Be a Portfolio Musician (like Bach), argues Sean Gregory

Earlier this week, the Guardian Cultural Network featured a piece by Sean Gregory, Director of Creative Learning at the Barbican and Guildhall School of Music and Drama.

Since many of Whittaker Live's readers are training to be portfolio musicians themselves, we thought we'd share the posting.  Here's the link to Sean Gregory's piece.

• Whittaker Library books on music careers can be found here.

Finding the Big Band Charts

We have quite a few big band charts in the Whittaker Library collection.  All beautifully catalogued, too, but there was a problem.  

What our jazz musicians asked for, was 'big band charts'.  But although our catalogue gave details of composer, arranger, title, publisher, instrumentation - the words big band chart just weren't there. 

It felt like a summer project for Trimester 3.  Although it hasn't felt much like summer here, we're proud to say that the big band chart project is now under way.  All the wind and brass sets are being checked to ensure there aren't any big band charts hiding away, undiscovered and/or undiscoverable.  And all the big band charts are getting their catalogue entries revised to make them more accessible.

You want to find big band charts?  Type big band chart in the catalogue search box!  So far, it looks like this (click here).  Keep coming back - there will be more by the end of next week!

Were You Asking About Music Copyright?

Copyright Issues for Musicians

The UK and Ireland Branch of our professional association, the International Association of Music Libraries (IAML) has put together this useful collection of copyright resources for musicians:-

http://www.iaml.info/iaml-uk-irl/resources/copyright.html

Orchestra Stereotypes

Just a bit of end-of-week fun, folks!  

Orchestra Stereotypes, from the Trumpet Angst blog!

Whimsical Whittaker

When I go to Edinburgh, I can't help reflecting on all the Scottish musical names that have walked the same streets in earlier centuries.  Yesterday was no exception.

Read True Imaginary Friends to find out more!

Inclusive Arts Practices (Tues 16 April)

Inclusive Arts Practices: implications for Higher Education learning and teaching

 

9:30am - 4:30pm, Tue 16 April 2013
Alexander Gibson Opera Studio
Royal Conservatoire of Scotland
100 Renfrew Street, Glasgow, Scotland, G2 3DBT

Higher Education Academy
Discipline Workshop & Seminar Series, 2012-13

Designed to bring together disabled and non-disabled performing artists, teachers and learners, this one day seminar tackles the often difficult issues surrounding inclusive arts. Practitioners and thinkers in the field, including Solar Bear, Caroline Bowditch and Drake Music Scotland, share their experiences and seek to kick-start the development of a manifesto for disability performing arts education.

Themes will include:

• Pathways for talented disabled young actors/musicians to performing arts HEI's
• Training deaf actors
• Ethical and pedagogical implications of inclusive arts practice
• Creating an inclusive aesthetic

All places are free but must be booked at rsvpevents@rcs.ac.uk.

A draft schedule is available on booking.

http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/events/detail/2013/Seminars/Disciplines_AH/GEN290_RCS

Wheelchair accessible building.
Sign Language Interpretation will be available throughout the day.


Contact Dr Anna Birch a.birch@rcs.ac.uk for further information.

International Women's Day in the Performing Arts

'Whittaker', being a performing arts library, wishes to commemorate International Women's Day as it particularly affects the performing arts.  Do share any relevant links with us!

Here's the first - on the UN Women website, we find the One Woman Song.

Glasgow Women's Library is up early today with a blogpost by Magi.  (Not, admittedly, performing arts, but certainly women and libraries.)

The Musicians' Union posts details of the Women of the World music festival on Sunday 9th March, here.

Have you come across Women in Music? It's a national organisation: http://www.womeninmusic.org.uk/

There's also an International Alliance for Women in Music: 
http://iawm.org/




If you tweet, you might like to follow the #EverydaySexism hashtag, a project which was featured by the BBC a couple of days ago.

There's a London Concert for International Women's Day: the London Oriana Choir has a concert of music by women composers, at St Andrews Holborn tonight:-
http://www.londonoriana.com/current-season/

What's missing from this list?  Drama and theatre!  Please share any relevant links! 

India Today features TV star Toral Rasputra aka Anandi of Balika Vadhu, telling us what International Women's Day means to her. Read it here.

Meanwhile, Bollywood salutes the spirit of women, in the Indian Express today.  Here ...

At 9.45 pm on a Friday night, a good blogger doesn't just arbitrarily stop blogging.  Three cheers for the collective of researchers at the University of Sussex, who this evening notified me of their Reframing Activism blog.  Today they were highlighting the British Library's first oral history archive of the early days of feminism: Sisterhood and After.  Not content with one good blogpost today, they also hosted a guest blogpost by film-maker, actor and musician Jodi Nelson: Feminist Social Media Praxis. Jodi was asked a provocative question: "re_activism:What do you think the 21st century feminist looks likes?"

 

Blogging lite - links for musicians, actors, dancers, trad Scots

While off, I haven’t blogged at length.  However, I’ve blogged links instead, just to keep the pages fresh.  Scroll down to find a rich variety of subject matter!  

• The Voice Explained, 
• The Bullet-Proof Musician, 
• Healthy Musicians (a link from Chicago), 
• the Scottish Society of Playwrights, 
• National Chamber Music Day, 
• the Clarsach Society Young Composer Award, 
• Basse Danse,
• and a link to a bit of trivia about a piper called Wanton Watty McAulay of Port Glasgow.  (Well, with a name like that, who wouldn’t?!)

Bullet-proof Musician (I kid you not!)

A blog called Bullet-Proof Musician asks, 

Are you working hard enough on stage?  

This must be connected with being a healthy practitioner in some way or other!

Healthy Musicians - a link from Chicago

Continuing the request for more postings about healthy practitioners, this dates back to 2007, but it looks as though it was interesting:-

From Chicago Music Commission:- 

Healthy Musicians – Oxymoron No More!

Healthy musicians

Play (Less) Hurt

by Janet Horvath

Responding to popular request, I'm posting a link to Janet Horvath's website for health-conscious musicians.  Click here.

We've got the book in the Whittaker Library ... look here.

Musicians on Planes - a petition

Change.org|Free Online Petitions

Where does it hurt? Performing Arts Medicine

A free online resource, drawn to our attention by Bibliolore -

Bibliography of Performing Arts Medicine

'Dedicated to the health of performing artists'

Many of Whittaker's followers are practising musicians, actors and dancers, and our books on injuries are often consulted!  This free online bibliography could be invaluable for practitioners and their teachers.

Musicians Health - physiotherapy for performing artists in Scotland

The Whittaker Library recently received a flyer for musicianshealth.co.uk - visit the website here. NB Whittaker Live cannot endorse services; we simply alert you to information that we have received.

Musicians Union supports traditional musicians

www.musiciansunion.org.uk - a postcard flyer from the MU reminds traditional musicians that the Musicians Union can:

• Support you
• Advise you
• Help develop your skills
• Help with tax issues
• Give legal advice
• Advise you on touring abroad
• Advise on negotiating contracts
• ... and there's free instrument and public liability insurance for all members. Visit the website to find out more.

NB Whittaker Live cannot endorse services; we simply alert you to information that we have received.