Buxton Fringe - 2023

Sam Gilliatt, Alicia Hill, Me

A few weeks ago I was asked by an old friend of mine - the wonderfully talented classical soprano Alicia Hill - to accompany her for something in the Buxton Fringe Festival.

And what was that something?

It was a concert that had been put together and performed by the Chapel-en-le-Frith Ladies Choir at the United Reform Church on Hardwick Square East in Buxton, for which Alicia was the guest soprano who not only joined the choir in a few of their pieces, but was also given the opportunity to perform some pieces solo. And that is where I came in.

I have to commend the putting together of the concert because there was some beautiful music that had been so well recognised (and - in some cases - arranged) by the musical director Sam Gilliatt who, I might further add, performed a couple of songs himself on piano: 'Run Away' by Ben Platt and 'Yesterday' by...well, I think there's only one answer there...and what a wonderful job he did too!

Yet his conducting of the choir did nothing short of expressing the joy and the passion that he has for music. In addition to the conducting, however, he lent a little additional texture with a beautifully subtle but effective African drum to drive the passionate piece 'Ndikhokhele Bawo' - my personal favourite. Yet when he wasn't drumming, the choir was expertly accompanied by Jane Simmons on piano, with the exception of their a cappella performance of 'Ah Robin' by William Cornish.

And that leads me onto the choir - beautiful music, beautiful harmony, beautiful dynamic. And most importantly for this type of a community choir - everybody was having the time of their lives. This was especially true of some of them - particularly one or two ladies on the front row of the choir - who were getting very involved in some of the more (I say 'more' loosely) contemporary numbers - 'Heaven is a Place on Earth' and 'Lovely Day').

Alicia joined the choir to lead them in and out of the pieces 'Down in the River to Pray', 'The Rose' and 'Wherever You Are' but, as I say, I had a little work to do too!

In the first half - following a performance by the choir of Bernstein's iconic 'Somewhere' - Alicia and I took to the stage and I sat at the beautiful John Broadwood grand piano (the best piano in all of Buxton, I've been told).

Here we performed two pieces:

Summertime: Alicia and I have performed this beautiful moody jazz piece together at least once, but it was many years ago now! It is, of course, George Gershwin's fabulous piece from Porgy and Bess, and one that really shows a range of control when singing because it is almost uncomfortably slow, but quite deliberately. It is chilled and - despite Alicia being an expertly trained and capable classical singer - her voice lends itself so well equally to jazz numbers (just as well, as I believe she loves the genre!)

Donde Lieta: A piece by Puccini from his opera La Boheme. Performed by Mimi, who Alicia performed the role of last year, this piece is a great challenge for the accompanist who doesn't know the piece and only looked at the music two days before the concert because it requires extreme attention to what the vocals are doing to keep it together - not least thanks to it's regular and sudden changing tempos. In addition to this, the words are, of course, Italian, so it required extra focus to ensure I moved at the right moments as I couldn't contextualise a whole phrase! No matter, though - we did it!

During the second half - after Sam's aforementioned performance of 'Yesterday' - we took to the stage again and performed another three:

Cry Me a River: This one I don't need to say too much about. Everybody loves and loved it at the performance!

How Deep is the Ocean?: A classic by Irving Berlin, this is a lovely tune that demanded some passaged to be performed with drive and some to be performed with a little more of a relaxed quality. A joy to play.

O Mio Babbino Caro: A much more well known aria by Puccini from Gianni Schicchi and if Alicia ever doesn't wish to perform this as part of her set then I'll know once and for all that the bodysnatchers have taken her over. It's as iconic to her set as it is to the opera repertoire in general, and even if you don't know it then you probably will if you listen to it. The piece ('Oh My Beloved Father' in English) is a beautiful one to accompany, and I have no doubt it is a joy to sing too thanks to the soaring notes that can be left to fly high at the performer's discretion. Of course, I needed consideration here too as I didn't want to jump the gun and start accompanying on the next bar too soon whilst the note was still being held on, but in spite of us having done this one a couple of times before, I think last night topped it!

Thank you to the Chapel-en-le-Frith Ladies Choir, United Reform Church and Buxton Fringe, and of course to Alicia Hill for making last night possible and for having me down and allowing me to not only partake in the performance, but also enjoy the rest of the concert as a fellow music enthuse.

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#buxton #chapelenlefrith #buxtonfringe #soprano #concert #accompanist #musician #classicalmusic

The Recording Button - Your Worst Audience Member

We've all been there!

