The Musician's Toolbox

We've decided here at the Musician's Toolbox to give you an opportunity to get to know your hosts a little bit better.  It ended up taking longer than we anticipated (Angela is quite long-winded), so the first episode is all things Andrew.  Go ahead and give it a listen.  You'll learn all about him growing up on the farm in Idaho, the familial influence that played a roll in his introduction to music, and much more.  

Is anyone else out there feeling a little sluggish or unmotivated? Well, me too.   

It’s that time of year: students are finishing up school, parents are working hard to take off that summer vacation, and grandparents are looking for new things to do with their time.   

It seems as though everyone is just ready for SUMMER.   

Something to reach to. Something to fall on. Someone to talk to.   

As fellow musicians, we are are getting ready to take a break from our pieces, and start nourishing the other aspects of our life other than music that we might have been neglecting.   

So, how do you do it? Do want to know how to motivate yourself out of that RUT? Well, Angela and I gained so much insight learning from the guests who joined us, and fortunately they are all professionals in the music or counseling industries… and we want to share it with you. Go check out most recent episode to learn for yourself. Let us know what you think!

P.S. if one of our guests said something particularly interesting to you, feel free to check out their FULL interview below! 👇

Chapters:

0:00 Intro

2:36 Cindy Bezas

5:48 John Delony

8:52 Kimberlee Dray

10:30 Josh Wright

11:00 Lori Miller

13:56 Mike McClellan

15:08 Xochitl Tafoya

17:20 Ben Britton

18:53 Rachel Galvin

21:42 Outro

Links to the FULL Interviews:

What did YOU learn from 2020? John Dewey said, “We do not learn from our experiences… We learn from reflecting on experience.” If we do not reflect on the hard times in life, there is a good chance we will forget those lessons, and we will have tor re-experience those trials. That is why we study history right? Well today, we wanted to dive into what some people have learned from the roller coaster of a year, 2020. We would LOVE to hear about what you have learned in the comments below. Enjoy the episode!

P.S. if one of our guests said something particularly interesting to you, feel free to check out their FULL interview below! 👇

Chapters:

0:00 Intro

2:36 Cindy Bezas

5:15 John Delony

6:09 Kimberlee Dray

8:28 Josh Wright

10:04 Lori Miller

12:03 Mike McClellan

13:00 Xochitl Tafoya

16:06 Ben Britton

18:08 Rachel Galvin

21:17 Outro

Links to the FULL Interviews:

STRESS! For some people it's taboo, and others are in denial about feeling it. From our conversations with these professionals, we have come to realize that stress MANAGEMENT has a negative connotation. Managers have this bossy stereotype described as: you do this, go get that for me, make these copies! Have you heard this before? Is there a better description with how to cope with stress? YES -- STRESS ACKNOWLEDGEMENT. As musicians, we need to be in a good mental state to effectively share music with others, and in this rapid fire mini episode, we hope that you learn the tools to efficiently cope and acknowledge stress.

Chapters:

0:00 Intro

2:36 Cindy Bezas

4:50 John Delony

6:41 Kimberlee Dray

7:11 Josh Wright

9:15 Lori Miller

12:07 Mike McClellan

12:57 Xochitl Tafoya

14:17 Ben Britton

15:53 Rachel Galvin

18:52 Outro

Links to the FULL Interviews:

WOW! This season has gone by SO FAST! We are so grateful to all of these wonderful guests who have joined us this season. Here at The Musician's Toolbox, we have enjoyed hearing about comparisons, maintaining good mental standing, self-transformation, music production, composing, teaching online, and maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Just like last season, for the month of March we will be celebrating this season by showcasing never-before-seen answers to popular questions. In this rapid fire mini episode we will be learning all about TIME MANAGEMENT. It is almost spring, so everyone is itching to clean, and get everything ready for summer. So by studying time management, we can examine what we do during our day, and see what we can take out or put in. We hope you gain new insights, and let us know what you learn!!!

