Q&A with Katie Blomarz-Kimball!

I recently started asking my cool friends questions about their careers, in hopes that they could shed light on some of the practices, physical items, or ideas that enrich their lives as musicians. Today’s interview is with one of my favorite musicians and one of my favorite people, Katie Blomarz-Kimball. Katie is relentlessly kind and generous, and she is a downright mean musician. I had the pleasure of joining her for a college workshop a few months ago, and it was so wonderful to watch her in a band-leading role. For a few hours, I didn’t see my gentle, dog-loving, Star Wars nerd friend Katie. I saw a commanding leader with actionable insight into how to improve a performance. I hope you have the pleasure of watching Katie lead a band someday, but until then, enjoy these answers. Oh! And did I forget to mention that Katie is the only woman nominated for Best Jazz Instrumentalist in this year’s NIMA awards? Click here to check out the ballot and cast your vote.

Name: Katie Blomarz-Kimball

Primary instrument: Upright/Electric Bass

Secondary instrument or other musical skills that factor into your career: Background vocals, arranging, charting, scribing

Bands or artists you’ve played with in the past: I have had the pleasure of sharing the stage with artists such as Lauren Daigle, Sam Bush, Jerry Douglas, Jim Lauderdale, Tommy Emmanuel, James Nash, Jack Pearson, Kandace Springs, Clay Aiken, The Barefoot Movement, Abigail Flowers, and The Ryan Middagh Jazz Orchestra.

Can you describe what your career looks like right now? I have most recently been doing a mix of in town work and touring. I have transitioned into a couple new career pivots in the last year or so and it has allowed me to play more hired gun style gigs with a wide range of artists. It has also allowed me to pursue some collegiate masterclass style presentations, which has been a very exciting addition. I work in a wide range of genres including jazz, folk, bluegrass, Americana and even some pop!

A song everyone should know/learn/study: “When It Rains” by Brad Mehldau

A practice technique, habit, or specific exercise you recommend: Sight reading! Never stop implementing it into you practice time.

An app that helps your musicianship or career as a musician: I use a drum loop app called “Loop Drum” to help practice to and/or get ideas for tunes to write. I also use ForScore on a daily basis for chart organization for all the artists I am working with.

A piece of gear or physical equipment that you like as a musician: The Noble Bass Preamp DI has changed my gear set up. I can use it with any of my basses, upright or electric, and it makes them all sound incredibly big.

A piece of financial advice for musicians: Don’t be afraid to have a side hustle! Teaching, serving, remote work, anything that will make you feel more stable if you need. Having an opportunity to have a Roth IRA and invest in the market has been one of the smartest moves I have made.

General advice for young or beginner musicians: Always have fun with your craft. Don’t burn yourself out from the thing you love because someone told you the only way to be successful was to shed 9 hours a day. Keep loving what you’re doing.

General advice for other professional musicians: It is so easy to be kind. No matter who you are or who you’ve worked with, you can be kind.

A type of work you’ve grown out of: I think this can be a cyclical thing. Sometimes I prefer to do more in town work for a period of time, but then I get bored and want to be on the road again. I like to kind of keep trying new things and stay ever evolving. One day I might grow out of something, but I don’t mind when they come back around.

A type of work or a specific gig you hope to do in the future: I would love to MD for an Americana/folk artist where I get to tour on both upright and electric and sing harmonies.

A gig you’re well suited for? A gig you’re not well suited for? I feel like I crush upright in a folk/Americana setting. I pride myself in adding upright to groups that may otherwise have had electric. I can fill out a sound in a group really well with an upright.

I am not well suited for a soul/funk chops gig. I am a “meat and potatoes” type player and am not an overly flashy player.

A high and low of your career in the last 12 months: I actually had an incredibly rough start to 2024, feeling like maybe my time in music had run its course. Very slow start to the year and feeling a little like what could possibly pick this year up? But I have bee able to do some bucket list items this year! I played Bonnaroo and the Opry for the first time this year. I also had the pleasure of starting what I hope is an on-going tour with YOU (Abigail Flowers) to different colleges sharing our knowledge of jazz and the music industry as a whole!

