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SubCategory Archive (tags): ‘Stress & anxiety’

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Behave Yourself in Rehearsal

PUBLISHED: August 18, 2008, Bruce Hembd

Reminders for the new school year. Not enough can be said about keeping your cool while working with others; no matter how badly you want to scream at the top of your lungs with bitter angst and pained anguish it is always a better strategy to suck it up and play nice. Professional behavior and [...]

How to Make Horn Players Less Accurate

PUBLISHED: August 16, 2008, John Ericson

Reading the most recent post on accuracy in the Horndog Blog, “Wild Card Critic,” reminded me of several ways teachers and conductors make things worse for horn players. Conductors. The big cue is really not a good idea. Give a cue like you trust a hornist; make them feel like you believe that they can do [...]

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Inner game, Stress & anxiety

Tough Love and Hard Knocks

PUBLISHED: August 9, 2008, Bruce Hembd

It’s a cruel world – does that merit cruel teaching methods? I have had my share of great coaches and teachers. They were mentors who were inspired to teach. They crafted their advice like word-smiths and tailored their methods to meet my needs. I have also had my share of teachers with mixed abilities – [...]

Doors Close, Windows Open: On Getting Fired

PUBLISHED: June 20, 2008, Bruce Hembd

On getting the axe. George Carlin was, if anything, a brilliant observer of our American culture and its quirky social trends. In this video, he makes some very pointed remarks about how Americans are afraid of harsh truth and prefer to soften it with euphemistic language rather than face it head on. Check it out. [...]

The “N” Words: Negativity – Part III

PUBLISHED: May 12, 2008, Bruce Hembd

Acknowledging a problem, going with the flow… Negativity in orchestra musicians is something that usually evolves over time and through circumstances. As noted in Part II, protracted contract negotiations can spawn all sorts of long-standing conflicts – not only between the musicians and management, but also among the musicians themselves. Negotiation issues aside, many interpersonal [...]

The “N” Words: Negativity – Part II

PUBLISHED: May 7, 2008, Bruce Hembd

In the first part of this series, I identified a common occurrence in the classical music profession, namely, musicians with negative attitudes. As some professionals progress in their careers, they become jaded with skepticism, cynicism and apathy. While levels can vary, the end effect is more or less the same. Like a stone dropped in [...]

The “N” Words: Narcissism

PUBLISHED: April 24, 2008, Bruce Hembd

Music, the arts and the Internet attract narcissists like a moth to a flame. Narcissism — the hope being that professionals (in any field – arts, business, journalism, or sports as examples) reading this might glean some valuable or useful information recognizing one of the darker aspects of human nature. It’s a big world out [...]

John Ericson & Bruce Hembd
on the French horn, brass related topics, and the field of classical music.