Chapters:

0:00 Intro

2:36 Cindy Bezas

5:17 John Delony

6:03 Kimberlee Dray

7:15 Josh Wright

8:00 Lori Miller

9:14 Mike McClellan

10:04 Xochitl Tafoya

12:38 Ben Britton

13:59 Rachel Galvin

14:56 Outro

Most recently we sat down with Dr. Rachel Galvin to talk about how to approach music making from a physically more healthy place. As a Feldenkrais practitioner and personal trainer, Dr. Galvin (also a violist) had some incredible insight into pain free playing. If you’re looking for a new way to approach practicing or have dealt with/are dealing with injuries, you will find this episode particularly useful and educative. 

Have you ever heard of El Sistema?  What about the Suzuki Method?  If you have heard of the latter, but not El Sistema, then you definitely need to check out this episode.  There is a music education movement called El Sistema that came out of Venezuela.  It has changed the look of classical music in many ways including the typical ethnicities you see performing classical music, as well as the way that we perform and consume classical music.  Xochitl Tafoya, a music educator based in Northern California was an El Sistema fellow which means she went to Venezuela and learned from the founder of El Sistema as well as studying the methodology of El Sistema through New England Conservatory.  Go listen to her unique experiences both with El Sistema as well as in the classical music world.

Welcome back to yet another episode of The Musician's Toolbox! In this week's episode, we feature another conversation about mental health, however, Cindy Bezas has a very different point of view of the music industry than some of our past guests, so we think you will thoroughly enjoy this conversation. Cindy Bezas has earned two degrees, a bachelors from BYU emphasizing leadership communication, as well as a Masters of Science from the University of Idaho where she studied the power of self-transformation. Bezas is also a very powerful communicator: she has spoken across the nation for executives, groups, and individuals on self transformation, as well as emotional and mental resilience. Lastly, Cindy is a fellow podcaster and is the host of internationally top-ranked podcasts including, Concussion: There Is Hope; and The Business Nightingale Project. Both of which are intended to bring hope and reduce suicide. As you can see, Cindy Bezas has a very new perspective that we quite haven't had yet on the podcast yet, so we hope you enjoy, and let us know what you think!

Hello Fellow Musicians!! How are you doing? (is anyone even reading this?) In today's episode, we talk with Dr. Ben Britton. If you do not know who he is, he is doing lots of amazing work, and here is a portion of the things he has done... he has earned a Master's degree in saxophone jazz performance at the Manhattan School of Music and Doctorate in jazz studies at Eastman; he has produced many albums and is an avid composer; and, he currently teaches jazz and woodwinds at the College of Southern Idaho. Oh AND, among other things, he has written a fictional novel, Gravity Leak, which is in the publishing stages, with an accompanying album of self-composed music, which, is a main topic of our discussion today. We also talked about SMART practice and some of the behind the senses of Eastman. Angela and I both enjoyed this convo, and we think you will to! Let us know what you think!!

What is going on everyone?!? We are so excited to talk to Kimberlee Dray once again, and this time, you can ACTUALLY hear her. We finally got back to re-recording this... we were so sad that the audio last time was horrible because Kimberlee is always SO MUCH fun to talk to, and we talked about so many things this time. Some of the topics were from our previous convo (although, they will basically be new because of the audio issue), and some of the topics are new. We talked about: why we need to perform for the non-musicians rather than the magicians, what directions Kimberlee will be taking in the new year, and how we can change our mindset on performing. We hope you enjoy this episode, and let us know what you think!

Hello everyone! We are back for another podcast interview! Today, we have a very special guest [ I need to find some more descriptive words, because I say that about every episode :) ] -- Dr. Josh Wright. But in all seriousness, we are so fortunate to be talking to Josh. He has earned a doctorate in piano performance from the University of Michigan, competed across the country, and built a large online music presence and business. He has created numerous online courses as well as countless free YouTube videos. In this episode, we talk to him about deciding to have a career in music, building the career he has now, discovering your love for music, and so much more! We hope you enjoy this episode, AND he has been very gracious to give you guys a discount on his digital courses...

