Another finalist and I auditioned by rehearsing the choir. I've stood in front of the Northwest choir many times as a substitute conductor and an interim director, but this was different. My heart was pounding! The choir took a break after the first candidate finished. As I was waiting in the library for my turn on the podium, I overheard someone say "I really liked him." That didn't do much to sooth my nerves. When it was my turn, I did my best NOT to impress or show off. I knew the choir would soon be singing at least one of the audition pieces for a service, so rather than try to dazzle with my brilliant knowledge of whatever, I treated this as a regular rehearsal, with the intention of helping the choir prepare for their first service of the new choir season, regardless of who ultimately got the job.

A couple hours after rehearsal, the committee chairman called me to let me know that the choir enthusiastically endorsed me, and that they would recommend me to the board of trustees, who would then vote yes/no and extend me an offer.

The most visible part of the job will be directing the church choir. Aside from that, I'll oversee all the musical goings on at Northwest, playing for services, scheduling musicians to play on my Sundays off, and helping to plan services.

This is a part time job with a time commitment of 10 hours per week, leaving ample time for music engraving and guitar performance aspirations. There are sacrifices to make. I gave up my guitar chair in the Atlanta Swing Orchestra because they rehearse the same night as choir. I won't be actively recruiting students anymore, although I'll be happy to schedule lessons with anyone who approaches me. It'll be important for me to budget my time so that I only commit to 10 hours per week. This is partly for my own sanity, so I can resist the urge to overcommit, but it's also important for the music director who follows me. It wouldn't be fair for the next director to be expected to work 20 hours a week for 10 hours pay.

This is a new chapter in my musical life, and it's be a prime opportunity for personal growth. While I'm thrilled to get the job, I'm also a little nervous. I've been a freelancer for so long that I haven't had a real job in nearly 15 years! I haven't had to deal much with workplace relationships, because it's just been me sitting at home in a t-shirt for over a decade. Having to answer to more than just my clients will be an adjustment, although I think I'll manage to survive. I'll have buy more than two pairs of dress pants.

This is also a golden opportunity to grow as a musician. I'm a competent choir director, but not a great one. I've had experience and training as an instrumental conductor, but the only formal training I've had as a choir director is a choral conducting class I took as an undergrad at the University of Illinois many moons ago. I've learned quite a lot about choral conducting through observing other good directors, including former Northwest music directors Sarah Dan Jones and Kathy Kelly George, as well as Jerid Morisco, who conducts the Marietta Master Chorale. I've also had experience working with the choir the three times I was interim music director at Northwest. Now that I'm in the position of choir director, I'm about to get a whole lot more experience! I plan to seek out conducting workshops and other opportunities to grow as a choral conductor. I can speak with great authority as an instrumentalist, and I look forward to speaking with the same authority as a choral conductor in the not too distant future.

My goal with the program at Northwest is to raise the level of music in the church and sustain it. For various reasons, the program has been up and down. I would like for the music at NWUUC to be so good, so dynamic, that people return to the church simply because they enjoy music. We already have the musicians to make this happen. I'll soon be hunting down all the instrumentalists in the congregation. I already know we have a first rate percussionist and one of Atlanta's finest guitarists (it's not me). I want to know who plays piano, guitar, zither, ukulele, tuba, or whatever. If little Susie is learning how to play clarinet in her school band, I'll write a solo she can play and accompany her on guitar. I want to get as many people as possible excited and involved in the music at Northwest!

This blog is called Adventures of a Young Musician for good reason. The past few years have been an adventure as I have pursued excellence as a musician, sought out performance opportunities, and experimented with different projects. Those endeavors will continue, and with this new development, I'll soon have another series of adventures to write about.

Why Jazz?

Twenty years ago, no one would have predicted I would someday be pursuing a career playing jazz guitar, least of all me. I didn't even like jazz very much back then. I played classical trombone, and I enjoyed playing in big bands when I had the chance (as long as I didn't have to improvise), but I rarely listened to jazz.

The phrase "jazz guitar career" seems like an oxymoron. There's the standard musician's joke. What's the difference between a rock guitarist and a jazz guitarist? The rock guitarist plays three chords in front of a thousand people. The jazz guitarist plays a thousand chords in front of three people. This is an exaggeration of course, but not by much.

