Current Events > I have a degree in music, and I perform/teach music professionally. AMA

(+) Yeah! (+)

music related or otherwise
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How are you for $$$?

Also, why teach?

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In communist takeover you would be one of the first "enemies of the state" to be killed (teacher/intellectual)

How do you feel about this?
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Do you play the bassoon?

Is "Russian Christmas Music" the bomb for the English horn?

Is John Williams totally awesome or terribly cliched?
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Jobs where you're trying to pass on knowledge to some inept fool suck, right?
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whats your instrument of choice

how snobby are you about popular music
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if you had to recommend one album what would it be
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here's a non-political question also

how long is your commute every day?
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if you were beamed up by an alien race and they made you perform something to determine whether you live or die, what would you perform?

Which instrument best describes ur dick
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Have you composed anything?

If so, may I hear it?
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Sunhawk posted...

How are you for $$$?

Also, why teach?

I'm not rich, but I'm getting by and also managing to pay off my student debt

I enjoy teaching (this is primarily in a one-on-one context) and it's far more consistent than gigs are, at least at this stage.

Wariodorf posted...

Inb4 Proudclod derails the topic

anyway, Baroque era or Classical era

I largely prefer Baroque over Classical. Romantic over both of them. my focus was in Jazz though

Damn_Underscore posted...

In communist takeover you would be one of the first "enemies of the state" to be killed (teacher/intellectual)

How do you feel about this?

I feel like you don't know what you're talking about

Sariana21 posted...

Do you play the bassoon?

Is "Russian Christmas Music" the bomb for the English horn?

Is John Williams totally awesome or terribly cliched?

I don't play bassoon, though I love listening to it. Bassoon Quartet is awesome.

I'll admit I don't actually know "Russian Christmas Music" like I said, my focus was Jazz

as for John Williams... writing for film is its own skill, and it takes a long time to do well. he does that very well. his stuff is obviously derivative of Mahler and Holst, but basically all film soundtracks are.
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SolidSonicEX posted...

Jobs where you're trying to pass on knowledge to some inept fool suck, right?

I like teaching, and none of my students are inept fools. I could see it be frustrating if that were the case though

green butter posted...

whats your instrument of choice

how snobby are you about popular music

my main instrument is trumpet. I also teach various other assorted brass instruments, and ukulele (which I have been playing for about 15 years)

I don't really think I'm snobby about popular music. I like a lot of it. I listen to a lot of hip-hop, and I've learned a lot from it. I enjoy stuff from every genre
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averagejoel posted...

Sariana21 posted...

Do you play the bassoon?

Is "Russian Christmas Music" the bomb for the English horn?

Is John Williams totally awesome or terribly cliched?

I don't play bassoon, though I love listening to it. Bassoon Quartet is awesome.

I'll admit I don't actually know "Russian Christmas Music" like I said, my focus was Jazz

as for John Williams... writing for film is its own skill, and it takes a long time to do well. he does that very well. his stuff is obviously derivative of Mahler and Holst, but basically all film soundtracks are.

Nah, Zimmer's The Lion King music is a total ripoff of Mozart's "Requiem" (I think that's the piece). Both Williams and Zimmer have admitted that they "steal" motifs from the classics, though, so that's fine.

Bassoon isn't exactly a jazz instrument, lol. Nor is Russian CM.
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Kombucha posted...

if you had to recommend one album what would it be

I've been listening to the Carla Bley Band a lot lately. I highly recommend her album "Social Studies"

Damn_Underscore posted...

here's a non-political question also

how long is your commute every day?

it varies greatly depending on the day.

sometimes I teach at home. no commute for that.

sometimes I teach at one of two other places in my city each about a 10-minute bus ride, or a 30-minute walk away from me.

sometimes I have gigs, which can take me even farther away 2 weekends ago I had a gig in a small town about 2.5 hours away

knutjob posted...

if you were beamed up by an alien race and they made you perform something to determine whether you live or die, what would you perform?

I'd probably show them one of the pop tunes I covered on ukulele. David Bowie's "Star Man" is the first one that comes to mind.

MC_BatCommander posted...

Which instrument best describes ur dick

uhhhhhhhhh... kazoo? idk
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Darkman124 posted...

Have you composed anything?

If so, may I hear it?