HAPPY NEW YEAR! We are so excited to bring you more, new, and improved content. We hope you enjoyed the holiday season, as well as our FIRST mini series! 🥳 For this very special episode, we had a conversation with the one and only DR. JOHN DELONY. Yeah, we are stoked too. If you do not know who he is, he is a Dave Ramsey personality, and he has his own show where he helps people with anxiety, depression, relationships, and all of those things we have all been struggling with over this year. In our conversation, we talked about how musician's tend to block-off relationships with others, negative self-talk and damaging comparisons, and also goal planning for 2021. We sincerely hope you enjoy this interview as much as we did!

#JohnDelony #DaveRamsey #2021Goals #Relationships #Comparisons

Check out Dr. D here:

For those of you who are new, WELCOME to The Musician's Toolbox where we interview people in the music industry to learn from them, and how we can be successful. This out-of-the-ordinary episode is composed of brief and concise answers from the people we have interviewed on foundational questions like: "How do you practice scales? What would you recommend for someone who is confused on how to strategize piece memorization, or struggling with inefficient practice sessions? And also how can someone prepare for performances?" We will break down these topics in every episode in the month of December. These clips have NEVER been seen before, so if you have already watched the full interviews, do not hesitate and miss this valuable information! If you were intrigued by someone's comments, we encourage to listen/watch their full interviews–we learned so much from them, and we think you will too! (links are below)

Chapters:

0:00 Introduction

1:35 Mick Wetzel

2:26 Robyn Wells

3:56 Aaron Miller

4:18 Lito Hernandez

5:19 Renée-Paule Gauthier

6:42 Karali Hunter

7:45 Mick Wetzel

9:29 Del Parkinson

10:19 Outro

For those of you who are new, WELCOME to The Musician's Toolbox where we interview people in the music industry to learn from them, and how we can be successful. This out-of-the-ordinary episode is composed of brief and concise answers from the people we have interviewed on foundational questions like: "How do you practice scales? What would you recommend for someone who is confused on how to strategize piece memorization, or struggling with inefficient practice sessions? And also how can someone prepare for performances?" We will break down these topics in every episode in the month of December. These clips have NEVER been seen before, so if you have already watched the full interviews, do not hesitate and miss this valuable information! If you were intrigued by someone's comments, we encourage to listen/watch their full interviews–we learned so much from them, and we think you will too! (links are below)

Chapters:

0:00 Introduction

1:34 Mick Wetzel

5:52 Del Parkinson

7:06 Aaron Miller

8:02 Lito Hernandez

9:33 Renée-Paule Gauthier

11:36 Robyn Wells

13:18 Drew Forde

14:47 Karali Hunter

17:21 Outro

For those of you who are new, WELCOME to The Musician's Toolbox where we interview people in the music industry to learn from them, and how we can be successful. This out-of-the-ordinary episode is composed of brief and concise answers from the people we have interviewed on foundational questions like: "How do you practice scales? What would you recommend for someone who is confused on how to strategize piece memorization, or struggling with inefficient practice sessions? And also how can someone prepare for performances?" We will break down these topics in every episode in the month of December. These clips have NEVER been seen before, so if you have already watched the full interviews, do not hesitate and miss this valuable information! If you were intrigued by someone's comments, we encourage to listen/watch their full interviews–we learned so much from them, and we think you will too! (links are below)

Chapters:

0:00 Introduction 

1:35 Karali Hunter

3:33 Mick Wetzel 

5:30 Lito Hernandez 

7:01 Renée-Paule Gauthier

8:33 Robyn Wells

9:52 ThatViolaKid

11:10 Del Parkinson

12:15 Aaron Miller

For those of you who are new, WELCOME to The Musician's Toolbox where we interview people in the music industry to learn from them, and how we can be successful. This out-of-the-ordinary episode is composed of brief and concise answers from the people we have interviewed on foundational questions like: "How do you practice scales? What would you recommend for someone who is confused on how to strategize piece memorization, or struggling with inefficient practice sessions? And also how can someone prepare for performances?" We will break down these topics in every episode in the month of December. These clips have NEVER been seen before, so if you have already watched the full interviews, do not hesitate and miss this valuable information! If you were intrigued by someone's comments, we encourage to listen/watch their full interviews–we learned so much from them, and we think you will too! (links are below)

