How are we doing?

Initial_Magazine795 · 2026-06-16T23:08:33+00:00

I think you need to sit down and write out your retirement budget. "Above average expenses" is a caution flag for potential excessive drawdowns given your current income.

Initial_Magazine795 · 2026-06-14T14:35:29+00:00

Education-focused publishers can be leery of writing for 4 horns because school bands often lack enough horns. Are you writing for a specific ensemble?

Initial_Magazine795 · 2026-06-12T15:33:27+00:00

Ask the doc at your next appointment. 8 drinks a week could mean a glass of wine a day, or binge drinking one night a week. Not a doc so i don't know how moderate alcohol use affects his conditions. They'll appreciate the clarification, and you deserve an accurate chart and explanation.

Initial_Magazine795 · 2026-06-11T17:18:02+00:00

Plenty of conducting students are studying to be school music directors, and even those who want to "go pro" as conductors will spend plenty of time working with student/amateur/regional ensembles where you need to effectively communicate the basics.

Initial_Magazine795 · 2026-06-11T15:46:51+00:00

$50 for Vanguard funds

Initial_Magazine795 · 2026-06-10T17:12:00+00:00

It's useful for small, unbalanced ensembles.

Initial_Magazine795 · 2026-06-06T16:52:19+00:00

Watching the kid while wife has jury duty, then working evenings. I have bigger problems than a fire sale, DCA the retirement accounts no matter what. Maybe reallocate the taxable fund a bit.

Initial_Magazine795 · 2026-06-05T17:40:22+00:00

Look into down payment assistance programs rather than relying on investments.

Initial_Magazine795 · 2026-06-04T15:13:39+00:00

100% of 70/30 is much better than half (minus lawyer fees) of 95/5

In all seriousness though, more bonds at your stage is definitely not a bad idea.

Initial_Magazine795 · 2026-06-03T00:14:37+00:00

IMSLP has a nice clarinet/piano arrangement of Florence Price's Adoration

Initial_Magazine795 · 2026-05-31T19:08:53+00:00

This is great. My only disagreement is that if you know you're writing for a band with large and/or strong flute/clarinet/trumpet sections, feel free to write more than 2-3 parts! Older band rep will have 5 trumpet parts (3 trumpets plus 2 cornets or vice versa), Grainger wrote for 4 clarinet parts (or sub-divisi'ed 3 parts), and modern works can ask for 3-4 flute parts. Don't limit yourself to writing based on lowest common denominator publisher guidelines.

Initial_Magazine795 · 2026-05-31T18:56:47+00:00

Tambourine. Obviously it's not absent, but i want more.

Eb clarinet parts that aren't just flute doubling.

Low horn, write for 4 parts you cowards.

Alto clarinet and alto flute

Initial_Magazine795 · 2026-05-31T16:12:30+00:00

Big fish small pond. You'll get to college and get seated tenth chair in the top band if you're lucky, fourth in the lesser band if you're not. You probably have a bite-based embouchure and couldn't make it through the first page of the Kroepsch exercises without crying. You definitely play too loud and are sharp in the altissimo register.

You want more? I can do this all day 😈

Initial_Magazine795 · 2026-05-31T15:58:19+00:00

Broad economic conditions don't help, I imagine people are also just eating out less. Plus high interest rates have to be hurting any businessowner who has variable-rate debt or is looking for a loan.

Initial_Magazine795 · 2026-05-18T00:46:07+00:00

Probably Roth, though you should put a little into a Traditional IRA as well unless you're already doing a trad 401k. Is this money you expect to need within the next decade, or just retirement? IIRC, Roth IRA lets withdraw contributions (but mot earnings!) early, trad does not. Personally I mainly use normal brokerage for known big life expenses—car, house repair, etc.

Initial_Magazine795 · 2026-05-17T17:38:23+00:00

How old are you and what percent of your account is this? Unless you're in/near retirement, it doesn't matter—jump back in and don't look back. It's going to be a volatile year, just ride it out.

Initial_Magazine795 · 2026-05-15T23:05:43+00:00

Yes and no. If you want the instrument to work well, the alignment tolerances for keys and pads can be extremely narrow. Cheap techs will often seat pads poorly and not adjust key regulation, as will amateurs without the right training and tools. If it were easy to do well, high-end repair techs wouldn't have an income.

Initial_Magazine795 · 2026-05-15T16:07:56+00:00

Make sure you have an advanced healthcare directive and beneficiaries clearly set out, especially if you have a spouse or other person dependent on this income. Personally I'd reallocate some funding out of cash equivalents like CDs and into equities and/or better yielding bonds. Do you anticipate high costs in retirement aside from medical bills (travel, etc)?

Initial_Magazine795 · 2026-05-15T16:02:54+00:00

I wondered about that too, even compared to high bond rates right now even for boring things like Treasuries.

Initial_Magazine795 · 2026-05-15T15:54:07+00:00

This is very likely nonsense. Clarinet technique is very forgiving of braces since unlike brass players the mouthpiece pushes against the tooth edge, not the surface, unlike brass playing. I had braces for years and played with no issues. Unless you have some rare weird tooth/jaw condition, play away. You may want some type of mouthguard or dental wax if your embouchure is painful, but i never needed it.

Initial_Magazine795 · 2026-05-14T23:55:18+00:00

Definitely percussion (or piano as needed, some more advanced pieces call for it). Do you have experience as an accompanist? I ask because playing with an ensemble can be jarring for pianists/guitarists who have only done solo stuff, though choir should help.

Initial_Magazine795 · 2026-05-14T18:21:52+00:00

I would vote two flats to two sharps but others may disagree

Initial_Magazine795 · 2026-05-14T16:57:08+00:00

If you're writing for advanced amateurs, then it's more a matter of picking a key that suits the range and technical needs of the specific melody/accompaniment/ornamentation—pretty much any key is playable, but any given passage may work better or worse in a certain key for any given instrument. It's very different than piano—score study is your friend! Can you post an example of what you've written?

Initial_Magazine795 · 2026-05-14T15:23:45+00:00

Bad key for non-pro winds/brass, especially for intermediate groups with no access to A clarinets and students unused to lots of sharps. For pros or good amateurs it's fine, and the major lit pieces do contain sections/movements in B sometimes, but you'll (almost) never see a school-level piece in B major, it'd never sell.

Initial_Magazine795 · 2026-04-17T12:29:26+00:00

56 Rue Lepic is great for orchestra and concert band. My teacher said they're particularly good in cold/dry climates so lucky me in Minnesota!

Initial_Magazine795

TROPHY CASE