A habit or habits that help you do your best: I am a charts girlie. I would rather have charts at the ready and know that I am prepared than rely on my memory/ear. If I can prepare ahead of time I know I can put my best foot forward and not be guessing on the gig.

A musician in your genre who inspires you: Daniel Kimbro is one of my favorite bass players. He is Jerry Douglas’ bassist and makes such an impact in his band. Daniel crosses into all genres with his playing. He is a monster in the Americana world and kicks ass playing jazz, too. I aspire to play like he does!

A musician in a very different genre who inspires you: Chappell Roan’s career has absolutely skyrocketed in the last several months. It is quite amazing to see someone who has worked so hard and has now blown up overnight. It’s hard to not find her music addictive!

A Nashville musician more people should hire or work with (other than me, of course): Marshall Biever is one of my absolute favorite guitar players in Nashville. Her groove and ideas alone are unmatched. Her band, Together Breakfast, molds all the complexities of instrumental music but makes it so fun and approachable. Hire her for all your guitar needs!

A non-musical hobby or interest you have: I have always been into painting. Growing up I didn’t have many friends so I would just sit at my kitchen table for hours painting landscapes. I still love it to this day and love to do it as a stress reliever!

Hey, it’s me, Abi! I wanted to add a couple notes based on conversations Katie and I have had in recent months. The first is that Katie encouraged me to get back out there attending other people’s shows. It was hard to do that while I adjusted to being a parent for the first time, but now that my family has more of a rhythm to our lives (musician pun), it’s a great time for me to basically reintroduce myself to my musical community. Someone told her (and then she told me), “people hire the last person they saw.” If you aren’t getting called for gigs, it might have nothing at all to do with your skill level! It may just be that someone else is going to shows and staying top-of-mind. This encouragement has really helped me get back out there after a long period of mostly working/recording from home.

Another thing I want to highlight, which she actually mentions here, is the financial advice. Katie has had a job for as long as I’ve known her (somewhere in the range of 8-10 years now). Whether her musical schedule is bursting at the seams or it’s a slow season, you can find Katie serving beer and hot dogs on a Wednesday afternoon. I’ve always struggled with the (self-imposed) idea that if I can’t make all of my money from music, it must mean I’m not good enough. Katie is an incredible example of how untrue that is. In her case, she is a very well respected and in-demand player. However, her part time job offers stability that reduces stress in slow seasons. Because of her attitude and reputation at work, she is almost always given the time off she needs to prioritize gigs. And I’ll just say… Katie is financially healthy, if you catch my drift. I don’t think all musicians need part time jobs, but Katie is a shining example of how the part time job can actually enhance your musicianship by offering financial stability and a social community that doesn’t depend on your chops.

That’s all for today! Let me know if you have questions for anyone featured on this blog series and I’ll be sure to follow up. Also, let me know who you’d like to hear from in the future!

Q&A with David Rodgers!

It recently occurred to me that there’s a lot of knowledge shared in conversation between working musicians I know, but there are fewer places where this information is shared more formally or directly. My alma mater, Belmont, now offers a class called something like “The Professional Musician”, which I think is a fabulous idea! But if you’re not at a major music school and are curious about what it’s like being a working musician… Have I got a blog series for you :) I’ve reached out to some of my coolest friends to ask questions about their musical lives, in hopes that I can inform and inspire others. Let me know what other questions you might have for David, and I’d be happy to share a follow up!

Today’s answers are from David Rodgers, a pianist in Nashville. I’m not sure how to begin to convey what a monstrous musician David is, but if you know, you know. He’s well versed in classical, jazz, gospel, Afro-Cuban, and popular music styles. He plays, composes, arranges, produces, and is a really nice dude. I hope you enjoy and learn from his input here!

