The Annual Goals and Resolutions Post
The Goals and Resolutions of 2017.
Full Disclosure for accountability's sake.
Now that I have recapped 2016 and assessed my improvement and resolution successes (and failures), it is time to disclose what 2017 has in store resolution-wise.
This year I'm narrowing my list a little bit. I have some serious goals that need accomplishing without (too many) distractions. There are also a few holdovers from last year that I made progress on but could use some updating for the new year.
So without further ado, I bring to you the Active Violinist 2017 Goals and Resolutions.
The Holdovers
Finish Dissertation
This is not a joke. This is my no. 1 priority in 2017. As a result, if this is the only thing accomplished by the end of the year, 2017 will be a complete success. As much as I enjoy practicing the violin (and I really, really do) I need to put it down more often and kick this document in the butt! Gone are the hours of daily practice and pieces I'd like to learn. Hello, hours spent at my computer. If this isn't completed before the year is over I am going to be in serious trouble (with myself).
Don't they say a messy desk is a sign of genius???? I hope so!
Write More
More like every day. Write something every day! This does not include emails or tweets. I'm trying to develop the habit of sitting at my computer every day rather than just in spurts. Blog Posts, poems, dissertation chapters, short stories, book reviews, personal letters are all possibilities in this category.
Read 33 books
Bumping this goal up three books from last years goal of 30. Nana has thrown down and already challenged me to another 36 book reading challenge. That's all fine and well for a lady of leisure, but I have to hustle so I'm cutting myself a three book break (with the hopes of exceeding this by 3). And yes, audiobooks count!
Write a letter or card to my Nana every time I finish a book
I'm making this more realistic and sticking to once a month. In 2016 this was a nice way for us to sum up each month of reading and gush about what we enjoyed the most (and what we disliked).
Ride My Bike More
In 2017 this means ride my bike AT LEAST once a week. Commuting, trips to the coffee shop, leisurely rides, and cycling for fitness all count.
Yoga
My home practice is pretty good, but I need to go back to class at least once per week. My silly rehearsal schedule usually conflicts with the one Iyengar class offered in Tulsa, but I'm tempted to go back to Bikram. Also, I'm going to put myself on Iyengar's Asana Course (found at the back of Light on Yoga) and try to document more of my progress so I can see it, and maybe if I'm feeling brave, share it.
Be a (better) morning person
I am now instituting a bedtime. Teeth brushed, face washed, PJs on, and in bed by 11 pm. This applies to all evenings when I am not driving home from an out-of-town gig late at night. Those nights (and weeks) will unavoidably be late ones. BUT rather than getting home and putzing around before finally falling asleep, I am challenging myself to do something productive. I find that research is a surefire way to make me drowsy so odds are late night document reading will be happening regularly.
How I typically feel in the morning.
New Resolutions
Set Short Term Goals
Rather than task myself with 'write dissertation in 2017' I'm setting short term goals to ensure that I meet my long term goals. With the dissertation, for instance, I have daily and weekly goals set aside as well as finish date for larger sections. I think this is the key to success for me. This means I have smaller tasks and goal for each month (and sometimes weeks or days) in place. The vague, To-Do list filled with huge tasks is too daunting for me and I tend to avoid even getting started. Much like in my practice schedule - when I committed to daily technical practice I reaped long-term benefits aka winning auditions.
No Social Media in Bed
This is already proving to be a challenge! Every night I pick up my phone and mindlessly scroll through Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Every morning I reach for my phone and check the things I've missed while sleeping. Why? I'm still trying to figure that out. Needless to say, this is a total time suck and needs boundaries and limits. Bedtime is for reading and sleeping. Those Instagram likes aren't going anywhere. Plus all those studies about how detrimental screen time is to your sleep habits - yikes!
No Buying Books Until these have been Read
Wow! These photos are practically life sized! Any recommendations???
I'm nervous about this one. Anyone who knows me is probably aware that bookstores make me salivate with desire. I can count on one hand the number of times I've entered a bookstore without buying something. I have an addiction. The problem is I can't seem to keep up with my spending habit, so I'm cutting myself off until I've completed these bad boys. The sad thing? - These are not the only unread books I have at the house. Yikes!
Conquer my avoidance of Quickbooks
You should see me avoid this program. Who knows why? I don't other than I'm behind and the thought of catching up means HOURS of work. But I'm trying to be a responsible adult (and small business owner) so I need to suck it up and dive in.
Organize Music
When the season starts, I find myself just trying to hold on for dear life! Practice parts tend to stack up and my poor students end up having lessons surrounded by piles of unread books, and music to be learned or recently performed. I'm thinking of getting really OCD about this and cataloging the parts with charts and binders (high-tech stuff!).
