Name: Mindful Practice with Caleigh Drane & William Seiji Marsh by Christian Howes
Duration: 47 min 24 s
Description: Join us with Guest Speakers Caleigh Drane & William Seiji Marsh as we discuss how to conquer your stage fright and better achieve your musical goals through mindfulness and mindful practice.

Music therapy techniques in teaching strings.with Raquel Ravaglioli, a board-certified music therapist, music instructor, and professional violinist. 
Raquel talks about being balanced while helping others find their personal and musical niche, through building strong professional relationships.

To learn more and connect with Raquel Ravaglioli see her website here: http://raquelchristinemusic.com/​  

See her faculty page at Marietta College here: https://www.marietta.edu/person/raquel-ravaglioli

American Music Therapy Association definition of music therapy: “The clinical and evidence-based use of music interventions to accomplish individualized goals within a therapeutic relationship by a credentialed professional who has completed an approved music therapy program.”

04:15​ - Why should we care about music therapy?
06:52​ - Self awareness in teaching and the benefits it leads in all areas
08:08​ - What is music therapy?
09:13​ - Therapeutic Considerations
11:23​ - Positive Psychology - Choosing your words and addressing what your student’s capabilities are in a positive way
13:40​ - The importance of consistency in teaching
14:18​ - Ways to deal with behavioral challenges of students in the classroom
20:41​ - What’s the importance of self-awareness?
22:09​ - Video recording as a tool for self-awareness when practicing.
23:46​ - How students use and view their practice time
25:57​ - How does a teaching philosophy relate to using music therapy?
28:35 - Careers for music therapists

More Creative Strings Podcast Interviews:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL6By1KZHRO2IsWNiV4uMkViHTj1zCqVOG​

Thanks to Yamaha and Electric Violin Shop for sponsoring the Creative Strings Podcast

Music Therapy Techniques for Teachers & Performers w/ Raquel Ravaglioli

Join us with Guest Speaker Drew Alexander Forde (ThatViolaKid) as we talk about his work as a violist, composer, entrepreneur, and social media wizard.

Violist Drew Alexander Forde has a reputation not only as an accomplished performer but also as one of classical music’s most recognizable online brands.  He is the co-host of Faking Notes Podcast and an acclaimed expert in classical music’s social media and brand building with an Instagram following to over 118,000 people. Check out his website, thatviolakid.com .

Personal Branding and the Modern Classical Musician w/ Drew Alexander Forde (ThatViolaKid)

Fiddlers Casey Driessen and Christian Howes discuss extensive clips from Casey’s album Otherlands. We talk about chopping/rhythm, and other aspects of musical collaboration for fiddlers and string players who want to expand their creative voice, musical community, and career or lifestyle. We play a tune together as well in this hour-long interview. Find more at www.christianhowes.com

Fiddler Casey Driessen on Collaboration, Rhythm, and Drawing Musical Language from Otherlands

Join us with Guest Speakers Caleigh Drane & William Seiji Marsh as we discuss how to conquer your stage fright and better achieve your musical goals through mindfulness and mindful practice.

Mindful Practice with Caleigh Drane & William Seiji Marsh

Join us with Guest Speaker and former Creative Strings Workshop participant Marlene Cruz Lozano as she talks about her new studio, Violin Bootcamp, which centers adult women violin students, their goals, and needs.

On Teaching Adult Students With Marlene Cruz Lozano

Hamilton Hardin on Becoming a Complete Musician: Any Genre, Any Instrument

Have you ever worked hard learning a jazz tune with all its 9ths, 13ths, half-diminished-whatevers, only to flip on the radio and hear a pop song with the same 4 chords over and over? Some musicians wonder how jazz and other styles are so complex but it’s the basic pop that sells mainstream. 

If you asked multi-instrumentalist and accomplished jazz musician, Hamilton Hardin, if he’d ever enter the pop world, he says he would have simply laughed. That’s why he surprised himself by serving as vice president of A&R (artists and repertoire), a multi-million dollar record label specializing in pop music. 

In this episode of Creative Strings Podcast, Hamilton reveals what makes pop music so appealing, how he gained a respect for the genre and what its like being producer, mixer, sound engineer, and editor for famous talent. 

This podcast also includes topics such as
-What it’s like playing not 1 but 13(!) instruments
-Why Hamilton practices first WITHOUT his instrument
-How you can develop a “good ear”
-Tips to grow your music business
-The inside scoop behind his album “Just Wanna Say.”
-Many stories, laughs, and inspiring moments

When growing up, Hamilton Hardin was considered a music prodigy, touring Europe while playing everything from jazz to gospel in his hometown of Columbus, Ohio. Soon after, he arrived in Nashville, performed as a jazz session musician for singer Wendy Moten who happened to introduce him to legendary songwriter, David Porter. 