Name: David Rodgers 

Primary Instrument: piano 

Secondary instrument or other musical skills that factor into your career? B3, accordion, aux keys, string/horn arranger, composer, producer, educator 

Bands or artists you’ve played with in the past: Peter Frampton, Keb Mo, Taj Mahal, Ricky Skaggs, Gabby Barrett, Gavin DeGraw, Joss Stone, Ben Rector, Cody Fry, Kirk Whalum, Keith & Kristyn Getty 

Can you describe what your career looks like right now? I am (almost officially) artistic director for the Nashville Jazz Workshop (official July 1, possibly sooner). That takes up the majority of my time. I still play some live gigs; I do a good amount of recording, particularly remote recording. I have a private teaching studio of 5 students per week. I do a good amount of string arranging, some horn/big band arranging. I produce a handful of tracks every year for various artists. I occasionally compose for commercials and film.

A song everyone should know/learn/study: “I Wish I Knew What It Meant to be Free” by Nina Simone

A practice technique, habit, or specific exercise you recommend: Keep a practice journal. Be specific and detailed in your practice notes and intentionally structure your next practice session off your last. Don’t spend time practicing things you can already do well. “Hug the cactus.”

An app that helps your musicianship or career as a musician: METRONOME!!! (the best one is the one you will open up and use) 

A piece of gear or physical equipment that you like as a musician (specific brand of stand? A pedal? An amp?): a real piano hahaha (not a keyboard/amp person). More universally, I really like the Sony MDR7506 headphones. I use these in our studio all the time https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000AJIF4E/  

A piece of financial advice for musicians: Learn how to save. Freelance work often results in financial seasons of “feast/famine.” Saving looks different for everyone but it’s necessary. Figure out what works for you and be consistent.

General advice for young or beginner musicians: Spend as much time at your instrument as you can. Find ways to immerse yourself to the point where you lose track of time. Listen to a wide range of musical styles and figure out how to play along. Find music you love and can’t get enough of…live in that for as long as you dare. There is no replacement for the time investment in your instrument/craft. 

General advice for other professional musicians: As best as you can, figure out your “why.” Why do you do what you do? What ultimately motivates you? What’s the purpose of your life? Dig into your heart and motivations. Think about the hard questions. Talk about the hard questions with friends. Ask for help. Also, practice with a metronome.

A type of work you’ve grown out of: I used to tour a lot, but am doing less and less of it. I like being home with my wife and son. Anything that takes me away from that needs to be worth it, and touring is less and less worth it.  

A type of work or a specific gig you hope to do in the future: I hope to continue doing everything I’m doing now! But I would love to do more string arranging. Hearing live strings enhance a track or live performance is a little slice of heaven.

A gig you’re well suited for? A gig you’re not well suited for? I’m well suited for string arranging – I like working from home, I like the methodical problem-solving-style pace that most arrangements I work on require, and we have the studio space to record the arrangement in-house too. Remote recording work is definitely something I am well suited for too bc of these same reasons.

I’m less suited for live gigs – I don’t like bringing gear (yes I’ve been spoiled by real pianos), I’m particular (some might say neurotic!) about live sound quality, and I really value good listening environments. Those aren’t always guaranteed.

A high and low of your career in the last 12 months: I think a high recently was back in November 2023, within a few days, I was asked to do a live taping for NORD as a featured artist, and then I also was part of Cody Fry’s live taping for his acoustic sessions along with an incredible band (including Abi!) – Kate Paradise, Therry Thomas, Greg Breal, Nate Dugger, Aaron Sterling, Scott Mulvahill. That was super fulfilling creatively.

A low was definitely being out on the road for 3 straight weeks overseas 3-4 months after our son was born. I knew I was missing out on a season of his life that I would never get back. 

A habit or habits that help you do your best (could be musical, non musical, have to do with organization… anything): I can easily feel overwhelmed, so I like keeping lists on my phone – to-do’s, things to follow-up on, emails to send, charts to make, etc. It helps me compartmentalize so I can hopefully be more present with each moment. I’m also a big fan of physically distancing myself from my phone and technology. If I can get an hour or two of time every day where my phone is somewhere else (I might even forget where I left it), that’s a win. I’m more creative, more present, more relaxed. It’s a win for everybody. It’s good to unplug. 

