Earbuds Engaged

One evening Casey was asked to introduce her bassoon to kids online for a class that was the following afternoon! Have you been in this situation? Do you know what you would play? What would you say to someone who has never seen your instrument before? How would you keep the attention of twenty toddlers?

It's common to be asked to demonstrate your instrument for a class or whenever you're playing in public, often with little notice or planning time! It seems simple to talk about something that is such a big part of our lives! However, when you've been shredding in the practice room it can be hard to know how to take advantage of an engaging and personal teaching moment with your audience. You'll want to be prepared to engage any and all ages! Casey and Alaina discuss their silly experiences with giving instrument intros, the importance of being ready to do them, and the importance of making them interactive. You are more than a human Google, you're there to provide an experience beyond reciting facts. Be a good ambassador for classical music and for your instrument. Show them how relatable classical musicians are and invite the audience into your world. Try not to forget how cool it is that we get to play these things! Share with the audience, and let them know who you are as a person. All of that will help connect them further into what you do and the music you chose to play for them.

In preparation for this episode, we read two chapters from Eric Booth's "The Music Teaching Artist's Bible." Both chapters were from Part IV: The Fundamentals of Working in Education Settings-

Chapter 15, "Truth and Dare in Education Programs"

Chapter 16, "How to Succeed in School Environments"

We'd love for you to join our challenge and record a video of you introducing your instrument! Tag us in your video or send it in a message on Instagram @earsengaged or email us at [email protected].

We want to hear from you! If you're enjoying the podcast, please leave a rating or review! Our goal is to get 5 reviews by June. Everyone who leaves a review gets a shout out! 

WindSync website: www.windsync.org

Peter and the Wolf: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ngCqj-Fd2dw

Links to Live Video Demos on WindSync's Facebook Page: 

WindSync Intro Video and Clarinet Demo

WindSync Flute and Oboe Demo

WindSync Horn and Bassoon Demo

Kid Demos and Rhythms: https://www.facebook.com/WindSync/videos/223515622317728/

Theme music by: The Maplewaves  https://open.spotify.com/artist/2IeIcNBQdNt6YwWMBHIGRw

Casey and Alaina talk with another Indiana University alum and friend, Taylor Reutman! Taylor double majored in oboe performance and German while at IU, but after graduating he took a much needed break from music to explore his second major. Taylor's been traveling the world as a flight attendant with United for the past four years. It wasn't until recently that he was able to enjoy playing the oboe again. We discuss life with a varying schedule as a flight attendant, school experiences and studying abroad, falling out of and back in love with music, and the excited new chapter of Taylor's journey with music making! 

Listen to Taylor's podcast 'Under the Horror Dome' here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/under-the-horror-dome-podcast/id1466152624 

Theme Music: "The Cactus Song" by The Maplewaves https://themaplewaves.bandcamp.com/ We are not including this link just because we have to for copyright purposes, we are including this link so you can go listen to the entire song because it's a good song! Casey's husband wrote and played it with his band. His band has a bunch of original music that you can check out. We think that's pretty cool.

When graduation is approaching, most music students feel anxious about how they are going to get paid to perform classical music. Today we offer a unique alternative to symphonic auditions; playing chamber music for a cruise line! This program was created out of a collaboration between New York City’s Lincoln Center and Holland America Line. *Spoiler* a program our guest loved so much she plans on going back for another 4 months! In this episode we talk with violinist, Khelsey Zarraga (Alaina's 4-year-roommate while at Indiana University!) about all the nitty gritty details of life as a Lincoln Center Stage Artist in their resident ensemble onboard. These realities include traveling the world, maintaining artistic integrity, programing, and the different sort of audience engagement skills that are needed. By the end we learn about the sacrifices it takes, but also what sort of life changing rewards it has to offer. 

Theme Music: "The Cactus Song" by The Maplewaves https://themaplewaves.bandcamp.com/ We are not including this link because we have to in order to not get sued, we are including this link so you can go listen to the entire song because it's a good song! Casey's husband wrote and played it with his band. His band has a bunch of original music that you can check out. We think that's pretty cool. 

Woah! Purpose is such a big topic, what did we get ourselves into!? Casey and Alaina discuss the idea of an essential job and how musicians relate to that. They share their individual paths that lead them to choosing a career in music and what helped them stay on that path. They also discuss how being out of school has allowed them to fall back in love with music and find their purpose as musicians. At the end, we describe how the definition of art can be expanded into an action and how to encourage everyday people to use it as a way to confirm their individuality. 

Alaina and Casey test their virtual recording skills and discuss various ways Ears Engaged has been effected by the Corona virus restrictions. 

The team meets again to discuss the details of their latest gig on March 6th at the Pittsburgh International Airport. *Notice: As of March 13th, 2020 The Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council & The Pittsburgh International Airport decided to pause this performance series in an attempt to prioritize the safety and security of both passengers & performers*

Casey and Alaina discuss applying for their first grant! This milestone lead to looking forward at more long term goals for Ears Engaged, especially when considering how expensive it is to be involved in classical music. They talk about being part of both a local and digital community and how those communities can benefit each other on a regular basis. This will hopefully help support the efforts of Ears Engaged to fulfill their mission of bringing classical music to everyday spaces and people. 

In this episode, the full Ears Engaged team gets together to share our experience performing at a local open mic night, something we've never done before - especially as classical musicians! We give you an insight into how we felt, how the audience felt, and why we think more classical musicians should try putting themselves and their music in this setting. Nearing the end of the episode, we get into a great discussion about what qualifies as a gig you should be paid for versus a gig you benefit from in other ways, the future of Ears Engaged, and dealing with the realities of how new graduates make money.