MUSIC MINUS NONE

Overcoached is now Music Minus None. Get in, musicians.

A lil update on this fine morning…

It’s holiday season, and that means taking stock.

2024 contained a lot, right? Woof. I say woof deliberately, because on the one hand, this world right now, wooooof. And then on the other hand, this happened in 2024:

Minnie is just a tiny creature compared to the great burning world, but she’s changed our lives utterly for the better. I realize what a selfish and small thing that is to say. On the other hand, love and comfort stoke our hearts, making it possible to do anything at all, so I’ll take our Minerva as a positive sign.

On lots of long morning walks with her, I’ve been thinking about how to use my time.

This newsletter definitely stays in the picture. It’s been instrumental in opening up the practice of writing for me. Through posting here on Overcoached, I’ve discovered what I really want to write about: the invisible labor my industry depends on, and how we might create an equitable future together.

For a number of years, in a couple of organizations I belong to, I tried to float the idea of a national pianists’ strike. All the accompanists/collaborative pianists/coaches in the country would stay home on the same day to illustrate what would happen to all schools, conservatories, theaters, ballets, etc. This idea did not have legs. Pianists who fill those positions are that reluctant to rock the boat. One day was too much of a risk. I started thinking about how to reposition the whole conversation and involve our colleagues, the musicians who rely on our services and expertise.

Last summer, away on a gig in Japan and feeling lonely in my off time, I created a logo and an Instagram account for Music Minus None, which was nothing more than a phrase I made up, and picked a day in September to “celebrate” collaborative pianists. I wrote about it on Overcoached, people followed the Instagram account, and the day got good response.

So long story short, I’m putting these things together. It’s just a lil name and logo change here. Over on Instagram, the Music Minus One account continues. I hope, if you’re a follower on IG, that you’ll come over here and subscribe. It’s free unless you want to support my writing financially, your choice.

In December, I’ll finally start posting some audio (as I’ve long threatened to do). First up will be people who are not pianists, talking about pianists.

This may all seem like I’m talking about my sweet little pet as the big world burns. That may be a good reading of the situation. But here’s where I am, a classical musician, inside our shuddering structures with all of the rest of you, and each of us has to start somewhere. If we fix our own ecosystem, we fix a little part of the whole.

Collaborative solidarity, y’all.

Thanks, Minerva.