Performing comes naturally to us pianists and other musicians, and sure we can play to the best of our ability to ourselves.

And we can play fantastically well when it comes to performing in front of others too (providing that we have practiced).

But then - the red light. The record button is activated, and what happens?

We go to pot!

This has been happening to me a bit this week, so I've been doing a little investigating to check where the problems may be and why they might be occurring.

Can You Actually Play the Music?

This sounds like a no brainer, but it's actually something that is true. When we perform music - whether it be to an audience or for a take - we should already have a strong enough grasp that when something in the form of obligation presses (e.g. getting a good recorded take) that we don't buckle to pressure. Our brains know what they're doing, muscle memory kicks in and overall we are confident.

But ask yourself this - would you be confident performing this piece of music to an audience?

One of the biggest reasons why we feel extra pressure performing for a recording against a live audience is that the whole take needs to be good as, if it isn't, it will be there, captured forever. A mistake in front of a live audience is forgotten in minutes - often seconds. In fact, many of them go unnoticed! Therefore, we tend to feel a little less pressure when playing for an audience.

Theoretically, this leads to an easier job performing for the audience, but quite often what our subconsciouses do is tell us that because we have the ability to take and take and take with a recording, we can just keep doing it until it is right. Therefore, if it's not quite up to scratch for a performance anyway it doesn't matter - just do it until it is right!

Not necessarily the correct approach, though.

If you wouldn't feel comfortable playing a piece of music for an audience, you probably won't do a very good job of it when you come to recording it. Certainly not the best of your standard, or at your fullest potential. Or, at the very least, without several hours of takes which is a whole other frustration in itself.

Are You Being Needlessly Picky?

Of course we want to give a perfect take when we perform, but on the basis that we seldom give perfect takes when we perform live if we're all honest, what are the odds that we will?

Refer to my slightly earlier point in which I mention that mistakes in live performance are often forgotten in minutes or even seconds (if noticed at all) and now relate that to how your performance is. If you make a mistake during a take, is it worth scrapping the take and starting again? Obviously if it affected your confidence and this made itself known going forward then that's OK, or if it was a significantly large mistake then fair enough. However, don't fall victim to giving up on otherwise decent takes.

On the flip side of this, of course, is the idea that imperfection = perfection. Of course we want our performance to be as right as possible, but the occasional dud note here or there can actually enhance a performance, serving as a reminder that - in this digital age - we are, in fact, listening to a human performing on a very real instrument.

Are You Giving Yourself Breaks?

Again, one of the worst things you can do is be relentless with your takes. If you really must be recording take after take after take, make sure you give yourself suitable breaks. Try working in a break every 30 minutes, for example.

It is very easy to over practice with music, and taking several takes of the same piece or passage can have the exact same effect in as much as you can actually start to almost forget what you are supposed to be playing it because you've 'mushed' your brain!

In addition to this, you'll be giving your hands a break and allow yourself time to destress, assuming you're the type who gets increasingly stressed each time it goes wrong. Stress not only shines through unwontedly on your performance, but it also further restricts you from doing your best because you'll be tenser, potentially shaking more and for that reason all the more likely to go wrong and need to take yet another take.

Record Yourself More Often

If you have the option, don't be a stranger to recording. Put yourself under the pressure more often! You don't have to book yourself into a studio or have a fancy setup in order to do so.

Recording yourself playing a piece on your phone's video camera is a great idea - especially if you tell yourself you're going to upload it to social media, for example. Give yourself incentive. If it doesn't work out, it doesn't work, but you'll be getting more and more used to doing it.

That way, when you come to do it for real, you'll have much less of a problem!

Of course, these are only pointers and the reality is there are all sorts of factors that can affect your performance and mindset, but certainly keep these ones in mind.

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#piano #pianist #musician #recording #homerecording #recordingstudio

A Reflection on Employment

Here I am, working from home again and writing a blog that is a little bit different than my usual output. Why? Because this time I'm not focusing on music directly - I am instead focusing on the joys of being self employed in the hopes that either somebody with the motivation to be self employed will understand the things that I was never told before I made the move, OR those who wish to use my services - or that of any self employed individual - better understand what their money is going towards.

I would like to make very clear, however, that I love what I do and I wouldn't change it for anything. This blog post is for informational purposes purely, to give folk an insight into the importance of supporting those who are self employed.

