Several weeks ago, when Twitter was still Twitter, there was yet another thread about how film composer Hans Zimmer could not read conventional music notation. Someone posted a photo of a supposed Zimmer manuscript which showed general shapes of the music and some descriptions at different points like "idk what the bass flute does, John will figure it out for me" and "pickle-o trill?" I don't care if Hans Zimmer can or cannot read conventional music notation. And who knows if this supposed Zimmer "manuscript" is real or not, but I was tickled by seeing the word "pickle-o" in this photo!  ..read more

As a movement coach, a Feldenkrais Practitioner, and as a person who has experienced chronic pain in the past, I know from my own experience that the Feldenkrais Method® can be very helpful for relieving pain and back pain. I often want to shout it out from the mountain tops, “FELDENKRAIS WILL PROBABLY RELIEVE YOUR BACK PAIN!!!” But I’m not a doctor so what do I know? Well, here’s an orthopedic surgeon who also happens to be a Feldenkrais Practitioner: Didi von Deck, MD, GCFP practices orthopedics and teaches the Feldenkrais Method in the Boston Area. I’m so excited to share with you thi ..read more

Have you ever heard or used the phrase, “I know *blank* like the back of my hand!”? How well do you know your hands though? Or your palms? What are the similarities and differences between your fingers and thumbs? If you’re curious, here’s a 5-minute guided exploration: You can be sitting at your desk, or on a plane. Actually, I love doing these kinds of explorations while I’m on the plane because my movements are small and won’t attract unwanted attention from other passengers. We can use our visual, tactile, kinesthetic, and other senses to learn more about our hands but let’s use our sense ..read more

NOTE: These movement explorations are just that. See if you can explore without trying to do it the “Right Way” or worry that you are doing it the wrong way. The purpose of these exercises are to explore possibilities, not to evaluate and correct your movements. I am not interested in teaching you the “correct” way to breathe or be. 1. Get into your most comfortable resting position: on your back, side, sitting, or laying on your stomach, etc. You can be on an exercise mat on the floor or under the covers in bed. Try the following movement explorations slowly and gently. 2. Take a moment to no ..read more

Do I need something under my head during a Feldenkrais Awareness Through Movement® (ATM®) lesson? Maybe. You can reference this illustration to help you decide if you need something under your head and how much:   Can I use my regular pillow? I do not recommend it because most regular pillows are too squishy. A firm but still comfortable surface that allows for movement is ideal for Feldenkrais lessons. Try one of the suggested head supports below first. If a pillow is the only head support that is comfortable for you, use your pillow. When you feel ready, you can experiment using differ ..read more

In a previous blog post, I wrote about how to estimate the cost of producing an album/CD. In that post, I told readers to ask around for recommendations to find a good recording engineer or studio. Now, I feel like going with recommendations alone is not adequate. I’m revisiting this topic because I’ve experienced my share of disappointing experiences with engineers and studios in various locations and types of recording locations all over the country. I’ve produced 3 of my own solo albums plus 3 albums for other artists. I’ve co-produced 2 albums with my chamber ensembles, and a handful of si ..read more

Click to download the full-resolution PDF document. I made this fingering chart for the upcoming NFA virtual event that the NFA Low Flutes Committee is presenting. In the top register, contrabass flutes need some special fingerings in order to play nice-sounding notes that speak well and are in tune. The usual C flute fingerings are not ideal. It’s not realistic to make one fingering chart with fingerings that would work on all contrabass flutes since every maker has their own very unique design. So this fingering chart is mainly for the Pearl contrabass flute with the low B. Some of the fing ..read more

During the last few years, I've taken a crack at producing other groups' recording projects and I love it! I learned so much from producing this project for Clocks. So many instruments and microphones for every track made the mixing process so much more involved! Mixing multiple acoustic and electronic instruments was also another level of difficulty. Thankfully, I had Alberto Hernandez, the best engineer in the world, to help me mix the album. I hope you get a chance to hear Oneira. First, it's great music. Jennifer Bellor's compositions transcend genres but if I had to put some labels on i ..read more

I’m excited to share with you the Clocks in Motion album I produced for my label. This was the second album I produced that was not my own. I know you’ll love this album of percussion quartets written by Jennifer Bellor! Go to this link https://show.co/5Nt0wV4 to pre-save the album on Spotify, whether you use Spotify or not. You can give your email instead and you’ll be notified when the album is available for pre-sales ..read more

This is a common question I get from classical musicians. I'm going to do my best to answer it in a way that it's most practical and useful for the classical musician who is serious about producing their own CD. Here's my advice based on my experience. THE EASY STUFF FIRST Physical copies of CDs don't seem to change in price. It's about $1000 to manufacture 1000 replicated CDs in a jewel case with a one double-sided page insert. If you want fancier packaging, it can get really expensive but there are many options these days so it helps to do your research! Read more about C ..read more