More Online Tools for Studio Management

This past school year, I experimented with Google Docs for my music studio documents. I started by using forms to create sign-up sheets to studio events. Building a form is extremely easy.

In fact, Google Docs has done such a great job, that I created my 2013/14 registration package online. The registration process is done mostly online (I still am collecting post-dated tuition cheques). The registration letter has embedded links to the Studio Timetable, Tuition Schedule, Studio Calendar an Registration Form.

Processing student registrations used to eat up a lot of my time. Now, I just have to monitor the entries and remind families to submit their fees and completed form by the registration deadline.

The forms are sent as private links to my studio families. Only I have access to the data, which I can import into Open Office Calculator if I so desire.

Data collection has never been so easy!

Here's a great demo by Dottotech on the features of Google Docs:

Geeking Out with My Unlocked Smartphone

On more than one occasion, a TELUS Mobility representative has called me with one of those "Touchy Feely Customer Service" calls.  They were trying to get me to upgrade my trusty LG Keybo II to a smartphone. My answer was always the same, "You don't have the phone I want." Predictably, they ask, "What kind of phone do you want?" To which, I'd reply: "A waterproof Japanese phone."

In the fall of 2012, I finally bought one:

What's so cool about getting a keitai, you ask? Allow me to compare my Docomo Fujitsu with the two top smartphones from the same season:

Apple iPhone 5 SIM: Nano-SIM Dimensions:123.8 x 58.6 x 7.6 mm Weight:112 g Screen:640 x 1136 pixels, 4.0 inches (~326 ppi pixel density) SD Card slot: No Memory: 16/32/64 GB storage, 1 GB RAM Camera: 8 MP/1080p@30fps;1.2 MP/720p@30fps CPU: Dual-core 1.2 GHz

Samsung Galaxy S3 SIM: Micro-SIM Dimensions: 136.6 x 70.6 x 8.6 mm Weight: 133 g Screen: 720 x 1280 pixels, 4.8 inches (~306 ppi pixel density) SD Card slot: microSD, up to 64 GB Memory: 16/32/64 GB storage, 1 GB RAM Camera: 8 MP/1080p@30fps; 1.9 MP/720p@30fps CPU: Quad-core 1.4 GHz Cortex-A9

Docomo Fujitsu F-05D LTE SIM: Micro-SIM Dimensions: 129 × 64 × 8.7 mm Weight: 124g Screen: 4.3 Inch HD touchscreen ( 720 x 1280 pixels) SD Card slot: microSD, up to 32 GB Memory: 8GB ROM / 1GB RAM Camera: 13.1 MP/1080p@30fps; 1.3 MP CPU: 1200 MHz, 1.2 GHz Dual-Core OMAP4430 processor FM Transmitter

It measures up fairly well. However, the Fujitsu F-05D dances circles around the other two phones in terms of camera capability. Plus, the gradient magenta red is very slick. And did I mention that it is dust-proof and water-proof?

In this video, I follow the directions from the user manual to properly wash my phone:

You also get a butler. Machi-chara changes costumes for special holidays. He waves a phone when you miss a call. Here, he's crying because no one has e-mailed or called me for a while.

My Japanese smartphone came unlocked, so whenever I travel outside of Canada, I can purchase a pre-paid SIM card for the country I am visiting. That way, I can eliminate roaming charges.

If you are thinking of buying an unlocked smartphone from abroad, do your research first. Not only do you have to research the phones but you must also research the company. Howard Forums is an excellent place to do both.

You also need to make sure that your unlocked smartphone will work on your country's mobile network. I went to GSM Arena for that information.

I wound up purchasing my keitai from Kyoto Exports, AKA Kyoex. I was impressed with how quickly questions were answered on Howard Forums, e-mail and Kyoex's FB page.

My phone arrived within three weeks and Kazuto Tominaga-san walked me through the additional steps to set up the APN settings properly. It worked beautifully until the spring.

My guess is that it was a combination of the following:

1. I got too "app happy" and overloaded it.

2. The result is that the phone overheated and got stuck in a restart loop.

3. When we tried to upgrade the phone to ICS it restarted smack dab in the middle of the upgrade, which corrupted the OS.