A musician in your genre who inspires you: Micah Thomas (pianist) – he is one of the most original and intentional voices I’ve heard on the piano… ever. I love everything I’ve ever heard him play.

A musician in a very different genre who inspires you: PJ Morton and Kim Burrell (I couldn’t pick one!) Unbelievable creativity and masters of their crafts.

A Nashville musician more people should hire or work with (other than me, of course): Katie Blomarz-Kimball is an excellent bass player who is underrated in my opinion. I’ve particularly enjoyed playing with her several times recently – tone, feel, preparation, easy to work with – she’s got it all!

A non-musical hobby or interest you have: I love working out, particularly with weights. I’ve been fascinated by the human body since high school and seeing & experiencing how resistance training affects the body and mind is quite interesting to me. I used COVID as an excuse to assemble a home-gym and that’s helped enable me to stay pretty consistent over the past 4 years too.

Okay, it’s Abi again. Wow, I loved reading that. Things that stick out to me are: obviously I love the shoutout for Katie Blomarz aka KBK. I also think the emphasis on quality time with your instrument sticks out, because you can’t listen to David play without realizing he’s spent A LOT OF TIME on his craft. I’ve recently been thinking about the fact that…. music is difficult. We constantly see performers who execute music with ease and feel like music should be easy. Maybe we feel like there should be some hack, some magical practice technique we just haven’t found. But the truth is, music is challenging, growth takes time, and like David said, there’s no replacement for time spent with your instrument. It’s a good reminder that for every 15 seconds we see on social media, there are HOURS of practice/experience behind it. As musicians and creators, we have to spend a lot more time “hugging the cactus” (love that phrase) than showing off in performance.

Thank you to David for sharing his wisdom, and I look forward to sharing more Qs & As very soon!

"La Vie en rose" is finally here!

I’m so excited to share that my arrangement of Edith Piaf’s “La Vie en rose” is finally available on all major streaming platforms! It’s been a unique journey to get this recording into the world, so I thought I’d share some about the creation of this arrangement and the process of getting it online.

Arranging

I started on this arrangement in late 2023. I knew I wanted to try my hand at a popular song, and “La Vie” just seemed like the perfect fit for the vocal style I wanted to emulate. I started by making a midi demo on my computer, mapping out the form of the song with fake drums, keyboard, and bass. After I had the form sketched out, I added scratch vocals (a placeholder I could use while adjusting the arrangement). From there, I could start arranging background vocals and tweaking the structure and harmony of the song.

This is my first time releasing music in a language other than English! While I’ve sung in Spanish for almost 20 years, it’s only in the past few years that I’ve added Portuguese, Italian, and French to the mix. I knew that for this song, I wanted to honor the original lyric by singing first in French, then in English. This impacted my background vocal arranging choices because when I sing in English, it often feels natural to have the background vocals echo the lead vocal on a lyric. You can hear this in the second half of the song, where the BGVs are sometimes on oohs and aahs, but often sing a sort of response lyric to the lead. My favorite instance of this is when the lead vocal sings, “and when you speak, angels sing from above,'“ and the background vocals reply with a cheeky, “hallelujah, amen.”

For the French chorus, it felt too risky to try to coordinate lyric pronunciation among the numerous background vocal tracks. Instead, I leaned into the romantic, lush, choral sound and opted for non-lyric background vocal lines. I also wanted the BGVs to build gently, letting the lead vocal shine before adding to much action in the background.

Recording

Once the arrangement was close to final, it was time to record my parts. I did two ukulele tracks first, so the mix engineer (Jon Estes) could choose the better take or use both and pan them for a fuller sound. Once I had my uke tracks done, I sent the song off to Katie Blomarz to record upright bass. She had access to my ukulele tracks (which appear in the final version), my scratch vocals, and my midi demo. Once her part was recorded, I added it to the Dropbox and sent things off to Micah Hulscher to record keys. He did several takes of Wurlitzer and accordion for me to choose from. We ultimately both agreed that the accordion felt like a great idea in theory, but didn’t fit the sound of the final product. When Micah was finished, it was Chris Leidhecker’s turn to add percussion. While I waited for each of these great musicians to record their parts, I recorded my final vocals from home.

