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It’d now been a full month of my project.  Only 11 to go!  I’ve managed to do something performance related every day, whether it’s a rehearsal, true performance, teaching, or whatever.  So far, taking the mentality of “performing” into every situation has helped me develop as a player.

I haven’t composed in a while.  I wonder if this is considered performing, except very slowly.  I suppose every composition is conceived to be performed, and is run through in the composer’s head.  This seems to me to be the biggest difference between a performance and a creation of music.  I’m really glad, as an improviser, to be able to do both simultaneously sometimes.

Tonight I’m performing with the RSO.  Should be fun!

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See this post from my friend Adam.  Many good points.  One great thing I’ve found about Detroit is that I’ve rarely been on a gig here that pays under $50.  If it did, it was still with great musicians or it was a school occasion.  This definitely caught me off guard when I first moved.  Still, I believe what we do goes beyond entertainment, even beyond art.  We as musicians provide an aspect of life that is just as essential as the need for a plumber, doctor, lawyer, or politician.  It is much less apparent as our “product” disappears as soon as we make it, but nevertheless, music is an undeniable characteristic of being human.

Today, principal bass sub with the Warren Symphony Orchestra.  “The Composer is Dead” by Lemony Snicket and Nathaniel Stookey, and “The Flying Theme” from E.T.

https://www.facebook.com/notes/adam-niewood/a-request-for-action-and-change/10150170560089127