The Confident Musicianing Podcast
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The Confident Musicianing Podcast
3 Traits of A Good Music Student
What makes a good music student? There are so many thoughts around this -- and even the question about what is "good," but here are 3 things that I have found make me a better music student in my day to day life studying at a conservatoire.
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Hello and welcome to the Confident Musicianing Podcast. My name is Eleanor and I am a British American oboist studying at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland literally my dream school and it took me a long way to get there. I applied and auditioned for 12 schools in three different countries. It was a lot of hard work but, oh my gosh, so worth it. I want you to have the confidence to work hard in achieving your goals, so come with me as we go on this journey together. So sit down, pull up a chair, take a seat or, if you're on the go, welcome to the Confident Musicianing Podcast. What makes a good music student? I feel like that question is very subjective. What is a good music student? How can we quantify good? To be honest, I'm not sure, but these are things that I have found from my first year so far studying music at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. I have found a few things that have helped me become a better music student, and when I was thinking of ideas for this episode, I came up with so many that this is going to be part one and we're going to have part two because there's just so many. But today I want to bring to you some things, some qualities, some skills that I think have helped me become a better music student and can make a good music student. So, wherever you are, whether you are a music student, whether you're thinking about being a music student, whether you just want to get better at music, let's dive into what makes a good music student. Alright, let's dive into it. I'm excited. The first thing is the ability to adapt. Now, that's very vague, so let's go into it.
Speaker 1:I recently performed Beethoven's second piano concerto. Obviously, I played the oboe, I did not play the piano, but I was putting it last minute and basically we had like a rehearsal and then we had a performance and, after being honest with myself about whether I could actually do it, because you know, when I was asked to do it, I had to think you know, can I actually do this? Can this fit in my schedule? After I realized you know what I think it can, I had to adapt really quickly to the piece, to perform it. When you know, in the first rehearsal I was like the new person, because I was asked a bit late and everyone else kind of already knew what they were doing. I really had to adapt and, if you know, for instance, the whole orchestra did a big diminuendo and I didn't know that we were doing that because I wasn't in the rehearsal before. I had to quickly take note of that, write it down without anyone telling me. You know what I mean? Like just being really, really adaptable and understanding about this.
Speaker 1:Adapting is an integral part of being a musician. In general, we have all adapted at some point. I am sure that every one of us, if we think about it, we can think about maybe an example of us adapting. For me I was also. So I was recently in a rehearsal and I had to play the choir anglais, the English horn, and I was asked to do that like two days before the rehearsal, and so I was like okay, and the only reed I had was an American scrape. I have been playing European style reads for the past what eight months, and so I haven't played an American style in so long. But since that was the only read I had, I had to adapt to it. I had to kind of go back in my brain and remember all of the things that I learned as an American player and really just kind of remember that and go for it.
Speaker 1:Another thing that happened in the same rehearsal was. I borrowed a cor anglais from the people who were doing the rehearsal and I realized in the rehearsal that it is a thumb plate style, which is a style that's common in the UK, but it basically means that the fingering system is completely different. So I was basically learning how to play notes in this rehearsal on a reed that I haven't played that style of in eight months, and it was a lot. I was very tired at the end of that day, but it was me adapting. I had to adapt to the reed and I had to adapt to the playing. You know the fingering style. Did I make mistakes? Yes, I did make mistakes, but did I adapt from those mistakes and learn from each and every mistake I made? Yes, and that was the reason why I was able to play this English horn with this reed. So that was an amazing experience.
Speaker 1:But learning music and performing music is all about adapting. So I wonder, maybe you could think about how do you want to adapt? How have you adapted in the past? This is something that maybe you have done and you don't realize that you've done because we just, as musicians, do it. How do you want to adapt better? Maybe you go to an orchestra. You know, know, you play in an orchestra every week or something, and maybe you could adapt a bit more to the mistakes that you've learned. Maybe you could write more in your score. Maybe you know that's the tale is all the time. Have you brought a pencil? We all forget to bring pencils. Um, but this idea of you know, do you learn from the mistakes that you make? And we can all learn more from the mistakes that we make. But that's a really great starting point to learn how to adapt. So I challenge you to think about the mistakes that you make and think about, maybe, how can you learn from them more, rather than maybe just being like, oh, I made a mistake. Be like, oh, I made a mistake, but now I know that that doesn't work, so let's try it this way, okay, the next thing, number two, is the ability to check in with yourself and say if things are too much for you.