I usually put off lead vocal recording til the very end of a project because I feel so much pressure to get it perfect, but this time I needed to tackle lead vocals so I could phrase my background vocals around the lead. I consulted with two French-speakers—Chris Watson, who taught my Chansons class at the Nashville Jazz Workshop a few years ago, and Laura Anglade, an incredible jazz vocalist from Quebec. With their feedback in mind, I did my best with the French lyric and tracked my lead vocals.

The final piece of the puzzle was my background vocals! Before sending things off to the other instrumentalists, I had arranged BGVs for the beginning and end, but didn’t have any vocals happening during the keyboard solo. I asked my husband for his opinion, and he agreed that it felt a little disjunct not to have some sort of background vocal during the solo, so I quickly recorded a very simple 2-part background vocal for that section. I was proud that I didn’t need to write anything out; I just kept it simple and intuitive, and I enjoy how that section turned out.

The song’s last stops were to Jon Estes, mixing engineer, and John McLaggan of Parachute Mastering, mastering engineer. I was elated to have the final version in my inbox! And then the fun started…

Distribution

For the last several years, I’ve used a website called DistroKid to deliver my recordings to online stores/streaming sites like Spotify, iTunes, etc. It’s very user-friendly, and relatively affordable. Most importantly for me, they handle cover song licensing quickly and affordably.

The challenge here was that DistroKid does not allow releases in multiple languages. I decided to give it a try anyway and see what happened. I submitted my song, credited the composers, and waited. Unfortunately, my cover song license was marked ‘rejected by HFA’ (Harry Fox Agency, one of the main groups that handles copyright/licensing today). No specific information was given, but I could guess the multiple language issue was probably to blame.

This sent me into a bit of a panic because I’ve never had to handle cover song licensing directly. When I taught on Patreon, I used public domain music so that I wouldn’t have to deal with copyright issues. I have become very educated on the limits of public domain, but when it comes to licensing copyrighted music, I have little idea where to start. The more I searched and tried to learn, the more confused I became.

Ultimately, the solution was relatively simple: “La Vie en rose” in French is one composition; “La Vie en Rose” in English is a separate composition (same composer, different lyricist). What I had was essentially a mash-up of two separate compositions. I had to secure a license for both of these compositions, which meant I had to use an online distributor that allowed you to secure your own license. I eventually landed on licensing through EasySong and distributing through CDBaby, though the details are still slightly confusing for me and there are limitations on the distribution—most annoyingly, it’s not available for use on Instagram like all my other songs (originals and covers) are.

I wanted to share about this process because I had such a hard time finding information about releasing a cover song in multiple languages. There is lots more specific info that I won’t bore you with, but if you’re someone scouring the information for help on how to legally release a cover song in multiple languages, I would love to chat. Send me a message and I’d be happy to share!

For now, I hope you’ll go listen to “La Vie en rose” on the streaming platform of your choice, or heck, buy it on iTunes! Ask your local coffee shop to add it to their rainy day playlist. Share it with a friend. Play it for your kid at bedtime. All of the above. Thank you so much for your support :)

Recovering from a crushingly hard gig.

A few weeks ago, I shared about prepping for a crushingly hard gig. By that I meant a performance where I genuinely wasn’t sure if I was capable of executing the material. I won’t rehash the specifics here (you can just read my blog post), but suffice to say I worked very hard and very strategically on a large amount of difficult music in order to succeed for this performance. Spoiler alert: it didn’t go great. Here’s what happened and how I’m managing my feelings about it.

Initial Prep

In March, I was invited to perform with Music City Big Band (led by Casey Brefka) for the ISJAC (International Society of Jazz Composers and Arrangers) bi-annual symposium at Vanderbilt University. We were tasked with performing for a clinic on the music of Kenny Wheeler. We received music for two pieces we would definitely be performing, and then received portions of a suite (larger musical work) and were told we would perform selections from it. Not knowing which selections or how much of the 30-minute suite we would perform, I spent most of my time practicing some very difficult vocal solo sections in 7/4 time. I knew that if those portions were selected, I would not be able to ‘cram’ for them. I made a gamble, and I lost.

