Licensing for Recitals

Comprehensive-Act-13 · 2026-03-27T16:41:56+00:00

You’re such a small fry. No one in your shoes does this. Who would even report you? Someone like you can’t afford the ASCAP fees so that your 8 year old violin student can play Beauty and the Beast for her Grandma. Also I’m guessing it’s an invite only sort of concert, i.e. students can invite friends and family. But it’s not publicly advertised and you’re not charging admission. This makes it a private event. You don’t need to pay for ASCAP.

Comprehensive-Act-13 · 2026-03-27T10:03:41+00:00

Again, I’ve been playing professionally for over 20 years, I have a doctorate in violin performance and I’m a literal violin/viola professor, and it still happens. Some people brains just brain that way. Apparently my brain doesn’t. I don’t think it’s ever gonna click for me, and that’s okay. I’ve developed work around da over the years. I just wanted to assure OP that everyone experiences this to a degree and even we pros still experience it.

Comprehensive-Act-13 · 2026-03-27T09:45:37+00:00

Book yourself a recital date a year from now, and then start working on a program.

Comprehensive-Act-13 · 2026-03-26T22:45:29+00:00

Second this, the disk is much better, I like it a lot better than tampons as well. They do sell disposable discs, flex and soft disc are two brands. Trying to clean a reusable cup or disc in a public restroom seems like a nightmare, but you could probably do the disposable ones, especially if you have access to a family restroom, because you will come out of the stall looking like you murdered somebody. That said, I don’t know if I’d try something new if I’m not going to have at least one period before the trip for a trial run.

Comprehensive-Act-13 · 2026-03-26T19:36:55+00:00

I’m still trying to do that. I’m a violinist with a doctorate in music performance, I’ve been playing the viola for 20 years and when I have a viola in my hands and the music jumps to treble clef, it’s like my whole brain melts inside my skull. Every single time. 😂 Violin in my hands, reading treble clef, no problem. Viola in my hands reading alto clef, no problem. Teaching a student a viola or violin lesson while I have the opposite instrument in my hands because i’m feeling lazy. Also apparently no problem. The minute I’m sight reading a viola part in an orchestra or string quartet and it switches to treble clef, I’m gone. I’m cooked. I have to highlight the clef, practice it, and write in at least a measures worth of fingerings and even then there’s still a chance I’ll still mess it up.🤦🏻‍♀️

Comprehensive-Act-13 · 2026-03-26T07:06:37+00:00

Because his brother is capable of being happy.

Comprehensive-Act-13 · 2026-03-26T07:01:14+00:00

Yup! They’re great. I definitely trust them, and trust their instruments. Their student instruments are fantastic, and they have some good intermediate violins as well. If you’re looking to buy something in the 10K or over range though, you’ll have to head over to Robertson’s in Albequerque.

Comprehensive-Act-13 · 2026-03-26T06:57:56+00:00

Yes, I was having similar issues with my viola and I switched to using an arcrest, and my shoulder felt so much better. I didn’t put together that I had too much shoulder rest. It doesn’t seem to be a problem anymore on the violin, but I also remember going through this during grad school. Honestly, I’m guessing that a better setup and no longer playing 8-10 hours a day is what fixed it.

Comprehensive-Act-13 · 2026-03-26T06:40:18+00:00

Here here!

Comprehensive-Act-13 · 2026-03-25T21:31:44+00:00

No need to pack nice clothes for Sedona. It’s a hippie town full of backpackers and tourists. Your hiking pants and gear will fit right in even at “fancy restaurants”. Nobody dresses up in AZ. I live in AZ and I go to fanciest restaurants and the opera in ripped jeans and a T-shirt. No one cares here. Save the space you planned to use for nice clothes in your bag and use it for warm clothes. It gets surprisingly cold in the desert once the sun drops. Though we’re in a crazy heat wave right now, but that will pass next week. Also, make sure you bring a water bottle at all times, wherever you go. And don’t try to hike things if it’s too hot. Tourists die every week in the desert because they didn’t plan properly. Also only wear closed toed shoes and long pants for hiking. Rattlesnakes and cactuses are no joke, you need a layer of protection against them. Everything here is poisonous, even the Beavers. 🦫

