Episoder
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How to go from amateur/hobby/"not a real" musician to someone with a deep connect with making sound. Thank you to every single person who has listened to this show over the years. I'm so proud of what we've learned together. Here's to whatever comes next.
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For over 35 years Elma Linz Kanefield has worked with performing artists as a psychotherapist and life coach and has one of the only private practices exclusively for them in the country. In 1986, she founded the Juilliard School's Counseling Service. Recently, she released her findings in Hamlet's Mirror a workbook for "reaching your performance potential onstage and off". It is the greatest mental health resource for artists I've ever found.
Hamlet's mirror: https://www.elmalinzkanefield.com/hamlets-mirror
Finding Frances: https://www.youtube.com/@FindingFrancesBand
Scotland (featured song): https://open.spotify.com/track/3fy6TrOb7U8HKGBWufaGbe?si=7bbb187ec9ce4b27
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There's a wholesome way to get meaningful, fulfilling gigs. I'm talking about the best kinds of gigs. The ones you're so excited about you'd go to even if you weren't playing. The best part is there is no networking, sitting in, or jams sessions involved.
If you enjoyed this episode definitely listen to the Trumpet Mafia episode for ideas on group practice and Ep. 80 for help connecting with potential mentors.
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Bethany Robinson–award winning high school band director and bassist–on building a wholesome band room culture. She built her program from 1 to *checks notes* 6 freakin’ jazz bands: she knows her stuff! What do students think makes a good teacher? How do you stay humble and curious as an educator? How do you avoid status games in a program with 6 bands? We also discuss work life balance and why education matters in light of Bethany’s recent battle with cancer.
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If you've found musicians who you resonate with on the deepest level, you also know it can be intimidating to approach them. It's easy to feel unworthy of their time, attention, and friendship. These are our creative heroes after all! Why should they care about little old us? What could we possibly have to offer? If I could just practice enough then we could be friends... If any of that sounds familiar this episode is for you!
Journal Prompts1. All Musicians Are Nerds
What are the musicians I want work with nerdy about? Am I nerdy about that too?2. Focus On Giving
How can you be of service to the musicians you look up to and want to work with?3. Show Up and Be Patient
Where are these musicians and what are they doing? Are you showing up? -
5 new ideas to help navigate the age old pursuit of finding your voice. Here's a hint: finding your voice isn't a one time discover, it's a daily opportunity!
Here are this episode's journal prompts:1. Our voice is the group of musicians you associate with
Are there musicians you’re trying to impress, or play with, that you don’t actually like? Are there musicians you’d like to be playing with that you don’t feel2. Your voice isn’t notes on recordings. We play more than just notes
How do you want others to feel when they’re playing with you? Listen back to yourself on a gig. Does your playing match that intention? If someone is about to call you for a gig, and 3 things were to flash through their mind, what would you want those associations to be?3. Your voice is mostly what you don’t play
Are there things you’re ashamed of, or you’ve been trying to learn how to do but just can’t seem to get get them feeling natural? Why are you trying to play them? What would happen if you gave yourself permission to let go of those?4. Your voice is musical habits
Write out 10 musical problems you solve evergy gig. Is there an bigger musical problem you can have a habbit for that solves multiple of these smaller problems?5. Finding your voice isn't a one time discover, it's a daily opportunity
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Garrett Spoelhof-audio engineer and touring musician with indie rock outfit Secret Mezzanine-on the complex relationship between musicians and sound engineers. We explore several strategies for fostering good will, respect, and more wholesome music making between these two interconnected communities. We also discuss Garrett's decision to drop a performance major during school and how that reinvigorated his relationship with music.
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How to avoid fighting with our family when they ask us things like "What do you even do with a music degree?", "How's the little music thing going?", and "Can you really make money playing music?". Being a musician can be scary for us AND the people who care about us. With a bit of prep, planning, and compassion, we can all make it through the holidays not only fight free, but more connected with our folks and our musical journey.