Quit Complaining
I have cultivated a life filled with people and things I openly love and passionately pursue. I need to cut down on the whinging. It is not attractive. I do not admire my colleagues who are always moaning. I resolve to rise about the temptation to find fault in everything, to not air my professional complaints publicly, or tolerate bad attitudes where I can help it.
What are your resolutions for 2017? Share below!
Resolution Review
Year in Review. My
y 2016 resolutions.
How did you do? Did you accomplish all of your goals?
Happy New Year! This is one of my favorite times of the year - I am a SUCKER for resolutions, changes, and new beginnings. My list of resolutions is usually so long and ambitious it borders on ridiculous.
BUT...
before I write about my resolutions for 2017 I thought I'd recap, review, and grade myself on my resolution performance in 2016.
The Active Violinist List of Resolutions for 2016.
Personal
- Read 30 books
I completed 31 and was very close to finishing 32. - SUCCESS ✅ 💯
- Write a letter or card to my Nana every time I finish a book
Okay, Okay this didn't quite happen BUT I did write at least one card per month. Incidentally, it spawned a competitive reading challenge with my Nana (which she won) and she tried to up my book reading to 36. I tried but alas, that whole work, practice, research, drive, blah blah blah thing really gets in the way. - Quasi Success ✅
- Be a (better) morning person
This still needs work. This rehearse at night, drive home, eat late thing is really messing with my get up early and conquer the world plans. I will say that I do much less late night Netflix watching (a tiny triumph) - FAIL ❌
- Classy (and Sassy)
This one was all about personal grooming and I improved immensely. I am gradually weeding out the charming yet dated 'I bought this in college and it was cheap and bohemian' pieces and replacing them with more 'timeless and chic' options. Consequently, I take better care of my belongings. I even iron stuff now AND go to the dry cleaner more than once per year. - SUCCESS 💯✅
Professional
- Write More!
Yes, I definitely wrote more! Blog posts, chapters nobody ever read, ideas for projects, emails - but this could always improve. - SUCCESS ✅💯
- Finish Dissertation (and consequentially my D.M.A.)
Well I started writing and even worked up a proposal. This whole process takes more time than I ever imagined. I did not factor in waiting on faculty schedules, or editing (lots and lots of it). - This is a Fail but moving in the right direction ❌ 🔆
- Get a Job
This one is tied to the dissertation. NO APPLYING FOR JOBS UNTIL DOCUMENT IS COMPLETE. It sure is hard to resist the temptation of a good application and hours of time avoiding my dissertation. Ahh the smell of professional procrastination - FAIL❌
- Do Not Neglect the Fundamentals
I do this everyday. My daily practice warm up is ingrained in my morning routine now and I would be lost without my self inflicted hour of scales, double stops, bowing exercises, etudes, arpeggios, etc. I definitely think it is paying off. So far I've taken 3 regional auditions and won every single one of them. I credit the relentless hours of technique. - SUCCESS 💯 ✅
- Learn the Sibelius Concerto and Mozart #5
Mozart - SUCCESS ✅💯 (although I still pick up #4 for auditions)
Sibelius - that sucker is hard! But I have been chipping away at it throughout the year. Would I perform it next week? No, but now I can at least play through it with a little more ease each time. - Quasi Success ✅
Health And Wellness
- Ride my Bike More
Yes this happened in that I went from 0 rides to roughly 15 this year. This is improving but still has a ways to go. Ideally I'd like to be on my bike AT LEAST once per week. - Quasi Success ✅
- Afternoon Tea (no, not with cucumber sandwiches. More like instead of coffee.)
I was getting pretty good at this one until gig season hit like a ton of bricks and then I was back to guzzling cappuccinos and coffee at all hours of the day. Still working on it - Quasi Success ✅
- Drink More Water!
I'm trying but OMG my body needs so much water. It is exhausting just trying to squeeze in enough hydration in one not-so-active day let alone when I've actually worked out. - I'm counting this as a FAIL ❌ because I still feel like more often than not, I am not hydrated enough.
- Yoga
I definitely upped my home practice game and I now have nice cork blocks and regularly hit my mat. I found an amazing teacher who I am obsessed with and cannot get enough of his classes...but he's in Minnesota (sob!) William Prottengeier - look him up, he is AMAZING!!
I need to go back to class. I can tell I'm getting kind of lazy and doing the things that are comfortable. I need someone to challenge me and push me. - I'm counting this as a Quasi Success with room for improvement. ✅
How did I do?
Overall I did Okay. I'd give myself a B-. Things were started, or minimally improved but I see room for greater growth and attention. I'm dissapointed in myself on some levels for not completing some of the bigger items on this list more fully, but feel more determined than ever to kick 2017 in the butt and conquer some some resolutions in 2017.