Employment

My previous employment was not necessarily in the category you might call 'exciting', but it was certainly of a nature that I considered I did laborious tasks for little recognition. However, I would like it to be known that I will never again (should I go back into employment) be ungrateful for being there and for the work I'm doing.

Whether I'm sat there bored because I haven't got work to do or I've caught up, or I consider the work I'm doing to be "more than my job's worth" - to coin a phrase that may have been used by me in a past life -, there is one undeniable fact:

I get paid for this. It is a guaranteed income and - what's more - the figure that went into my bank at the end of the month was following standard deductions (pension, National Insurance, Tax), I had between 5 and 6 weeks of paid annual leave per year, I didn't have to worry if I was ill because I had long enough sick leave that I could justify being ill every now and then...

And whilst I've never been blind to what self employed people's responsibilities are, they didn't really start to hit me until now...

Piano Practice

Needless to say, piano is a major part of my livelihood. Even if I were to commit entirely to teaching, I'd still need to stay relatively ahead of the game, therefore play every day and practice every day. In order to do this, I put aside a couple of hours a day in which to go over scales and exercises and look at pieces I'm working on. This does have the potential to pay off if ever I get the opportunity to play for a recital for which I am paid, but ultimately it is unpaid.

Marketing

Being self employed, I am responsible for absolutely everything.

That includes marketing. And whilst Facebook and the like are excellent tools, even they have limitations when used purely on a cost-free basis.

Therefore, social adverts, magazine / newspaper articles and even this website are the result of money. This will, of course, be no surprise, but bear in mind the following:

As a sole trader, they are all my responsibility.

Therefore, I have to find time to keep my website fresh, type out blogs (such as this very one), update or create social ads, contact venues and societies to keep my name fresh in their minds...ultimately it's a lot of work that further goes into the 'unpaid labour' category.

Income

Income is another one that I am responsible for managing. Fortunately - because I spent a load of money on my piano - I am still not quite paying tax on my income. However, there will come a time when I do.

Bear in mind also that all of the outgoings above still need honouring.

In addition to this, deductions that would have been taken off prior to me receiving any money in previous employment has to be done be myself.

For example - it is up to me to hold on to so much percentage of my income for tax payments. It is also important I keep some of it held back for outgoing costs before I officially 'pay myself'. In addition - whilst not compulsory - if I want to prepare in any capacity for later life, it is now entirely on me to pay into a private pension.

What does this mean for the customer...

In short, the purpose of this blog was to highlight

• the realities of your financial responsibility as a self employed individual in any sector (which I think I have achieved), and

• why self employed individuals charge more, which I will come onto now.

On a few occasions I've seen ads and heard remarks such as 'make a fortune by being self employed'.

It does, indeed, sound tempting. If you can charge - let's say - £30 per hour for your time, that's...£210 per day!

That's £1050 per week!

That's £4200 per month!

Sounds wonderful!

Except it's not that simple.

First of all, this sort of regular income will incur heavy tax anyway. True of everyone, naturally, but bye bye £1680.

Now you've got £2520. Still a nice figure, yes?

Yes.

So, exactly how did you get to a point where you can earn this much money?

Marketing!

Does small time marketing work?

No. Regardless of all those fantastic ads you see that say spend little and get big results! But unless you've struck gold on a real word of mouth reputation, chances are you'll be putting big money into marketing. Like, hundreds.

Granted, this is tax deductible, so my equation might not be 100% accurate, but let's imagine not and you've spent £800 in advertising this month. Now you've got £1720.

Still a handsome figure considering what's gone out, but nowhere near what you started with.

Now consider your national insurance contributions and pension if you wish to set one up.

It's starting to come down.

But it's still a nice figure, yes?

True - but here's the kicker.

You only get paid for the hours you 'work'.

For example, I only get paid when I give a piano lesson.

This means that if I were charging £30 per hour then I would need to be seeing back to back lessons all day every (week)day.

Aside from being rather exhausting, this allows me no opportunity to do any of my other non-paid work. Such as marketing. And without marketing, I don't fill the lessons!

Conclusion

It's not all doom and gloom, however. Self employment is a wonderful thing. The sense of control - of being able to provide a service that you wish could have been provided for you because it's done your way! However, it is difficult and it is stressful.

Please be mindful that those who are self employed are trying to make a living too, and whilst we are getting much better with grasping the idea of 'it pays for the materials' when discussing higher prices, it's important to consider that you're also paying towards marketing, travel and even breaks for the sole traders.

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#selfemployment #selfemployed #soletrader #pianoteacher #pianist #business #pianotutor