Weekly Gathering: July 10-17

There were lots of good articles this past week! Perhaps there was some built up energy from the July 4 festivities.

Pianist and scholar Robert Levin speaks at Curtis Commencement on May 16, 2009. If you click on nothing here, you must listen to this if you are a classical musician. It takes about 15 minutes. It’s worth it. [It's not from the time period specified in this post's title, but it's still great.]

Make Your Audition Pianist Happy by Billie Whittaker on her blog Good Company is an informative and funny article. It is specifically written for singers, so you should definitely check it out.

Sitting Quietly, Doing Something from the New York Times bog Happy Days is about the science of happiness. In particular, it is about a Buddhist monk who is demonstrably the happiest man in the world. Turns out that happiness is trainable. There’s also an embedded video that is very interesting.

I Don’t Know How they Do it by Jessica Duchen at Standpoint. This is an appreciative article about Joyce DiDonato who sang Rosina in Barber of Seville with a broken leg. It goes on to ask for pity for singers who cancel due

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Weekly Gathering

Sometimes the posts listed here will be from non-music sources, and I think that’s just fine since we as singers need to develop all of ourselves to improve.

The Healthy and Fit Algorithm

from Zen Habits is a good reminder about the little steps it takes to remain healthy.

Prospective, Upcoming, And Current Music Majors -Here Is A Great Little, Free, Ear Training Program

from MusTech.net has a good looking ear training program. As the author reminds us, ear training is often a killer in college programs.

Employee or Entrepreneur? The Pros and Cons of Self-Employment

from Get Rich Slowly is a good piece that discusses the personal gains and losses from entering the self-employed life. For anyone who wants to teach a private studio or work as a solo artist, there are some good points to consider here.

Tapering for Performance

on Music Teacher’s Helper: Blog is a good piece about the changes to a teacher’s strategy when a student is approaching a major performance, such as a recital.

Eating to Fuel Exercise

from the Well blog on the New York Times site is a good reminder about when and how much to eat. As someone who has

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Anthony Tommasini taking questions

Music critic, pianist, and author is taking questions at the New York Times website. Several questions and answers have been published, and they have been thoughtful and thought-provoking. I encourage anyone interested in classical music to give this a few minutes to read over.