I have composed stuff, and I've been getting my compositions played regularly. still working on getting gigs together for that though. I'll probably get into the studio eventually, once the band is all comfortable with the tunes.

nothing original of mine online right now, though I did do some recording a few weeks ago as part of a choir for a local singer-songwriter. not sure when his album is coming out.
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I would definitely be interested in hearing it when released.
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Speaking of jazz and trumpeters how do you feel about Chuck mangione? He's one of my all-time favorite musicians and he's inspired some of my drumming as well.
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What Metal bands do you like?
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Was your degree in music composition, or was it in an instrument?
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What do you think of bands like Snarky Puppy? Do you think they're reviving/reshaping jazz or do you find them a bit wanky?

Too Many Zooz also. Thoughts on those guys.
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Darkman124 posted...

I would definitely be interested in hearing it when released.

I'll let you know. my coworker did some choir + string quartet arrangements, and they're splendid.

Drpooplol posted...

Speaking of jazz and trumpeters how do you feel about Chuck mangione? He's one of my all-time favorite musicians and he's inspired some of my drumming as well.

I like him. haven't really heard much of his stuff and he's not one of my favourites, but he was a great player.

Flockaveli posted...

What Metal bands do you like?

is Jimi Hendrix metal? because if so, then him. Metal is definitely my biggest overall blind spot in music

pinky0926 posted...

What do you think of bands like Snarky Puppy? Do you think they're reviving/reshaping jazz or do you find them a bit wanky?

Too Many Zooz also. Thoughts on those guys.

I don't know Too Many Zooz, but I really like Snarky Puppy. one thing to note is that they don't consider themselves Jazz, though they're obviously not out of place at like, big jazz festivals

I think Sylva and the Family Dinner albums are my favourites.
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oh also whoever did post 22 is on my ignore list, so if someone could either quote it or tell me who it is, that would be appreciated
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Can you play Fisherman's Horizon?

Better yet...

What video game music can you play and on what instruments?

My first day of monthly music class in 1st grade, the teacher was telling us the rules and one of them was "don't step over the instruments." A little later, she stepped over the instruments and I called her out.

1. Do you think she was testing us?
2. If not, do you think she hated me for busting her as a 5 year old?
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SaithSayer posted...

Can you play Fisherman's Horizon?

Better yet...

What video game music can you play and on what instruments?

a few years ago I learned a solo ukulele arrangement of the Super Mario Bros. music. that was some difficult shit, and it would take me some time to relearn it.
I'm also kinda working on an arrangement of it to play with my band.

I transcribed something from Undertale a few months ago for one of my students.
... Asgore's Theme maybe?

video game music takes some serious preparation to do properly
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ledbowman posted...

My first day of monthly music class in 1st grade, the teacher was telling us the rules and one of them was "don't step over the instruments." A little later, she stepped over the instruments and I called her out.

1. Do you think she was testing us?
2. If not, do you think she hated me for busting her as a 5 year old?

she may have been testing you. idk

she almost certainly did not hate you for doing that.
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1. How often do SoundCloud rappers offer you payment in exposure?

2. I have 7 followers, can you produce vocals for me?
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I hear a lot (a lot) of Tchaikovsky in John Williams (especially Star Wars). What percent do you agree with me?
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Selling your services is exploitative and classist
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Wariodorf posted...

How do you feel about Big Band composers like Glenn Miller or Benny Goodman?

sorry, I missed this one.

Glenn Miller was lame and I'd bet a good amount of money that everyone in his band used the n word regularly.

Benny Goodman is less lame, but still kinda hokey. he did do some good by de-segregating his band though

Makeveli_lives posted...

1. How often do SoundCloud rappers offer you payment in exposure?

2. I have 7 followers, can you produce vocals for me?

1. assuming that's what this is, one
2. I can. but I will not do it for exposure. you can die from too much of that shit

ledbowman posted...

I hear a lot (a lot) of Tchaikovsky in John Williams (especially Star Wars). What percent do you agree with me?

I'm not as familiar with Tchaikovsky as I am with Holst and Mahler so I don't recognize his influence as much, but I'm sure it's there.

My understanding is that the most direct ancestor of most film music is Holst's The Planets. Tchaikovsky could very well have informed the way Holst wrote that. I know Mahler did.

RebelElite791 posted...

Selling your services is exploitative and classist

no it's not
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posts 22, 30, and 31 are from people I have on Ignore. if they're legitimate questions, I would appreciate someone either quoting them so I can see them or telling me who the users are so I can (maybe temporarily) unmute them
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22 and 31 asked:
Was your degree in music composition, or was it in an instrument?

Why don't you post about music more?
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Antifar posted...

22 and 31 asked:
Was your degree in music composition, or was it in an instrument?

Why don't you post about music more?

technically my degree is in Jazz Studies. it was mostly performance (Trumpet performance in my case), but also had significant History, Composition, Arranging, and Theory components.