Stay tuned for 2017 resolutions coming soon!
Audition Necessities
Items I need to feel successful at auditions.
Hello Hello! Now that I'm in winter quasi-hibernation, or maybe I'm coming out of audition prep hibernation? I have blog posts for days to churn out!
The last few weeks have been intense! Performances every weekend, rehearsals almost every night, auditions to prepare for, proposal edits to consider, research to do, not to mention all the normal stuff that has to happen (my dog won't walk herself!)
I did 2 auditions in 10 days and lived to tell the tale. More than that actually, I won. With every audition I do, I am gradually refining my preparation process and game day routine. You can prepare like a champion, practice hours every day, and then right before your time slot those silly nerves kick in and turn you into a useless heap of jittery limbs, clumsy fingers, and sweaty palms. Not Fair!
There are professionals out there who really have some insight into the preparation process (hint hint Nathan Cole), and those people have won way bigger, more prestigious auditions than I have. They can tell you things like what fingering to use, what bowing works best, how to practice that one specific passage for the best results. I don't think I can do that yet. What I do think I have finally figured out is my audition day routine and necessities.
Many moons ago, when I was a high school student at Brevard, there was a lecture on successful orchestra audition taking. One of the speakers (whose name, of course, I can't remember) was a percussionist, and he was cool. Like way cool. Like, ride his longboard around summer camp cool. At the time he was the principal percussionist of the Pittsburgh Symphony. He made a point of emphasizing that this is a race. You train for this with the same dedication you would for the Olympics. You do everything it takes to win. You arrive at the venue prepared to be there for a full day BECAUSE YOU HAVE PREPARED TO WIN...and winning, where auditions are concerned, can take all day or even a few days.
I don't claim to have it all figured out but here are a few things that I bring with me.
1. Bring your own copies of the excerpts and solo.
Kind of a no brainer - you want your fingerings, markings, and personal reminders. Typically, the orchestra will supply copies, but they will look completely different than what you've been staring at for months now. Just bring them. Even if you're concerto is memorized (which it should be if you're really prepared) bring a copy.
2. Notes and Reminders
I was so nervous at a recent audition that I had to remind myself to smile. Silly Right? Smiling relieves stress (so they say). If you're like me and can't stop talking when you're nervous try to joke a little with whoever is fetching you and transporting you to the 'chamber of doom' it will relieve just a little of that anxiety and dread. I try to induce some backstage yawning to keep my jaw relaxed and my brain oxygenated.
The notes I write (like those seen above) are general and broad. All of my specific notes are contained within the relevant excerpt. This is just the stuff I need to remember to set the right tone for the entire audition.
3. Snacks
Not just any old snack - something healthy. I pack bananas and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. I know everyone claims that the potassium in bananas relieves nerves and that is a good reason to eat them, but I take my queue from runners and eat bananas for the type of energy they release. Throw in some protein from the peanut butter, mixed with some whole grain bread, and you're fueling a machine that can stay in the game for miles and miles, or hours and hours.
4. Pastilles/Lozenges
This might just be all in my head, but these rescue pastilles claim to relieve stress and honestly I need as much of that as I can get! Plus they're a yummy treat backstage.
5. Metronome/Tuner
Nerves got your heart racing? You probably don't even realize how much faster you're speeding through those excerpts as a warm up. The last thing you want to do is lose control or panic because you feel out of control RIGHT before your audition. I keep a metronome handy to make sure I'm locked into my ideal tempo at all times.
You want to be so in tune it hurts when you hit the audition room. I am constantly tuning before an audition. I recommend getting your hands on a metronome/tuner that does both. The one pictured gives drones, frequencies, beats, and subdivisions. I don't think I would be able to perform some of the excerpts at a high level if it weren't for all of these functions.
6. A Book
Sometimes audition days involve more waiting than playing. I tend to get antsy if I'm left idle for too long. I don't want to overplay so I bring a book with me. In between rounds (if I make it that far) I trade off between reading and playing to keep myself warmed up but also sane.
7. Headphones
This is for listening (duh). I spend much time leading up to auditions listening to the repertoire. It becomes my running playlist, my driving playlist, my blog writing playlist, you name it. It is really helpful to have access to the music backstage as well. I also use music to get myself pumped up to perform and compete - Michael Phelps and I have so much in common - so it is not uncommon to find me listening to Rihanna, Beyoncé, or some other non-classical #bosslady before I perform. Anything to get you in that winning zone.
8. Water
Lots and Lots of H2O!!!! Flush those nerves away! I don't know about you, but I get a dry mouth when I'm nervous. I often feel parched before a performance and filled with the intense desire to guzzle fluids. So to save myself the anxiety of running back and forth to a water fountain I just bring a huge container of my own and refill it as needed.