4. The constant restarting killed the battery.

I sent the phone back to Japan and went out to buy a cheap back-up phone.

Kyoex and Docomo solved the problem quickly. Not only did they fix the problem, but they sent me back an additional battery cover and screen protectors - free of charge.

When we discovered that the battery had died, Kazuto-san asked me to send the defective battery back. He exchanged it for a new battery - also free of charge. When I ordered a second pocket charger and phone case, he threw in a couple more screen protectors.

If you wind up deciding upon a Japanese keitai, I highly recommend Kyoex. Prompt service, often going above and beyond what we normally receive in North America, plus quality products make for a winning combination.

Building Community in a Virtual Environment

When I participated in Eric Whitacre's Virtual Choir last year, one of the fringe benefits was that I became part of this bustling and caring online community. You can read more about my VC3 experience here. It's an amazing group. Everyone is eager to cheer you on - whether it you are preparing for a performance or job interview, surgery or pregnancy. My fellow VCers are usually the first to "Like" a Facebook status by another VCer.

Things get pretty exciting leading up to a Virtual Choir submission deadline. As Eric Whitacre has said on more than one occasion, singers are procrastinators. That final week leading up to the submission deadline was just nuts.

Last year, we crashed the server when the last minute submissions skyrocketed. Not only that, helpful singers wound up in "Facebook Jail" for posting too much in the VC groups on Facebook.

This year, a forum was added to Eric's website, which eased the strain on the Facebook group. As the deadline approached the Ohana Thread was created in the EW forums. Many of those who landed in FB Jail last year were official moderators this year, volunteering their time to help a complete stranger with their submission.

On the eve of the VC4 deadline, June 9th, a few of us got a message from one of our VC friends: "If you can help out, log into the Forums. The mods have gone to bed and there are a lot of people who need help." Although it made for a long night, going into the wee hours of the morning of D-Day, it was great troubleshooting in a Google Hangout with VC friends from British Columbia, New Orleans, California and London, UK.

As Virtual Choir members counted down to the June 10 VC4 submission deadline, several wound up either trolling the Facebook groups (the website kept going up and down), joining a global Google Hangout, or both. Right up to the last second, members were helping others with their submissions, giving moral support and virtual high-fives.

I passed the deadline in one of the global hangouts while trying to help someone with her submission (she managed to get one video submitted). Shortly after the deadline passed, our group decided to celebrate by singing VC4 - "Fly". With singers from Singapore, USA, Canada, Puerto Rico and Austria, the time lag made singing in sync difficult. However, the opportunity to sing together, in real-time, was a truly magical, communal experience.

Becoming an Inside In Musician

To the musician, ears are the mirror to the soul. "The most important things I say in my life may well be whispered," said conductor Carl St. Clair about musical innovation in a 2011 TED Talk. In this presentation, Maestro St. Clair also demonstrates the difference between an "outside out" conductor, "inside out" conductor and "inside in" conductor. The differences are astounding.

Special thanks to my Virtual Choir friend and teaching colleague, Tresa Gilman Davis of Studio Da Capo for showing me this inspiring talk.

More Summertime Practice Ideas

You may be thinking, "Summertime practicing? But summer vacation has just started." True enough, and we music teachers hope to enjoy the summer break just as much as our students.

All we ask is that you don't forget about your musical instrument. After all, you've spend the entire school year studying and practicing - most of you on your parents' dime. You don't want to forget everything you've learned.

I've noticed that if you don't practice music for two months, it takes at least two months to get back to where you left off. One year, I was away on a work-term and didn't have ready access to a piano for six months. That was my first year working towards my ARCT Diploma. It took between six to eight months to get back into shape!

The following articles have some good ideas on how to set up summer practicing goals and a music practice plan for the summer:

Summer practice plan, with the goal of 50 times

There is a Cure for Summertime Blues...Play Music!

Bigfoot, Ogopogo and Summer Piano Practicing has good ideas for music students and teachers. Finally, A Guide to Great Home Music Practice has some good general tips.