When Porter decided to launch his own music studio in Memphis, he turned to Hardin, offered him a critical job- vice president of Artists and Repertoire, the side of the music house responsible for recruiting and developing talent.

Hamilton Hardin on Becoming a Complete Musician - Creative Strings Podcast Episode 37

Andrea Whitt is a musician who is living the dream. She tours the world with rock stars, manages her own fashion blog, produces fine art, and plays a variety of instruments in a variety of styles.


Given the common wisdom that string players must start by age six to have a chance at success,  she has defied the odds ever since starting the viola in public school at 8 years old.

Listen to this full episode to hear the inspiring story of a classical musician who has gone on to create an extraordinary career.  In the interview we cover:

How she began developing other musical skills alongside her classical training

How putting herself through college also gave her skills to help her survive and make it in L.A.

What skills she learned and nurtured beyond music

How she managed to grow new skills while staying focused on many passions and ultimately tying them together in a multi-facted career and lifestyle

how she explored beyond classical music in college and what was that like, i.e. doing all the orchestra rep and classical track but also starting to work on other musical skills?

How she got her big breaks with gigs with Shania Twain and Zuccero Farinacci (the Brcue Springtein of Europe).

What she learned from touring the world with rock stars.

Creative Strings Podcast

From classical violist to rockstar influencer w Andrea Whitt - Creative Strings Podcast Ep 38

How to Sell & Offer ANY Freelance services right now (for non-teachers or anyone just trying to figure out ways to get work)

Mindset- My attitude: I am not proud. I will dig ditches, wash dishes, or do anything necessary to survive.
We can a) resign ourselves to defeat and give up b) lash out c) TRY to overcome. I prefer C.

Obviously it is preferable to find work at higher hourly rates or generate passive income than working for $15 per hour. But if necessary, I will work for $15 per hour, or even on a volunteer basis, especially if that work affords any chance of Leveraging more opportunities.
When Testing a new work/volunteer activity, dip a toe in the water. Do it once. Offer to do it for just a short period.

What Kinds of Work Can You Do?
Brainstorm a list of services you can provide. Write down everything. Ask someone you trust to offer you additional ideas and/or give their feedback on your list. Post your list here for feedback (in your personal post comment thread)

One Time Free- I built my entire career on the "one time free" model. It's a great way to show people what you can do, and generate recurring revenue or repeat clients.
-If you offer a one-time Free lesson, make the lesson 20 minutes instead of 60.
if you offer to show up on someone else's live-stream, limit the time involved, or do it once as a test to see what kind of feedback you receive.
Offer to do some kind of work for a new client as a "sample". It could be 5-20 minutes of your time.
One free performance. One free consultation or lesson. One time free editing a paragraph of someone's copy.
Free Youtube videos with call to action for people to hire you.
Free emails (containing anything valuable from teaching to inspiration) w call to action
Free performances on IG with links to hire your services

Suddenly Unemployed? How to Sell Any Services & Earn Now - Creative Strings Podcast Ep. 39

In this episode of the Creative Strings Podcast Christian Howes dives into techniques for easily and effectively teaching music online.

How To Really Teach Music Online Easily and Effectively - Creative Strings Podcast Ep.40

Composer David Cutler on a reimagining of Suzuki book 1.

"SuperNova”: A Genre-Hopping Explosion of the Suzuki Violin Repertoire with composer, David Cutler

Christian Howes presents the Creative Strings Podcast: Exploring intersections between creativity, music education, string playing, DIY music business, and culture

Since 2011, performer, educator and composer, Christian Howes was voted #1 in the Downbeat Critics Poll (“Rising Stars/Violin”), named among the top three jazz violinists in the JazzTimes critics poll, and nominated for Violinist of the Year by the Jazz Journalist Association. He received the Residency Partner Award through Chamber Music America for residencies in school orchestras, earned a USArtists grant through the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation, and was invited by the U.S. State department to teach and perform as a cultural ambassador in Ukraine and Montenegro.  His 2013 release on Resonance Records, “Southern Exposure” earned recognition in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Downbeat, Jazz Times, as well as a six-night run at Lincoln Center.  His 2015 release, “American Spirit” was named among the Best Jazz Albums of 2015″ by the Huffington Post. Howes is the founder of “Creative Strings“, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization with a mission to expand music education through the creation of online curriculum, an annual summer conference, and dozens of visits to schools annually teaching improvisation, contemporary styles, and related subjects. He endorses Yamaha violins and D’Addario strings.

Mindful Practice with Caleigh Drane & William Seiji Marsh

Christian Howes

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