There’s just a few more weeks of school left and now’s the time we all start thinking about what we are going to do during the summer. In between family trips and video games, why not practice? Summer is a great time to do the musical things you don’t always have time to do during [...]

Welcome to Five Link Friday. Every Friday I share 5 of my favorite links found online. Enjoy! Please add your own favorites in the comments below! 1) Sometimes as musicians we forget that if we really want something we need to go after it. It’s not just about playing well. In fact, I would say [...]

I recently had to take eight days off from playing. Not a single note on any of my horns for 8 long days. I honestly can’t remember a time in the over 20 years that I have been playing that I had to do that. I have spent the last year practicing and performing 6 [...]

Little background: I started Doublers Collective with the help of Mike Crotty in 2010. The goal was to play a whole bunch of different instruments in a progressive jazz setting, commission and perform new music, and do performance clinics at schools. It’s such an exciting project. Find out more about Doublers Collective, including some videos [...]

Last weekend I did a Doubling Clinic with Mike Crotty at the Highland Jazz Festival. This particular festival is in its third year and is one of my favorite festivals. Run by two of my friends, the Highland High School Band directors, Kevin Bennett and Lewis Nelson, it is one of the few festivals where [...]

Last week I did an interview with Joe Carroccio over at 11radio.com We had a great conversation for his Musicians Speak Out show – to be aired sometime in March. It was a lot of fun. Joe was really easy to talk to and the time just flew by. I’ll make sure to post the [...]

Welcome to Five Link Friday! This is where I post 5 of my favorite links from the week. I hope you enjoy and please check out the FLF’s from previous weeks. If you have a favorite link please post it in comments! 1) 3 Ways to Reduce Online Noise and Get More Done – a [...]

Imagine walking thru the hallways of a hotel conference center and around every corner is live jazz. Imagine people of all walks of life – students to the jazz greats and everything in between milling the halls, chatting with one another, smiling. Imagine having your choice of clinics to attend – technology, promotion, practicing, etc. [...]

Copyright © 2011 maxplanation.com From Monica Shriver, aka saxymoni, the founder and director of Doublers Collective       Doublers Collective is trying to raise some money. Wanna know why? This whole fundraising idea may seem a little out of the ordinary to a lot of people. Truthfully it’s all new to me too. I [...]

Inspired by this post from my fellow doubler Bret Pimentel What instruments do you play in your profession, and in what capacity do you play them? I play piccolo, flute, clarinet, bass clarinet, soprano, alto, tenor and bari saxophone professionally in jazz combos, big bands, rock bands, chamber ensembles, orchestras, as a soloist, and in [...]

I love to read. I’ve always got at least 2 books going at the same time and I follow a number of blogs and magazines. Probably too many in fact. But I just find it all so interesting!   On a recent trip to Nashville, I brought this book along to read. (I have an [...]

Last week I did an interview for a podcast called Train Wreck in Progress. TWiP for short.     Website: http://twippodcast.com Facebook at: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Train-Wreck-in-Progress-Podcast/187180824630198   It was the first time I’d ever done an interview like that. Honestly, I was a little nervous at first – wondering “what if” and panicking about forgetting someone’s name [...]

About 2 years ago, a friend of mine recommended that I read Derek Siver’s e-book to get some ideas on how to promote and connect with an audience. The e-book sent me down a new path in my professional life. Not only did I get a lot out of that e-book, but I signed up [...]

One of my favorite time killers when I worked in the music library in college (aside from intensely studying and rubber band wars) was to play games online. This was before the age of smart phones and Angry Birds. Text Twist was one of my favorites. I love word games and I’m especially adept at [...]

I recently went to jam session for the first time in over a year. In an effort to face my own fears, I’m going to share them with you… in detail.   The jam session was on a Sunday afternoon. I think I stressed thru most of Friday and Saturday, trying to find a tune [...]