The MikeDrop Podcast

When is now? It doesn’t matter! The Mikes share their excitement and joy for the details in the world with a short episode covering: Cognitive Neurology Mike’s summer of museums Rituals in sporting events The running style of Wimbledon ball boys Marathon training   Thanks to Rebecca Moore for the amazing work on our audio!

There is an skill to maximizing individual music lessons. In this episode, the teachers become the students: the Mikes learn how to learn, covering preparation before, during, and after lessons. Topics covered include articulating the roles of the teacher and student, lesson preparation strategies, planning for multiple lessons, the importance of reflection, and more.   Rebecca Moore should be tea...

The Mikes’ go head to head on their alliterative strategies for music-making, marking, and mastering for before, during, and after rehearsals and practice sessions. There’s nothing like describing visual practices in an audio-only medium, so buckle up! Topics include Why write in your music? What can/should one mark? Reading from scores vs parts Marking and part-making gear Cheat sheets, memoizati...

What does it mean to be “ready”? Mike C’s longtime duo partner and jedi-level chamber music Hannah Collins says “ 99% of ensemble issues can be solved with good personal preparation.” From study to practice to logistics to showing up on time, great preparation allows for flexible and joyous music-making in rehearsals. Mikes T and C sound off on their go-to pre-rehearsal strategies to making the mo...

The Mikes compare notes (written on paper) on their favorite technologies for music-making, productivity, and…getting away from technology. But first, what IS technology? While the Mikes agree that less is more, apps and tools mentioned include: Transcribe! Earplugs Headphones (both noise cancelling and monitor headphones) Focus/Airplane/Do not disturb mode Forscore Mindnode Notion Omnigraffle Scr...

Summer break is always welcomed for those of us in academia, but it is also a daunting responsibility to use it wisely and effectively. MikeDrop sounds off on the best way to maximize this precious time.   Audio editing by Rebecca Moore