Entrepreneurs in Music — and Don’t Forget about Mozart!

When I was starting out in college, I figured that I would grow up to be the world’s greatest Band Director. Marching Band was great, I loved to listen to music, and those people in church always seemed so-o-o-o friendly after I played…yeah – you guessed it: I was clueless.

In my junior year of college, I was asked by a faculty composer if I would be interested in preparing some parts for a new composition. He would provide the skins (well, vellum), training, and I would even make a little bit of money to boot. Little did I realize that it was the beginning of what was to become my career in music.

Fast-forward a couple of years and I was in the Army, stationed at Ft. Myer, VA (right across the river from downtown Washington, DC) and looking to take some arranging lessons from the folks at the United States Army Band (Pershing’s Own). As luck would have it, the head Music Arranger at the time, James Kessler, asked if I did any copywork. There was going to be an opening for a music copyist and he suggested that I submit some samples. They decided to hire me and that was when my real education in the music business started.

For the next five years, I had the opportunity to grow as a copyist. That was back in the days when we still were using pen and ink. My fellow copyist, Kim Newlen, taught me so much about layout, technique, and artistry (I never could achieve the sheer beauty of her manuscript). Jim provided further guidance on what it really meant to be a professional copyist – how to read Arranger’s shorthand, where to be/what to do in a rehearsal, when to ask questions, and (of equal importance) when to remain silent. I also dabbled in arranging – primarily for the Brass Quintet and eventually for the now-defunct Brass Band. Both provided great opportunities to grow as a musician. It was by working on coordinated events with the National Symphony Orchestra and Pershing’s Own that I was introduced to Marcia Farabee and the Professional Orchestra Librarian “side of the house.”

I had used some basic notation software for my own “arranging business” – writing music for numerous marching bands. The future was at hand and I decided that I should see if I could keep up – so I took the plunge into the “big league” by starting to use Finale Notation Software in the mid-1990s and have since made that my instrument of choice.

I took a break from the Army for slightly under four years, continuing to write on my own, working as a copyist on projects with both Jim and Marcia, and decided that the Army still had a lot to offer. The Arranging position for the United States Military Academy Band at West Point, NY was available. I passed that audition (“you can use Finale, right?”) and entered my current position, which has been an amazing opportunity to refine the skills that Jim, Kim, and Marcia had impressed on me so many years before. I write quite a bit – but more importantly, I have the opportunity to share the standards my mentors insisted upon with a new generation of what I refer to as “music production specialists” – these guys do it all – compose, arrange, help with copywork, you name it. I am glad they were not around when I auditioned!

So how does this apply to entrepreneurship?

I was fortunate to be in situations where I was surrounded by true professionals who were interested in taking care of business the right way… and that included mentoring me in the ways our portion of the music industry works. In hindsight, I was right at the front of the technology boom and was eager to see where it was going to go. As Ray Ricker stated, it was a matter of “adapting or becoming irrelevant.” The technology helped me to keep pace in some ways, and to outdistance in others. I offered a service that was unique (in the day) and still competitively priced. My clients had the option of hand-copy or computer-copy… It is all about flexibility and embracing change.

As a producer of music (which is not to say a “producer” in the sense of a recording), I take great care to make sure the musician has every advantage in performing. My job as a Copyist is to catch anything that would cut into rehearsal time – “eliminate questions,” so to speak. I coordinate with Writers and Librarians to make sure everybody gets what they need – hopefully exceeding expectations (which is pretty tough when one answers to the high standards my peers have!). It is a unique part of the music world that most people do not even consider. If we do our job(s) the right way, then performers can focus on managing their own part of the process: performing.

As I had stated earlier, operating software notation has become my tool of the industry. I do not take out advertisements – most people hear of me because of satisfied clients. The cash compensation for services provided is nice, to be sure – where the real satisfaction comes is when a production runs successfully and I have had the opportunity to see and do things that most people could not pay to experience. Every job makes me a better craftsman and there is a lot to be said about that, as well. One has to stay on top of things, though – the advances in all aspects of this business are evolving at an unbelievable rate!

Ultimately, I try to provide my services to clients in a way that promotes confidence and great satisfaction in the process. Throughout the process, I am fortunate enough to share things that have been taught to me with other folks who are as eager to learn as I was. We are working hard to keep an art form (and tradition) alive that is every bit as viable as the artistry you folks who operate the instruments provide. In spite of all the technological changes, being a professional is an aspect of the music profession that will never go out of style.

Thanks for reading this brief history of the world/opening statement – it is just another great aspect of our shared musical experience.