9. Other Repertoire
Let's face it, if you don't have a solid grip on the excerpts and your concerto by audition day you're probably not prepared. I tend to work myself into a bit of a lather if I keep playing the audition repertoire over and over again backstage. I get really hung up on little mistakes, and it tends to hurt me in the audition. To stay warmed up and prepared, I pack some music that no orchestra committee cares about hearing. I am a devout Flesch practicer. He's my man. Rarely a day goes by that my dog does not wince at my Flesch scales, arpeggios, 3rds, 6ths, octaves, 10ths, broken 3rds, and chromatic scales. When I first get to the audition, this is typically the first thing I pull out and start playing.
As a pedagogical exercise, I have been playing through 'student' etudes lately, and some of them are so beautiful! I have two books of Mazas Etudes, and I think they are all wonderful. He writes lovely melodies and the technical demands are not Paganini level impossible making for a nice mental break from Schumann Scherzo, Don Juan, Midsummer Night's Dream, etc. This music keeps me warmed up and fresh without the anxiety and mind games of excerpts. Keep it Calm. That's the name of my backstage game
10. Ibuprofen/Aspirin/Advil/Excedrin
A pain reliever is so helpful to have on hand! You might not need it, but who knows, better to be prepared! I don't drink coffee on audition days because it makes me too jittery. Unfortunately, that means sometimes I get a withdrawal headache (ugh! Addiction is no joke!) or maybe it is tension related. Or maybe your period started that morning, and you're battling serious cramps on top of audition day jitters (yeah, that definitely happened, and it was NOT fun). Either way - having something on hand to relieve that discomfort is tremendously helpful.
11. Lavender
My how New Age, Right? Lavender is proven to have a calming effect. Why do you think there's all that Lavender scented bubble bath out there? I do carry this little bottle with me. I used to put a dab on my wrists, but now I just take a nice, long sniff periodically.
NOT PICTURED
There are a few things always included in my day that are not pictured above. The following are the other things I do prior to an audition to make sure it goes as smoothly as possible.
Airplane Mode is for more than just the Sky
Stay off of social media! Who cares what inflammatory comment or article somebody just posted on Facebook 3 minutes ago?! Is there any photo on Instagram that you NEED to see right now? NOPE! Who needs that kind of distraction!? Just to be safe, I put my phone on airplane mode. Several years ago I was backstage at a concerto competition and looked at my phone to see what time it was. My screen lit up with a text message from an unexpected number that totally threw me off. My head was not in the game, and I finished 3rd. This was really frustrating! I was distracted when I couldn't afford to be distracted and when there's a job or money on the line you don't have the luxury of distraction like that.
I do think it is important to have a support team, so I will send update texts or make a phone call to a loved one if I need a little love or played poorly and need to blow off a little steam before the (potential) next round.
A good breakfast
I am blessed with a magnificent person in my life who has gone to school for nutrition. She is pretty much on speed dial in situations like this (or all the time...Hi Madeline) to consult with regarding fueling events such as this. Madeline is a classically trained musician, and she is acutely aware of the stress of auditions and performing. Who do you think introduced me to Natural Calm all those years ago???
I'm pretty good about eating well, but I have not had hours of schooling on the subject. To cover my bases, I check in with Mad Dog to make sure I'm not going to regret my breakfast choices later on in the day (don't mind the autocorrect here - iphones still can't exactly read our minds yet).
Breathing Exercises
You know that thing where you get all panicky and feel out of control? These yoga people figured that one out a while ago and I have to say it is an awesome inclusion to audition days. I don't sit on a Turkish Rug and meditate for hours the morning of but I do close my eyes and do the following breathing exercise before hitting the stage. Yes, the proctor will look at you with concern like 'OMG what is going on!? Has this candidate lost their mind? Do I need to call a Doctor? Or maybe a psych ward?' But when you win it will all be worth it.
A great resource regarding the inclusion of yoga in your preparation is Musician's Yoga by Mia Olson. As a yoga teacher, performer, and educator she has done a wonderful job of applying yoga to the unique environment of performers.
Comfortable Shoes and clothes
This is probably not the best time to try out those cute new heels or that pantsuit. Stick with the tried and true. You don't want to suddenly discover you can't lift your bow arm fast enough minutes before your audition time.
Wonder Woman Pose
According to Amy Cuddy, your behavior and emotions are firmly tied. The most powerful leaders don't merely think a certain way, they carry themselves a certain way. You should do the same.
Or fake it til you make it? (At least in the bathroom mirror right before the audition).
Best of Luck to anyone taking an audition soon! I hope this is helpful!
What do you do to prepare for auditions? Any suggestions or recommendations?
Leave a comment below!