So why do I like jazz now, when it didn't do much for me before? What set me on this lucrative path, where I can make literally tens of dollars a night?

When I first began learning to play the guitar, I started out wanting to sing folk songs and be a fancy picker. I love folk music, especially of the modern singer/songwriter variety. David Wilcox and Susan Werner figure prominently in my iTunes playlist. I had every intention of being a folk musician with fast fingers, but my first guitar teacher, Bob Shaw, was a jazz guitarist, and a mighty fine one at that. From him I learned how to unlock the entire fretboard. I'm sure I still own a capo, but I'm not sure where it is! From Bob, I also learned how to arrange some of my favorite jazz songs for solo guitar. As a trombonist, I frequently wrote arrangements for trombone quartet, and I was thrilled to be able to apply my arranging skills to my new instrument. So, part of the reason I play jazz guitar is that Bob Shaw turned me to the dark side.

I think I also am drawn to jazz for the mental challenge. I enjoyed music theory in college, and I briefly toyed with the idea of pursuing a graduate degree in music theory. I eventually gave up that idea, because I realized the only thing I could do with that degree would be to spend a career torturing undergraduates who didn't like theory as much as I did. I like puzzles, and I've found jazz to be an endless, fascinating musical puzzle of substitute chords and voicings.

Much of jazz is flying by the seat of your pants. There's a heavy improvisational component that you won't find in classical music. Sometimes you'll hear a little bit of improv in folk music, but it's usually very brief. As a classical trombonist, the thought of improvising petrified me. As a jazz guitarist, improvising excites me. Sometimes I come up with something brilliant, sometimes I come up with pure schlock, and most times it's somewhere in between. When you're improvising with others, there's a shared energy among the musicians and listeners when things are going well. You never quite know what's going to happen when the group starts improvising. I often think of jazz as stepping off a cliff and trusting that a bridge will appear.

I don't like all jazz, just like I didn't like all classical music. When I was a trombone player, I never enjoyed Bruckner or Wagner, which is ironic because they wrote some particularly juicy trombone parts. There is some jazz that I don't like as well. It doesn't mean it's bad. I just don't enjoy it. For example, I don't especially enjoy Coltrane. Blasphemous, I know, and I can't wait to hear comments on why I should love him. Yes, he was a genius and a musical pioneer, but I just can't get past his sound. It's abrasive to my ears, and genius or not, I have trouble listening to an entire album when I have to hear that tone quality. (Short tangent: I find it ironic that some musicians who say they enjoy the freedom of jazz also tell me that I must love Coltrane or I'm not a true jazz musician. So much for freedom.)

Everyone has their own tastes. My tastes run toward lyrical, singable music, even if it's instrumental. This is reflected in my own playing as well. My technique has improved leaps and bounds over the past year, yet I still prefer to play lyrical, singable lines when I improvise. If music has lyrics, I like to hear a clever turn of a phrase. Some of the lyrics from the Great American Songbook are pure poetry. Maybe it's my folk aesthetic coming through, but I'll probably never be a truly adventuresome jazz explorer. I'll always be expanding my technique and searching for ways to become a better player, but it'll be in the service of a lyrical style of playing. As a trombonist, I tried to emulate the style of a singer, and I guess that I'm doing the same thing with the guitar.

Twenty years ago, I never thought I would be pursuing a career as a jazz musician. It might be interesting to read this blog in another twenty years to see what else has changed.

Act3 Productions

Last night I played the final show of All Shook Up with Act3 Productions. This was a wonderful experience, and I'm looking forward to playing more shows with Act3 in the future. As a trombone player, I played in pit orchestras for several musicals and operas, but this was my first pit experience as a guitarist.

The guitar book for All Shook Up was very challenging. The guitar is typically a back-up instrument, but since this was a rock n' roll show, the guitar was often front and center. Unless I someday play Man of La Mancha, I can almost guarantee that every guitar book I play after this is going to seem easy by comparison. After I was hired to play this show, I asked to have the guitar book as soon as possible, and I'm glad I did! The first time I cracked open the book, it took me three days to work my way through all the music. Eventually, I was able to play through the book in two days, and then finally one day. Once it was time to play the show, it was just a matter of briefly reviewing the tricky spots each day. I'm a better guitarist for having played this show.

