Endurance Training for COVID-19
Written for Allegro magazine, official journal of AFM Local 802 NYC.Greetings, musicians, from a safe social distance! Even though we are many months into the pandemic, it is not even close to being over. We are still being swamped by the first wave of Covid-19 cases...
Neurochemicals and Musicians
As you are well aware, the pandemic and chaos hit all of us hard many months ago, especially musicians in New York. That was followed by shock and denial, anger, negotiating, depression, and finally acceptance of the tragic event. I sincerely hope that you have come...
Developing Your Creative Abilities During the Pandemic
During these challenging times, you probably have more free time on your hands than you are accustomed to as a musician and creative artist. This may be a great time for you to explore different creative modalities or other mediums of expression. These could enhance...
The Holidays During the Pandemic
Even before the pandemic, the holidays were always the most stressful time of year. Theholiday season can place enormous demands on your time, energy, finances, and patience.There is no lack of things that can stress you out, including finishing everything on time,...
Continuing Your Learning During the Pandemic
The Covid-19 crisis has changed our lives in many ways. It affects our continuing process of learning and improvement.Conventional in-person classroom learning is now morphing into e-learning. Traditional learning is limited by time, space, personnel, and available...
Overcoming the Guilt from Lack of Practice
Written for Allegro magazine, official journal of AFM Local 802 NYC. Since the pandemic intensified a few months ago, many musicians are experiencing serious problems staying motivated. They are not practicing very much, if at all. Many may feel guilty for letting...
Situational Depression
Written for Allegro magazine, official journal of AFM Local 802 NYC. Now that we are many weeks into the pandemic, hopefully we are moving beyond theinitial stage of shock and denial of the grieving process. Denial provided temporary relieffrom the harsh reality that...
Covid-19: A Strategic Plan for Musicians
Written for Allegro magazine, official journal of AFM Local 802 NYC. The current disaster can be really tough on professional musicians in New York who play in symphonies, operas, and Broadway, but are not trained to deal with such a tragic event. It can...
How to Train Like an Olympic Champion for Your Next eSports Competition
Guest blog written for AlleyWatch. There is only one chance in 562,400 that a person in today’s world will win a medal in the summer Olympic Games. Depending upon the sport and event, the chances of winning a gold medal range from 1 in 3.5 million to 1 in 9 million. I...
Covid-19: Dealing with the Chaos
Written for Allegro magazine, official journal of AFM Local 802 NYC. Although I currently reside in Los Angeles, I am a real New Yorker at heart. I lived in Queens when I was young, went to high school in Brooklyn, practiced diving in the Bronx, and lived in Manhattan...
Own Your Power During Performances
Even though I’m an eternal optimist, I know that mistakes are inevitable. Live musical events often happen in less than ideal conditions. There are many factors involved that can result in random accidents and unforced musical errors.Accidents are unwelcome events...
Performing Music in a Good Mood
As we all know, it can be stressful to live in or around a big city. Musicians working in that environment are subjected to even more pressure than most people. As you’re well aware, there are auditions, live performances, competitions with colleagues for the same job...