Rehearsal, 5/15 (surprise, skipped those hard parts)

This was our first opportunity to get most of the band in the same room and work with the guest conductor, Nick. Nick is an expert in the music of Kenny Wheeler and was a fantastic director. This was also our first time finding out which selections of the suite we would be performing. Nick called out the measure numbers for the first selection, and we gave it a shot. It went well! He cut off the band at the end of the selection, and my stomach sank as I saw he had stopped us precisely before all those hard sections I had spent most of my time practicing. “Then there are those rather devilish vocal lines,” he joked, as I realized we were about to skip the portion I was prepared to sing.

We skipped ahead to the second selection. I had not practiced it.

Well, Abi, you should have practiced it! I can hear you saying. I’m going to ask you to please trust me that there was absolutely no way to learn all of the music we were given in the time we were given.

Here’s where my gamble came in: the portions we were performing were less crushingly difficult. I knew that I had a far better chance of quickly preparing a vocal solo in 3/4 if I needed to, which is why I spent far more time on the earlier passages in 7/4. I did my best in rehearsal, apologized, and promised Nick I would be ready to go the following day.

Prep, Take Two

I went home and immediately created new practice tracks for the selections I wasn’t prepared for. Of course, I wish we had known weeks in advance which selections we were actually going to perform. I have no idea why we didn’t have that information, or whether the selections had even been decided prior to rehearsal, but regardless of why I didn’t have that information in advance, it was the reality of the situation.

I applied all my same strategies to preparing these new sections. Of course, I had very little time to get it right, but I did my best and I think I practiced very effectively.

Performance Day, 5/16

I woke up at 5AM on the day of the performance to get in extra practice. I got ready and drove down to Vanderbilt with plenty of time to spare. I wanted to do everything in my power to show our guest conductor that I was prepared, responsible, and taking this performance seriously.

Our second rehearsal was held in the performance space at 10AM. I walked in, looked Nick in the eyes and said, “I’m ready!” I nailed the ‘new’ vocal solos in rehearsal.

I failed the new vocal solos in performance.

I tried my best to keep a straight face for the rest of the clinic. I had to pinch my hand to keep from crying on stage while Nick finished his presentation and we performed the final piece. I left as quickly as possible afterward and sobbed in my car on the way home.

Okay, so what happened?

First and foremost, I picked the wrong selections to practice. It wasn’t negligence on my part, but the fact remains that no one could have practiced my part except for me.

During the performance, adrenaline took over. I always get nervous before performances, but it’s usually a manageable (if not pleasant) level of nervousness. Just enough to make the day feel special. But this performance was different. This was “there is a real live bear chasing you” levels of adrenaline.

As a vocalist, there are no buttons for me to press on my instrument. Finding a note means knowing by ear where I fall within the music. It requires an alignment of brain and body—the brain says, “make this sound”, and the body responds accordingly.

I do not have perfect pitch, but I have a well developed sense of how certain notes feel on my voice. I can’t magically spit out a perfect middle C or A440, but I can usually guess a note within 1-2 half steps based on how it feels to sing. Adrenaline throws that sense WAY off balance.

Imagine a pianist with her eyes closed. She can’t see the right note, but she has a finely honed sense of how it feels to reach her arm toward middle C. Her fingers instinctively know what it feels like to brush against the black keys in their distinct groupings of two and three, and will almost immediately find the correct spot. That’s me on a good day.

Now imagine the same pianist with her eyes closed, but someone is violently shaking the keyboard back and forth while she plays. That’s me on run-for-your-life adrenaline. I reached for my starting note, D4, and landed somewhere much higher. D4 felt incredibly low. By the time I realized I didn’t have the right note, measures had passed and I was just blindly reaching for something consonant to sing. The vocal solo repeated and I found my starting note the second time around, but the damage was done.

I’m sure it wasn’t that bad! No one ever notices our mistakes as much as we do! I can hear you saying. I’m going to ask you to please trust me that in this room of professional jazz composers, arrangers, and performers, they noticed.