I'm happy and proud to have become part of the Act3 Productions family. When I was first told that this was a community theater, I was a little wary…at least until I was told I would get paid. (I am a mercenary!) When I played my first rehearsal, I was pleasantly surprised at the high level of the cast. Opening night was great, and the performances just kept getting better and better. The pit orchestra was mighty fine, too. Everyone was a pro, and it didn't take long for the pit musicians to gel, both musically and personally. (By the way, for those guitarists who downplay the importance of reading music, some pit orchestra experience might just change your mind.)

Act3 Productions has a lot going for it, and I highly recommend checking them out. According to their website, their mission is "to inspire performers, support positive values, and enrich the Arts community by producing professional-level performances." I'll be involved in playing musicals with them 3-4 times a year, but there's a lot more going on than just musicals. They have a group of high school students writing their own musical, several plays, summer workshops, and much more. If you are interested in theater and dance, either as an artist or strictly as an audience member, you owe it to yourself to check out Act3 Productions in Sandy Springs.

Act3 Productions is located at 6285-R Roswell Road NE in Sandy Springs 30328 behind Trader Joe's in the Sandy Springs Plaza. You can go to www.act3productions.org to learn more about Act3 Productions, including upcoming shows, workshops, and a little Act3 history.

The Rest of Your Life

Tonight at the grocery store, the cashier misspoke. Handing me the receipt, she told me, "Enjoy the rest of your life." That is my intention.

Sometimes people look back at their high school or college glory days and say that was the best time of their life. Those were good days for me, and college in particular was the best time of my life…until now. I've had some unpleasant years, including my short and spectacularly bad career as a band director and my last year or so in the Air Force. (Nothing against the Air Force. I was just in a bad situation.) Don't even get me started on Cleveland.

These days, I'm finding that I spend my time mostly on things I like to do. I still enjoy music engraving, which is still my main source of income. I spend a lot of my days practicing guitar and rehearsing with a variety of groups, including a jazz combo, an originals band, and a big band. I'm slowly but steadily making inroads in the Atlanta music scene, and my gig calendar is full. My roster of private students is growing steadily as well, and I'm confident that by the end of the year, teaching will make up a respectable percentage of my income.

My weight and health issues are finally under control. I'm at a healthy weight, looking and feeling better than I have in years, and feeling more confident in general. I originally began running to accelerate my weight loss, but running has now become more than just a means to stay healthy. I love running nearly as much as I love music, and I look forward to my "running mornings."

I've made more friends in the past two years than I made in the previous ten years. Without even trying, I seem to have connected with the right people at the right time. Part of this is because I'm meeting more people as I play more gigs, but most of it is because I've removed some emotional barriers that I've always used to keep people at arm's length.

Even though my yearly income places me squarely in the "poor" category, I am rich in friends and music, and I plan on nurturing and growing this special kind of wealth as the years roll on. I had a good laugh at the cashier's slip of the tongue, but I became more grateful for what I have as I thought about her words. Whatever your situation is, whatever your passions are, I hope that you, too, will enjoy the rest of your life.

Don't Get Drunk

In negotiating with a client for this weekend's gig, I asked two inevitable questions: Can we bring a guest? Will there be food? His answer was that yes, we can each bring a guest, but they have to dress appropriately. (This is for a black tie affair.) We can also eat the food, but, as he wrote, "I am comfortable with you bringing a family member as long as everyone is responsible in consumption of food and alcohol. Last year, the band ate and drank everything we had, so they left a bad taste in people's mouth."

This isn't the first time I've heard this kind of warning. Last year a corporate client told my band that we were free to visit the buffet between sets, but "please don't get drunk." This was ironic, considering I've had exactly one beer in my entire life. She seemed a little surprised when I told her I didn't drink, as if I had destroyed her stereotype of a working musician.

This illustrates that being a professional musician is about more than just being able to play circles around the competition. Equally important is the way you conduct yourself on and off stage. This Saturday, InTown Band will play a cocktail set at 8 and a dance set at 10 at the Cherokee Arts Center. We'll have an hour break, during which we can eat and mingle with guests. During our break, we're going to be "on the job" just as much we are when we're onstage.

As for me, I'm not the hottest guitar player in town, but there's something to be said for showing up on time, properly dressed, and on my best behavior. A great audition or demo will get you a gig, but acting like a pro will earn repeat customers.