Speaker 1:This is a big one, and I failed at this earlier this year. I was in so many projects. I was in a wind orchestra, I was in the opera, I had personal music stuff going on, I had auditions going on, I was performing things. I had so much to do and I was preparing for my technical exam and I thought that I could do all of those things and it could be great. Spoiler alert I couldn't. And, to be honest, looking back during that time that I was doing all of this stuff and trying to prepare for this exam, there was a little voice in the back of my head that said Eleanor, please stop, this isn't going to work, please stop. But the thing is, I didn't listen to that voice. I did not listen to that voice at all and I just kept going and I filled my time with work and I just didn't listen. And you know what? I failed my exam filled my time with work and I just didn't listen. And you know what? I failed my exam. I failed that exam and I haven't really talked about that on the internet yet and I'm planning to, but I did and it's okay. I am gonna do a reset and I am going to learn new skills to be able to prepare better.
Speaker 1:It wasn't because I didn't practice enough. It was because I practiced too much and I didn't listen to myself, or you know, I didn't listen to that. It was because I practiced too much and I didn't listen to myself. Or you know, I didn't listen to that little voice when it said Eleanor, you're doing too much, this isn't going to end well.
Speaker 1:So now, every morning I have maybe I've done a few things differently I meditate for five minutes and I listen to whatever comes up in my mind. If I wake up in the morning and I meditate for five minutes and my mind is saying you are doing too much, you're in too many projects, I'm stressed about this, I'm stressed about that, it's a great time for me to calm down but maybe also listen to those voices. Now, sometimes those voices might be like saying that and we know that. We're okay, but sometimes it's really good to listen to those voices and that's what I have been doing recently and just at least acknowledging them, because one of the big reasons why in earlier this year, my plan to do everything under the sun and also pass my exam didn't work was because I did not listen to myself when I knew that it wasn't going to work. I think that's a big thing.
Speaker 1:So, if you are in a ton of projects or feel like maybe you are doing too much, try to tune into yourself and if you need to speak to someone about it like speak up, you know I what, what I should have done during this time was went to a teacher or you know the person who plans these things and puts me in these projects and say something like this is too much, I don't think I can do all of this and also prepare it for my exam well and pass it, and that's something that I fail to do. But in the future, this, this goes back to adaptability in the future, I know that I will be able to do that because I've had this experience of, you know, not listening to myself and not doing that. So I think that's a big one and I challenge you to think about, maybe, if you are doing too much, listen to yourself about that, because that's very, very, very helpful to think about. Okay, the last thing for today and I will be doing a part two because I have so many things, but the last thing for today is networking, the networking ability. Oh my gosh, this is a big one.
Speaker 1:So, for me, I have a lot of lectures because I, you know, I'm in music school and a lot of those lectures have guest speakers, either guest speakers or, if you know, there's a masterclass, there's a guest performer, etc. And they are honestly really interesting people. One of the great things about loving music in a music school is that you get to meet people you genuinely are interested in working with or they're doing cool things and you're excited about their projects doing cool things and you're excited about their projects. And so a lot of times I do go up to these people after the lectures and introduce myself because I'm really interested in what they have to say and I want to make that connection because I don't know what could happen in the future. I might want to collaborate with them on a project and having those connections can be so helpful. And I think you know a lot of the time I've felt like, okay, I need to go up and introduce myself to this person and I need to hit it off and it needs to be great. And now we're best friends and we have five projects. That is so like so much pressure. It can be as simple as hi, my name is. This was really interesting. It's lovely to meet you and some of these interactions are going to be great and maybe you do have a great interaction, but sometimes it's just going to be that and that is perfectly fine, having different interactions at different times and different levels is great, but having those abilities to network is so, so crucial.
