In this episode: John Thirkell is a professional trumpet player who has performed with Level 42 and artists such as Tina Turner, Phil Collins, Eric Clapton, Elton John, and Bon Jovi. He is the co-founder of Pure Solo, a website service that provides accompaniment recordings for a wide variety of music for users to record their own performances and share them via social media. John describes his career as a professional player, the inspiration that lead to the formation of Pure Solo, and how it is being incorporated into school systems in the UK as an educational tool. Tom and John discuss Jamie Aebersold's jazz books, the similarities between Pure Solo and Smart Music, the difficulty of negotiating international intellectual property rights, the organizational systems of public education in the UK and the United States, and how Pure Solo is particularly well-suited to individualized assessment of music students, particularly as a tool for choral directors and music teachers in cyber charter schools.

In this episode: Live from standardized testing proctoring "on the road" for a cyber charter school; heartfelt support for the victims of the Japan quake and tsunami; the forced bill vote in Wisconsin removing public sector union collective bargaining rights; Pennsylvania House Bill 855 suspends teacher pay for "economic reasons"; PA Governor Tom Corbett's proposed budget slashes public education and higher education; encouraging words from a school superintendant about the arts; the lack of awareness of many teachers important issues that will impact their job; Music In Our Schools Month and #musedchat; ViaAcademies A Teacher in Every State initiative; Seth Godin's Poke the Box and his new publishing venture "The Domino Effect".

Book mentioned in this podcast:

Seth Godin's new book Poke the Box was published just 15 days ago and is already #46 on the Amazon best-seller list. After reading his last book, Linchpin, and following Godin's blog, I highly recommend his book if you want to figure out how to make a living in this post-industrial era of online networking. Pick up a copy here.

Music featured in this podcast: Blues for Mike for saxophone trio. Visit the compositions page to download a free mp3, pdf scores, and republishing rights for this piece.

In this episode, David and Tom discuss:

Twitter and networking; David's Flow Breathing techniques; his research on musical breathing using motion capture suits; a great trick for helping students raise the soft palate; the plight of classical music in today's society - how the high costs of maintaining a symphony has fallen to philanthropists for so long and how the internet has drawn benefactors elsewhere; how orchestra musicians must consider coming down to the audience's level and sharing their knowledge; the parallels between the current state of classical music and the current state of music education; how musicians unions and teachers unions need to adapt their practices; how David's blog site has become a interactive niche community for anyone interested in classical music (David uses Word Press and Buddy Press); using music technology to engage "the other 80%" of students in school districts who are not in a band, chorus, or orchestra; how symphonies and audiences in Mozart's time were a mixture of amateurs and professionals; blurring the lines between professional classical musicians and amateur classical enthusiasts; how online networking between music teachers, performers, and enthusiasts has only just begun, and how programs like El Sistema are the future of social reform through music; David's new upcoming website (see below).

Music used in this episode is David's performance of Mozart's Quintet K.581, Movement 2 - Adagio. You can download a free copy of this recording by right-clicking and selecting "Save Link As" HERE.

SNEAK PREVIEW!!

David mentioned his new website, which is due to be launched in March of 2011. Here is the mission statement from his new endeavor:

Radically delicious classical music and clarinet.

Classical music is and always has been radically delicious; cutting edge, relevant, even rebellious. But it has lost its relevance to the communities it seeks to serve.

The solution? Break down the barriers between performer and audience. Take music back to the people.

Why not? The experience of music is a lot more fun and engaging when it’s approached from a playful, creative attitude. That’s the whole point!

A balance of playfulness and depth informs my humble teaching, practice and performance of clarinet.

Why not dance and sing as you practice? Why not laugh and weep through your instrument?

Why not rock-classical-concerts with live orchestras surrounded by dancing audiences?

Why not?

Music. It's Radically Delicious.

In this episode: TJWMusic.com receives an award, the recent questionable performance of the National Anthem at the Super Bowl, thoughts on the revolution in Egypt, and the benefits and myths of homework.

Original music featured in this podcast: Wind Chimes for woodwind quartet. Visit the Compositions page to download a free copy of the score, parts, and mp3 of this piece for your own enjoyment.

Mentioned in this podcast:

The Homework Myth by Alfie Kohn is an interesting book that debunks many of the traditional views of the benefits of assigning homework to students. Mr. Kohn uses current research on the topic to point out the flaws in logic surrounding homework and how it contributes to the loss of students' natural interest in learning.

Support this website by purchasing a copy HERE

In this episode: the powerful culture of gifts, the evolution of this website and the unique opportunities it has created, Twitter, #musedchat, music PLN, the Seika All-Girls High School Band, inspiring excellence in music students, and nurturing creativity in all students.

Original music featured in this podcast: Fantasia on the Stars of Night for clarinet trio. Visit the Compositions page to download a free copy of the score, parts, and mp3 of this piece for your own enjoyment.

Mentioned in this podcast:

Support my website and buy a copy on Amazon HERE

Janet Horvath played the cello so much she couldn't even turn a doorknob without it causing extreme pain. After recovering from tendonitis, she made it a personal mission to learn as much as she could about the repetitive strain injuries that musicians have quietly endured for generations. The culmination of her work is a book entitled Playing (Less) Hurt, which is an indispensible guide to injury prevention for every instrumental musician no matter what style or level of performing they do. Janet speaks very frankly about the nature of the repetitive injuries musicians sustain, the current reserach and treatments for them, and the new frontiers in treating hearing loss and hearing injuries. (35 min.)

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