All Shook Up

Atlanta is thawing as I write this. Most of the winters I've seen in Atlanta, including this one, are pretty mild. It'll occasionally snow, but it usually melts the next day. Last week was unusual in that we had a pretty good dose of snow, coupled with a week of subfreezing temperatures. With around 10 snow plows for a city of half a million people, Atlanta was brought to a standstill for a week.

With rehearsals canceled last week, I was left with a clear calendar. While many Atlantoids were going stir crazy, I was taking advantage of the extra alone time to woodshed a show book. For you musical civilians, to "woodshed" is to practice something over and over and over and over until you get it right…and then you practice it a little more just to be sure.

I'm going to be playing in Act3 Productions' All Shook Up in March. I'm really excited about this. When I was a trombone player, pit orchestra was my favorite kind of playing, and I'm thrilled to have my first of what will hopefully be many opportunities to play in pit orchestras as a guitarist. That's the good news. The bad news is that the guitar book is very difficult. Keep in mind that All Shook Up is based on the music of Elvis, so it's not like the guitarist can hide in the mix. I would have preferred to reenter the world of pit orchestra playing with an easier book, but you have to take the opportunities that come. (Also keep in mind that I've only been playing guitar for seven years. Maybe in another seven years I'll look back and chuckle at how difficult this book seemed at the time.)

When I first opened the book and listened to the sound track, I was overwhelmed. Essentially, the book is page after page of tricky guitar lines. Really, there are two guitar parts, a lead guitar and a rhythm guitar, but I believe I'm the only guitarist in the show, so once rehearsals begin, I'll have to figure out which is more important, the lead line or the rhythm part. For example, if a sax or trumpet is doubling my lead line, then I may serve the ensemble better by switching to rhythm guitar.

There is so much tricky music in this book that there's no way I could absorb it all overnight, so I had to figure out a way to start chipping away at it until I could play the book. First, I simply hacked my way through the book a few times. On the third pass, I wrote down the pages that would need special attention. Some of these pages have parts that are difficult enough that I need to drill them every day. Others aren't quite as tricky, and as long as I play each page every 2-3 days, I'll be in good shape by the first rehearsal.

In my list of pages, the left hand column is for pages that I need to practice every day, and the right hand column is for the pages that I can cycle through more slowly. I spend twice as much time working on the left hand column, so if I have 90 minutes to practice, I'll practice the "easy" pages on the right for 30 minutes, and then I'll woodshed the pages on the left for an hour. You can see that a couple entries in the left hand column have been scratched out. Those have improved enough that I've moved them to the "easy" column. Eventually I'll be able to scratch a few more out and move them to the other side.

To some, this may seem like an anal retentive way to approach music, but I had to figure out a way to learn a lot of difficult music in a hurry. My initial goal is to not embarrass myself in the first rehearsal, and my ultimate goal is to sound great come showtime.

I'm enjoying the challenge this show book presents, and I'm finding that it's helping me improve as a guitarist overall. I'm also kind of hoping that my next musical has a tamer guitar part…lots of "boom-chucks" would be nice!

New Year, New Opportunities

Around this time last year, I decided that 2010 was going to be "my year," and I couldn't be happier with the way it turned out. I laid the groundwork for what I believe will eventually be a successful second career in performing. I made dramatic improvements to my health by dropping 116 pounds. I should be down to my desired weight in another few months, and I'm planning on running two half-marathons this year and a marathon in another year or two. I've met new friends, and for the first time in over 20 years, I feel like I've found my little place in the world.

I'm not stopping there. I have a tendency to always be pressing forward. As happy as I was with 2010, there's plenty more to accomplish. 2010 was a year for laying a strong foundation, and I'm already looking ahead to see what else I can do.

As far as opportunities, 2011 is already off to a great start. Just two days ago, I became the guitarist for the Atlanta Swing Orchestra. Logan Thomas, who has been the guitarist for the Atlanta Swing Orchestra for 8 years, took a new job that has him traveling a lot. Logan decided that he wasn't going to be able to dedicate the time to the ASO that he would like, so he called me and asked me if I wanted to switch roles, with me being the main guy and Logan subbing. (This is a case in point for my relationship-building approach to finding gigs. If I was the type of sub who was constantly angling to take take the spot, you can bet that Logan wouldn't have called me!)