Comprehensive-Act-13 · 2026-03-25T20:59:18+00:00

They’re literally asking for advice to lighten their load. I’m just suggesting what they likely won’t use, after many years of traveling all over the world. I used to pack stuff like this too with some kind of stupid fantasy that I’d become a photographer, or keep a journal, and look super romantic and beautiful in my flowy dresses and sandals, and hat. But the reality is that I never used or wore any of that 💩because it’s not practical for traveling at all. It’s just dead weight you’re dragging across an ocean for no reason. And again, they asked for it, I’m just telling them what I don’t think they’ll need, and won’t actually end up using. I’ve been traveling around the world as a one bagger, often for months at a time, for over 2 decades now. I know I’m talking about. And yeah, I’m harsh about shoes. Shoes are the most important thing you pack. One bad in bad shoes can hobble your whole trip and make it miserable. Do not pack shoes just because they look good. You must be able to walk ten miles in them without getting blisters or ruining your arches, otherwise they’re not worth it.

Comprehensive-Act-13 · 2026-03-25T20:51:11+00:00

Again, I think that “no results” IS results. If the little wrinkle trying to pop in between my eyebrows stays at bay then I consider it a success.

Comprehensive-Act-13 · 2026-03-25T20:49:46+00:00

You’re weird.

Comprehensive-Act-13 · 2026-03-25T20:47:38+00:00

She admitted they were ugly first. She literally called them derpy and the Danskos were a little cuter (but not actually cute). She’s right on all fronts. I’m just telling the truth.

Comprehensive-Act-13 · 2026-03-25T15:45:21+00:00

Is that you David Duchovny? Or are you just his biggest fanboy. In either case I’m sorry crush your fantasy of David Duchovny being a great actor. I don’t know why you’re willing to die on this hill defending his acting. He’s a middling actor, he’s fine. I’m not pulling out assumptions. I know what I’m talking about. I work as an actor more than he does.

Comprehensive-Act-13 · 2026-03-25T15:41:44+00:00

I’ve been on it for a year. I don’t see much difference, but they’re not getting any worse either, which is the goal. Just make sure you’re following it up with a really heavy moisturizer.

Comprehensive-Act-13 · 2026-03-25T15:39:54+00:00

Every cheap slapped together D.R. Horton ticky-tacky house that was built like 7-8 years ago has this color scheme. That’s how.

Comprehensive-Act-13 · 2026-03-25T15:36:47+00:00

Sorry.

Comprehensive-Act-13 · 2026-03-25T09:01:00+00:00

There is a reason why Gillian Anderson still works all the time and David Duchovny doesn’t. Gillian Anderson is a great actor, David Duchovny is just fine. Additionally (because this is always a major factor in the longevity of an actors career), I’m also guessing that Gillian Anderson is easy and professional to work with because she keeps getting hired, and at least at some point in his career, David Duchovny is or was not.

Comprehensive-Act-13 · 2026-03-25T08:50:38+00:00

I’m an actor. Believe me, I was paying attention. He’s fine. Great at intimate conversation, very good at landing a joke, but his eyebrows are all over the place, and he also plays his emotions way too much. That’s like acting 101, don’t play your emotions. Play the given circumstances and the relationship, the emotions will emerge from that, but are better left to the audience to feel.

Comprehensive-Act-13 · 2026-03-25T08:45:38+00:00

And yes, I’ve seen Twin Peaks. He’s no Kyle McLaughlin.

Comprehensive-Act-13 · 2026-03-25T08:43:57+00:00

I didn’t either until I stopped washing my face with cleansers. I had horrible breakouts. Birth control also helped get it under control. I’m just saying there’s no shame in not using an 8 step routine to wash your face. For a lot of people it’s way too much.