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Josh Harmon–comedic drummer behind the mega-viral "Rhythms of Comedy"–on the emotional behind the scenes of being the most viewed drummer in the world. This is not an episode on how to win the social media lottery, but rather what life is like offline when you do and whether being a viral success is actually the thing we're looking for as creatives. We talk about isolation, therapy, finding genuine connections when it feels like people just want to use you for your platform, and getting in touch with the feeling of playing music.
The song at the end is from guitarist Josh Starkman's HAGD series (check out EP. 46) featuring Josh and the incomparable Charlie Gabriel.
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Jenna McSwain–singer-songwriter, pianist, mother–on gardening, allowing abundance, leaving a teaching gig to be a full time artist, getting in touch with our bodily experiences, organically grown gigs, navigating the impulse to make your bandmates happy while honoring your own desires, mom lessons.
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Noah Baerman–pianist, composer, educator, and activist–on playing with a physical disability, being open with our challenges, performance injuries, therapy mindsets, gratitude for our time with music, dealing with grief through composition, chasing truly selfless acts, crossroad moments, and "the process of the pursuit" of enlightening experiences.
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Jamison Ross–soul singer, drummer, and Affective Music label owner–and I share our biggest fears and dreams right now. We talk about accessing new layers of awareness, interpreting spectrums of music, gospel chops, being afraid people won't hear you, making big career moves, understanding layers of fear, the ceiling for transplants in a music scene, and figuring out what you want. Jamison is out to define this era of Soul music and it was an honor to talk with him at the outset of this journey.
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Nick Finzer–trombone maestro, educator, and Outside In Music label owner–on finding and connecting with people that care about what we do and answering the big question; Why should anyone care about your music? Listen for why websites and email still definitely matter, hyphenating your career, using a media company mindset, building a hedgehog concept, and putting value to our expertise. If you want to get into the step-by-step details, go buy his book Create, Connect, Repeat!
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Hannah Johnson–drummer, teacher, and a true personal pal–on being a goober, the magic of having a best friend, femininity in music schools, finding a life-changing mentor, the toxic chase of impressing jazz bros, public school substitute teaching, the art of being a good friend, teaching girls to play loud, fast, and take of space, and my Brain Blade fandom. Also... we're making a record!
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Revisiting a must listen episode from the early days bc I'm having "one of those weeks". In NYC for the week so hmu if you wanna connect!
Meagan Johnson joins Tanner Guss to discuss the Alexander Technique as a wellness practice for musicians. She breaks down what the technique is, the benefits it offers, and talks us through several exercises. Our conversation also explores performance anxiety, taking our play seriously, the problems of overly goal-oriented learning, and how to find a certified Alexander Technique teacher.
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Cyrille Aimée–vocal sensation and life-improviser–on how her students sound incredible and they don't know it, and strategies for getting back the moment. We talk about finding permission to stop judging ourselves, putting health before work, figuring our where "home" is as an adult, how to live a freer lifestyle but still take care of business, building a Patreon community, and getting off grid and building a house in the jungle. We also get into and her experience on the trail with last week's guest Gaspard Panfiloff.
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Gaspard Panfiloff–French balalaïka maestro–shares about his incredible mountaineering concert series Tournée Des Refuges. In our hike of a conversation we pass mountain energy, how to get people off our phones and into the music, turning a performance into an experience, the magic of music, building a mobile recording studio in a truck, enhancing band camaraderie, and how starting is the hardest part.
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Rushad Eggleston–sonic pioneer & cello-goblin–on spiraling out of control, embracing chaotic good, climbing trees, letting our inner jester and wizard coexist, getting out of things you don't want to do, faith formulas, exploring the void, dad speeches, making up a language, imaginary lands, different zones of consciousness, brown rainbows, and sounding bad on purpose.
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Matthew Kilby–of Ep. 1 fame–is back to debrief on two years of funding his original pop music by teaching middle school percussion. We also talk about collaboration, getting the cops called on him for practicing, process over product, controlling the uncontrollable, role models, valuing discomfort, and how to tell students they don't sound good.
Our first conversation covered much more of his teaching philosophies and it's wonderful. Definitely a personal favorite... there's a reason he's back on the show!
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