Chapters:

1:33 Renée-Paule Gauthier

4:00 Del Parkinson

4:46 Mick Wetzel

9:53 Lito Hernandez

10:43 ThatViolaKid

13:58 Robyn Wells

15:47 Aaron Miller

16:45 Karali Hunter

We were so stoked to bring Drew Forde (aka ThatViolaKid) on the podcast this week. As a Juilliard alumni, Forde has performed all cross the US, but since #coronavirus his career looks very different. We talk about this as well as his experience as an African American in the classical music world. Perhaps one of the most valuable topics we covered was about his impressive social marketing skills--as he has over 120,000 followers on Instagram. We talk about all of this and more, enjoy!

This interview is defiantly one for the books! Minor "Mick" L. Wetzel is currently a member of the viola section in the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Wetzel has been a faculty member of many prestigious music schools including: USC Thornton School of Music, UCLA, and he is currently teaching at California State University Fullerton. We had such a fantastic conversation. We talked about stress, auditions, positivity, touring the the L.A. Phil, along with an inside scoop into the mind of Gustavo Dudamel. Sit back, and enjoy!

Today, we have a very special person on the podcast. Lito Hernandez is a multifaceted instrumentalist, and has graced the stage with musicians like Kanye West and Surfaces. Lito studied at the Berklee School of Music with a major in Saxophone. In this interview we talk about his musical journey, how he got these crazy gigs, and the design of his studio.   

We are so inspired by the wisdom and knowledge we gained from Aaron Miller in this week's interview. Dr. Miller is the epitome of a diverse musician, he has studied under classical and jazz teachers, earned a doctorate degree from Northwestern University, and has toured around with many jazz greats including Kobie Watkins, the Glenn Miller orchestra, and Joe Levano. Miller is now the department head for jazz studies and bass at Brigham Young University-Idaho. In the interview Miller depicts his life, and how people can relate his experiences to the lifestyle of classical and jazz careers. We also learn about taking difficult out of our vocabulary, what to get out of each practice session, changing the way we think about the entire industry. We hope you enjoy!!   Aaron's Contact Info: https://www.byui.edu/music/about/faculty/miller-aaron  Our Website: https://www.themusicianstoolboxpodcast.com Merch: https://teespring.com/stores/themusicianstoolbox Email: themusicianstoolboxpodcast@gmail.com Anchor: https://anchor.fm/themusicianstoolbox/episodes/Trailer-The-Musicians-Toolbox-ej9pon YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvFWEGoy67ZiU62tRuNt3iQ?view_as=subscriber Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/themusicianstoolbox/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/themusicianstoolbox

This week we are featuring pianist, composer, and teacher Robyn Wells. You’ll hear about how Robyn has toured all over the United States, and all the different “hats” she has worn to make that possible. We also feature her recent release of piano solo music “The Quilting Series”, a four volume collection with each piece inspired by a different quilting pattern. As a bonus, Robyn plays one solo for us. Go check it out, and check out her music as well!

Welcome back everyone! Today we have brought Dr. Karali Hunter to The Musician’s Toolbox!   If you’ve ever had any thoughts about the merits of different universities and how you can decide which is the right place for you, you may find Dr. Hunter’s experience useful.  Having attended Brigham Young University, Indiana University, and Arizona University, she has insights into how and why she made those decisions.    You’ll also hear about how Dr. Hunter started her school of music “Hammers and Strings Conservatory,” in Phoenix, Arizona, and how she was featured at the NAMM Conference. Thanks for Listening! 

Today we bring you pianist Dr. Dell Parkinson.  Dell has been professor of piano at Boise State University since 1985, and his interview is full of advices for college auditions and keeping perspective throughout your musical journey.  We really enjoyed hearing his experiences as a teacher and performer in his career that has spanned over half a century. We hope you enjoy the episode!   

Hey Everyone! This is just a short episode on what our podcast is, and why you should subscribe. Each week we bring you a musician, and interview them to get the inside scoop on the music industry, and how to be successful. Wether you are a hobbyist or in the industry yourself, this podcast is for everyone. We appreciate you for listening and hope to see you around!