Now, being the guitarist with the Atlanta Swing Orchestra certainly doesn't mean I can quit my day job – not that I have one. The band doesn't play a lot of gigs. What it does mean is that I have a weekly opportunity to play big band rhythm guitar, which is far and away my favorite type of playing. It also means that I may have more small group gig opportunities simply by spending time with 16 other musicians.

Another exciting opportunity is playing in a pit orchestra for a musical in March, when I'll be playing in Act3 Productions' All Shook Up. First of all, when I was a trombone player, I loved playing in pit orchestras, and so I'm thrilled that I have an opportunity to do some pit playing as a guitarist. On top of that, I've heard nothing but good things about Act3 Productions. It's a fairly new company (just over a year old) that already has good reviews. As far as I understand, they've had a regular guitarist, but he moved to Nashville. If I do a good job with this show, I should slide right into that guitar spot. Assuming it's successful over the long haul, I'm essentially getting in on the ground floor and can grow along with Act3 Productions.

Playing with Act3 Productions is about more than just playing shows. Just as with the Atlanta Swing Orchestra, it's an opportunity to be with other musicians and continue gaining experience and building a reputation for being professional and easy to work with. With Act3, I'll be meeting a new circle of musicians, which will eventually lead to more playing opportunities.

We're still in the first half of January, and this is already a promising year. I can't wait to see what the rest of 2011 brings!

Radio Man

Two nights ago, a man named Ron Kibler called me and started talking about the radio. At first, my brain didn't quite compute the sounds my ears were hearing. I kept expecting him to say "and we need your pledge," but I finally realized he was asking me to come to the station for an interview and to play a couple songs. This is the first time anyone has called me for a radio interview, so it all felt rather surreal after I hung up the phone. If I felt this way after being asked for an interview on a local radio station, imagine what it must be like to wake up one day and learn that a song of yours has hit the charts or that suddenly everyone knows your face. I'm not in danger of being mobbed on the streets just yet, but still, it made me wonder how I would react if my stock in the music world suddenly soared.

Once or twice a month, I play at a Cajun restaurant in Tucker, GA called Rotagilla. (That's "alligator" backwards.) There's a guy who's heard me play a few times, and he told Ron about this wonderful guitarist and singer, Tom Godfrey (me!) who plays there. I didn't recognize the man's name, but if he's heard me perform at the restaurant, I'm sure I would know his face. You never know who's out there listening.

So anyway, I'm going to be live on the air in a few weeks. I'll start and end my segment of the show with a song, and I'll take questions, including call-ins, in the middle. Although I'm looking forward to the interview, I'm sure I'll be nervous. This will be my first time doing anything like this. I'll be sure to pick a couple songs I can play even if my hands are shaking.

You can catch the show on December 18. I'll be on the air at 9:30 a.m. Atlanta listeners can tune in to 1010 AM, and other can listen online at www.wgunradio.com. The call-in number is (770) 491-1010.

Double Booked

Double booking. It happens in the music world. This weekend, I was scheduled to play at Ray's in the City with Tom Olsen, a wonderful jazz pianist. I arrived an hour early as usual and began setting up. As I was finishing my set-up, a man walked through the door and headed directly to the small musician's stage. I thought he was going to ask when we started playing. Instead, he asked "Are you playing tonight?" I replied "Yes, we start at 6." He said "Oh, I'm playing tonight." Not yet understanding his intent, I asked "You're playing tonight? Was Tom not able to make it?"

It didn't take us long to figure out that the night had been double booked. When this is the case, you have two basic options. The two acts can share the evening, or one act goes home the loser. The gig at Ray's in the City pays, but not well enough that it's worth splitting the check with another act, and so this one went to the "judge." In this case, it went to "J," the guy who books the musicians at the three Ray's restaurants: Ray's in the City, Ray's on the River, and Ray's at Killer Creek. (The piano player mentioned that this has happened a few times since "J" took over the booking.)

What was really crazy is that Rick (the piano player) was called last minute by "J" to sub for someone else who was supposed to play that night! I thought at first that maybe "J" didn't have us on the schedule, and so he called Rick to fill the empty slot. Nope. We would have been double booked either way, either with Rick, or with the guy who would have been double booked with us in the first place.