Speaker 1:I am also surrounded in my music school. I'm surrounded by musicians who are potential colleagues, you know, in future situations I can, you know, collaborate with them, do gigs with them, record with them Maybe I'll be in an orchestra with them. Having connections like that is so important. So, if you are in a music school or you're thinking about being in a music school, connecting with already professional people is a great idea. But also connect with people who go to the music school as well, because they will be the next generation of professionals and that's great to already have contacts with them, because then you will hopefully be in the next generation of professionals, which sounds so exciting. So I know that reaching out to people and networking can be nerve-wracking and that's something that I still work on.
Speaker 1:I you know, not only do I network professionally in like music situations, but I also say hi to people in my personal life, like, just, you know, I'm like at a coffee shop and maybe I like someone's top. I tell them that and that's so stressful because I'm I'm worried about you know what they might say? Well, they think I'm weird, blah, blah, blah, um. But the reward is so much greater and having those practices can really help me to actually, you know, be a good networker when it comes to music and the professional world, so that's something that can be really helpful. You know, just getting out there and networking, and yes, it might be nerve-wracking and yes, you might feel a bit weird, but the reward is so much greater than the nerves of it all right. So I challenge you talk to people, network. It's great. Just just introduce yourself and show genuine interest in what they are talking about. Only if you have genuine interest. Don't fake it, um, but showing that genuine interest that you have is so, so, so good. All right, a bonus before we go, because I gotta tell you about this.
Speaker 1:I feel like when we think about what makes a good music student, one of the first things we might think about is they practice well, and one of the things like I really didn't want to start off the episode with that, because I feel like that's obvious. I want to talk about the things that are really kind of more, maybe not seen as well, but we do have to talk a little bit about practice, because practice is, you know the thing that we do as musicians and planning practice is also so, so important. How we plan our practice sets the whole tone for actually practicing, and, as a busy music student at a conservatoire, my practice needs to be as effective as it possibly can, which is why I use a notable practice journal. This practice journal, this notable practice journal, literally has my whole practice world organized in it. It makes my sessions so much more effective, rather than just me going to a practice room having no plan and just playing what's in front of me and then feeling like, oh, I haven't actually achieved anything. When I use a notable practice journal, I have goals, I have things that I'm going to do. I know when I finish my practicing because I have completed all the things that I've planned out to do. And there's a reflection section as well, so that I can get better in every session through reflection. Literally, this is like so helpful.
Speaker 1:And as soon as I figured out that this was working, I knew that I needed to tell you about it and I knew that I needed to give you a code. So use code Eleanor15 for 15% off your journal and, yeah, get planning your practice. That is Eleanor15 for 15% off. E-l-e-a-n-o-r-1-5 for 15% off. You know that I wouldn't recommend anything that I don't absolutely love. This code is an affiliate code, which means I do receive a commission with no extra cost to you.
Speaker 1:All right, let's do a bit of a recap, shall we? Because I feel like I was so excited to record this episode because it's so good. I feel like there's so much goodness that I want to share with you in it. So the first thing is the ability to adapt New projects, new things, issues in rehearsals, issues in performances, the ability to look at a situation and be like how can we make the best of it? And just adapting is so, so, so helpful.
Speaker 1:The next thing is the ability to check in with yourself and, you know, say if things are too much, Don't be like me. Don't be like me who tried to do everything under the sun and also passed our exams and failed. Yeah, check in with yourself, and that's something that I'm trying to do as well. So let's keep each other accountable with that. We're both trying to do that together, so let's check in with ourselves. The next thing is networking Ability to network, literally just going up and saying hello to people, making connections, not putting so much pressure on that connection as well. Just let it be what it is, and if it ends up being a possibility or a collaboration or something, then that is so, so good. And the last thing is practicing well planning practice and using a notable practice journal, because this is like my new favorite thing in my practice room.
Speaker 1:All right, that is about it for today's episode. Thank you so much for listening. As always, all the things to do with this episode will be in the show notes in the description, from the blog post to the link to get your notable practice journal. Don't forget to use the code Eleanor15 for 15% off. Yeah, if you enjoyed this episode, please do give it some love, like, subscribe, share, comment, follow all the things. Give it some love, like, subscribe, share, comment, follow all the things and I will see you in the next episode. All right, till next time. Bye-bye.
