git 'er done!

The following list of tips for designers works for musicians too.
I love the no-nonsense, realistic attitude!

British designer Jamie Wieck from the studio Airside compiled this list of useful wisdom for design students about to enter the workforce.

Here are some favorites:

6. The path to work is easier than you think.
To get into the industry you need just three things: great work, energy and a nice personality. Many forget the last attribute.

13. Time is precious – get to the point.
Avoid profuse humour or gimmicks when contacting studios for work, they’ve seen it all before. Get to the point, they’ll be thankful.

15. Do as many internships as you can stand. (Insert playing/teaching/administration jobs and auditions)
Internships are a financial burden, but they are vital. They let you scope out the industry and find the roles that suit you best.

16. Don’t waste your internship. (Insert time in practice time in school)
A studio’s work can dip, as can its energy. Ignore this and be indispensable, the onus is on you to find something that needs doing.

26. Network.
There’s some truth in ‘it’s not what you know, it’s who you know’. Talk to people, send emails; at the very least sign up to Twitter.

47. Share your ideas.
You’ve nothing to gain from holding on to your ideas; they may feel precious, but the more you share, the more new ideas you’ll have.

50. Don’t take yourself too seriously.
Take your work seriously, take the business of your craft seriously, but don’t take yourself seriously. People who do are laughed at.

50 Things every graphic design student should know.

{via Khoi} via {swissmiss}

Incredible Improvisation

And just when you taught Happy Birthday for the umpteenth time
to a kid so excited to learn it, get a load of this rendition
by Denis Matsuev:
Liszt just wasn't doing it for you in the practice room anymore, eh?

The beauty of collaboration

and the beauty of being different

The other day, I was lucky enough to be at an event to bring the arts back into schools and got to see an amazing collaboration between Yo-Yo Ma and a young dancer in LA, Lil Buck. Someone who knows Yo-Yo Ma had seen Lil Buck on YouTube and put them together. The dancing is Lil Buck's own creation and unlike anything I've seen. Hope you enjoy. --Spike Jonze



via {opening ceremony news}

getting a job

[I]t’s worth recognizing that there is no such thing as an overnight success… I still haven’t drawn the strip as long as it took me to get the job. To endure five years of rejection to get a job requires either a faith in oneself that borders on delusion, or a love of the work. I loved the work.” 

~ Bill Watterson, in a commencement speech talking about his career as a cartoonist and creator of Calvin and Hobbes

via {brainpickings}

out of the mouth of babes

What a wonderful, refreshing voice of a 5 year old,
singing her favorite song with her dad.
Perfect innocence!



via {cover song archive}

beautifully arranged

"The New Ford Focus ad features 21 instruments made from the parts two new Focus cars. Not only have they been made for real but trained musicians were used to play a specially created track by movie composer Craig Richey. The ad agency selected one of the worlds top Directors Noam Murro to capture Ford's latest TV ad, shot in LA."

piano on sandbar

I think this needs some Phillip Glass or Michael Nyman.


{CNN}