Tom and I came off on the wrong end of the double booking, but it wasn't a total wash. Everyone involved was polite and professional, with no hard feelings. Rick was gracious, saying he would have just as quickly bowed out if the decision had gone the other way. Tom is going to be scheduled for two gigs at Ray's in the City in January, and he'll be calling me for at least one of them. The manager at Ray's in the City comped our meal. My duo partner, Lynnette, and her parents had come to hear us play, so I invited myself to their table and enjoyed a lovely dinner with friends.

It was altogether a wonderful evening…just not the evening I expected. Sometimes you just need to roll with the punches.

Break It Down

Sometimes I think about what I would do if I won the lottery. One of the first things I would do would be do give a lot of that money to family, a few select friends, and some favorite causes. After the big giveaway, I'd probably be left with a mere $50,000,000 or so. Oh, the places I would go. Oh, the guitars I would buy. The problem is that I don't play the lottery.

We all have dreams. If all you do is think about it, your dream will remain just a dream unless you do something about it. If you want to turn your dream into a reality, your first step is to turn it into a goal…not just a goal in your head, but a written out, established goal. Whatever your dream is, write it down and put it up somewhere where you can see it. Stick it on the fridge or tape it to your computer. This helps change your inner dialog from "wouldn't it be nice if…" to "I'm going to do this." Once you truly make the decision to turn dream into reality, you may feel a surge of energy, like the world just shifted around you.

After you've written down your main goal and really decided to go through with it, you have a lot of work to do. It may seem overwhelming, but whatever you want to achieve, it's doable if you break it into smaller chunks.

Nearly seven years ago I started playing guitar and decided to use the instrument as a vehicle for restarting a performance career after my trombone career was halted due to a lip injury. My first major goal, which has been met, was to reach a skill level that I considered to be entry level professional by 2010…not a world class player, but good enough to be making some money through guitar playing.

Once you've decided on your big goal, you're going to want to break it down into smaller bits so you're not overwhelmed by it all. You can break it into several mini-goals, which will all push you further toward your big goal. As you make progress, you may need to revise your mini-goals or create some new ones. The big goal remains the same, but most of the mini-goals are adjustable.

After deciding I wanted to reach a professional level of guitar playing, I wrote down the things a professional guitarist should know, including chord knowledge, familiarity with the fretboard, and lead playing. At first, my goal was to be a fancy fingerstyle folk guitarist, but I took a left turn when I discovered jazz guitar. The overarching goal of becoming a professional level musician remained the same, but I had to make some revisions to my mini-goals because of a change in musical direction. Now I also needed to learn improvisation, jazz comping, chord/melody style playing, arranging, and a whole new world of chords.

Each one of your mini-goals will have sub-goals. For example, learning jazz chords. There are many, many chords to learn if you want to be a jazz guitarist. There are at least five different places on the fretboard where you can play any given chord, and then you can use different voicings to change the texture of that chord. For example, off the top of my head, I can think of 9 ways to voice a basic C7 chord, and I can come up with more if you give me a little time. The point is that there are many chord forms to learn. If your goal is to have a solid grasp of jazz guitar harmony, you'll quickly discover that it's going to take a few years, so what you end up doing is learning them a few at a time and gradually discovering how to put them to practical use. Whatever your own mini-goals are, you can apply the same concept and work toward success a little bit at a time.

Eventually, your big goal gets broken down into a daily routine. If you stick to the plan, you're doing something that contributes to the overall goal every single day. For me, it's practicing guitar with a purpose every single day. Everything I practice moves me closer to becoming the guitarist I'm capable of becoming. Every song I learn increases my repertoire. Every scale I play improves my technique. Every solo guitar arrangement I write deepens my knowledge of the fretboard and my own capabilities. I improve bit by bit. The things that challenge me today will become old hat in another year or two.

My original goal was to reach a professional level of guitar playing. I've reached that goal, and I will continue to improve year by year. My next major goal is to take it to the next level and actually make a living with a guitar in my hands. I may develop a private teaching practice, audition for cruise gigs, or finally break through the barriers in the Atlanta scene. Very soon I'll be sitting down and drawing my roadmap for the next 5-10 years.

Do you have a dream? Do you want to make it a reality? Write it down and turn it into a goal. Figure out what steps you'll take to make it happen. Break those steps down further and further until you have bite sized chunks. Work every day to make it happen. You can start today. You're not going to win the lottery until you start playing.