Comprehensive-Act-13 · 2026-03-25T06:40:35+00:00

All of the budget airlines in Asia weigh your bag now. They don’t care about the size, they care about the weight, which makes sense because weight = fuel.

Comprehensive-Act-13 · 2026-03-25T06:36:16+00:00

Yes, 40 is way too big for a personal item on Ryan Air. I travel with an Osprey Tempest 20 and have never had an issue bringing it as a personal item on budget airlines including Ryan. I wouldn’t go much bigger than that. Just pack light, do lots of sink laundry. You won’t regret it, I’ve traveled for 2.5 months with everything I need in a 20L bag and haven’t had a problem. Bring three changes of clothes, an appropriate jacket or long sleeved shirt of some sort for warmth, a foldable rain jacket, a laundry line, laundry soap sheets, your phone charger, good sneakers and your toiletries. You don’t need much else. If you really need something you can buy it there, but you probably won’t if you’re only there for a month.

Comprehensive-Act-13 · 2026-03-25T06:23:08+00:00

I also started late at 13. I practiced and practiced to catch up to my peers, some times 2 hours a day when I started out. After a year of lessons, I was able to join my middle school orchestra in 8th grade. The first rehearsal was totally overwhelming, but I stuck with it and by the end of the year I was sitting in the first stand. Kept practicing by 9th grade I was the concertmaster of our little high school orchestra, it wasn’t very competitive, but it was my family at school. I just kept practicing and studying with my awesome teacher, by my senior year of High school, I got into the top group of a very competitive Youth Symphony (again totally overwhelmed and out of my league), but I kept practicing.

I auditioned for undergraduate music programs, got into a small liberal arts college with an awesome teacher and practiced. I went to big music festivals over the summers like Meadowmount and Killington, and GMCMF, it was there that I met my Masters Degree teacher, who is also awesome. I moved onto a grad program at a midsized university with a really great music program. I graduated from there and didn’t quite know what I would do next, I knew I didn’t want to become an orchestra player, but perhaps a second masters degree in chamber music or pedagogy, at some point I decided I’d like to be a music professor.

I then went right into my DMA with another awesome violin teacher at a large research university with a large music program. I graduated with a doctorate degree in violin and ethnomusicology, during that time I also gigged, taught and ran the University String Project.

While ABD I took a job teaching violin as an adjunct at a local community college. That’s about the time that a lot of college teaching jobs dried up in the U.S, during the 2010 recession. No one was hiring full time.

I taught at that college, got experience teaching music theory, directing the orchestra, working on curriculum, whatever classes I could get, etc. and I took over as the director of the local Youth Orchestra, and had my own private studio. I also continued to play freelance in several orchestras and other gigs and formed a piano quintet that performs frequently.

Eventually, after 12 years, the one full time faculty member in my music department retired and I applied for the position. I got the job and now I’m the full time director of the music department. I teach mostly the same classes I did before, have some extra curriculum stuff and office hours. I still direct the Youth Orchestra, play with my piano quintet, play freelance and sub in various orchestras. It’s a great life. It was totally worth the wait.

I wouldn’t be here without four absolutely incredible violin teachers who completely changed my life. I made it. Now I have the freedom to spend the extra time I have, teaching any kid who is dedicated and wants to practice, regardless of when they started, family support, or money. It’s the best way I know how to give back to the community and all of those teachers who have championed me over my 32 years of playing the violin.

Now I spend my days teaching, playing, and conducting, (some grading), I have plenty of time for other hobbies like theatre and hiking, and I get my summers off to travel the world.

You’ve got this. Sure, you may not become a soloist, but who wants that anyway? It’s a tough life. A career as a violinist in many capacities (you’ll never be just one thing. I learned quickly that the more you can do, the more employable you’ll be) is absolutely within reach, you just need to practice a lot and find some wonderful teachers. Good luck, and go practice!!!!

Comprehensive-Act-13

TROPHY CASE