I don't post much about music because I already play music every day and have a large community IRL where the primary focus is music. music, in some way, already takes up most of my waking hours.

and I sometimes post about music online too. usually just not in this context
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What are your thoughts on Miles Davis' electric period?
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Godnorgosh posted...

Not a question, but you'll probably like this vid:

watching it now. it's interesting.

Antifar posted...

What are your thoughts on Miles Davis' electric period?

Live Evil and On the Corner are extremely my shit

if you're interested in contemporary artists doing similar stuff, I recommend the trumpet players Roy Hargrove (he does a lot of stuff with hip-hop and neo-soul artists, and his career imo has basically been what Miles' would have been if he didn't die in the 90s) and Christian Scott Atunde Adjuah (doing similar things to Roy, obviously heavily influenced by Roy Hargrove and Miles, but also has some cool stuff going on)
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Godnorgosh posted...

Not a question, but you'll probably like this vid:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_sCRcfYRslg" data-time="

RebelElite791 posted...

Selling your services is exploitative and classist

Everyone who works for a living sells their labor. Must be convenient for you that pretty much no one is allowed to criticize capitalism.

How shameful comrade.
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16-BITTER posted...

averagejoel posted...

oh also whoever did post 22 is on my ignore list, so if someone could either quote it or tell me who it is, that would be appreciated

s0nicfan posted...

Was your degree in music composition, or was it in an instrument?

Why dont you post about music more?

Probably because he's not very good at that either.
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Where do you see yourself in 5 years
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Will you give a short review of Echoes by Pink Floyd? (the song on Meddle, not the compilation album)
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I want to go to school for music production or something. Do you have any recommendations on what to learn before I go and what I should major in. I'm studying music theory right now and taking drum lessons.
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emblem boy posted...

Where do you see yourself in 5 years

probably living in a city (which may or may not be the one i currently live in), doing pretty similar stuff to what I do now, but with my student debt paid off. that'll be nice.

LordRazziel posted...

Will you give a short review of Echoes by Pink Floyd? (the song on Meddle, not the compilation album)

I don't know the song at all, but I'll do it... sometime in the near future.

Forlorn_Ass posted...

I want to go to school for music production or something. Do you have any recommendations on what to learn before I go and what I should major in. I'm studying music theory right now and taking drum lessons.

I think that, in addition to their main instrument(s), everyone should be able to sing and play piano. I have a conceptual idea about music where piano and voice are at opposite ends of a spectrum which contains all the pitched instruments: piano could, on theory, be learnt entirely visually, with no aural cues, and you generate sound by pressing a key. with singing, there are no visual cues, and they way sound is produced is much more abstract.

piano, because there are so many concrete visual cues, is also excellent for learning theory.

aside from that: practice active listening. listen to a lot of music and try to pick it apart and figure out what's going on. if there's sheet music available for what you're listening to, look at it as you listen.

music is holistic: everything you do will make everything else you do a little bit easier
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Thanks man. There are no piano instructors in my small town so I think I'll have to do YouTube vids. Also, what if I can't sing? Like I don't have a good voice.
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Forlorn_Ass posted...

Thanks man. There are no piano instructors in my small town so I think I'll have to do YouTube vids.

I find it difficult to believe that there would be a drum teacher and a theory teacher in your town and not a piano teacher (I grew up in a small town with a population of roughly 12 000 and there were lots of piano teachers) but if that's really true then best of luck.

Also, what if I can't sing? Like I don't have a good voice.

"good" voices are subjective, and you don't have to sing the Queen of the Night Aria in perfect falsetto (lord knows I can't) to be a tremendous asset to a band if you can sing in tune and blend with other people, you're basically 85% of the way there.

but disregarding that, there's definitely some niche that you can pull off.

like I can sing parts in a choir or other group setting, I can do lead for some specific styles, and I can rap, but I don't have the power behind my voice for lead on, say, Funk.
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The piano teachers here only teach kids, not adults. But I'll keep looking. And that's the thing, I can't sing in tune.
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Opinions on

Debussy's Gollywog's cake walk
Beethovens 7th 2nd movement
Rachel's Tzigane

Do you feel the strict form of the classical era or the personal expression of the romantic era lend itself more to creativity?

Why is La Mer the most beautiful piece of music ever composed?(well, imo)

Favorite violin concerto

Thoughts on Jelly roll Morton?
Are you a ragtime fan?
Do you like steely Dan?
Thoughts on jazz fusion?

Stanley Clarke or Victor Wooten?