The aftermath.

Like I said, I had to actively hold back tears during the performance. Then I hurried to my car and cried—it was a BIG cry that surprised even me. Driving home, I sent a voice note to my friend Katie who had also played for the clinic. I just vented about how embarrassed and frustrated I felt. I immediately felt some relief from sharing my disappointment. Katie sent back a voice note, affirming my frustration and sadness but comforting me, saying I did a great job overall and that she really didn’t experience it as being quite so disastrous as I thought it was. Talking it over with a friend who knew my situation and didn’t discredit my experience was extremely helpful.

While I was still extremely disappointed and embarrassed, I had to get straight back into work mode because that evening, I had an important rehearsal for another event. I had to set my emotions aside and prepare for the next performance (“Music City Without Borders” at City Winery, which I wrote about in my last blog post).

Over the next few hours and days, I continued to process the experience.

Reflections.

A few years ago, I implemented a simple reflection strategy that has turned every single performance into an opportunity for greater growth. I ask myself a series of four questions, and even responding to just one or two of these questions helps propel me forward. The questions are: What went right? What went wrong? What will I do differently next time? What did I learn?

What went right? After the performance, I was pretty consumed by what went wrong. But the truth is that I did an excellent job executing most of the material. The first piece we performed had a lot of complicated rhythm with rapidly shifting time signatures. The key, our clinician told us, was to internalize the melody and feel how the song is built around its phrasing, rather than rigidly counting beats. I listened to that song so much and so early that I definitely was able to do that! Don’t get me wrong, I was counting for my life, but I would say instinct was in the driver’s seat rather than analysis.

Overall, we performed 5 selections of varying length, and I think I had two notable missteps within those five selections. Sitting here, a week after that performance, I can truly feel how excellent that is. All of the music was very challenging, and I should be proud of how I executed the majority of the material! “Should” is the key word here…

What went wrong? I believe that’s been discussed pretty heavily.

What will I do differently next time? This experience continues to drive home the fact that I must listen to and read through music the very day I receive it. I don’t know that anything could have prevented my misfortune with this performance, but knowing what I was getting into a few days earlier wouldn’t have hurt my chances at success. In this case, I still listened to and read through the music quite early, so I had reason to believe I was being responsible with the opportunity. It just happened to be some of the most difficult music (and a TON of material, with no certainty which selections would be performed) I’ve worked on.

What did I learn? Through the process of preparing for this gig, I stretched my brain so hard I’m surprised I didn’t sprain anything. The music was so challenging for me, and I worked so hard, and I have no doubt that I’m moving forward as a better musician because of it. I learned that I’m still very much capable of being crushed by nerves, very much capable of what feels like a pretty significant failure. I learned that I’m also capable of singing very difficult music very well. I learned that a lot of my practice strategies are extremely effective, but time is a limited resource and has to be used wisely. I learned that I can do my absolute best and still fall short. I don’t think any of these lessons are new, but they’re valuable reminders. I learned about Kenny Wheeler and his reserved personality, his unique time-feel that at some points made him feel like a failure but eventually became a defining feature of his personal sound.

So that’s that. I’m still recovering a little bit emotionally. I’m still sad that I made a big, notable mistake rather than dazzling the audience with my incredible skill. I think I have incredible skills and the chips just didn’t fall in my favor that day. Some days are better than others.

What I do.

As a working musician, I am fascinated by the many ways one can make a living in music. I used to think you had to win American Idol or be “discovered” in order to make it. But ‘making it’ can take thousands of different forms, and I like talking about that. I’m hoping to interview some of my smart and cool friends in the near future and get their thoughts on how they make it, but I thought I’d start by sharing what my version of making it looks like. I’ll use this month (May of 2024) as an example!

Teaching (Weekly)

I honestly do not generally enjoy teaching, but I have a few people I’ve been working with for a few years who understand what I have to offer and it’s a great fit. So on Fridays, I teach. This makes up a very small portion of my income, but it’s consistent and I enjoy the folks I work with. For most working musicians I know, teaching is a very common way to supplement income.

Church gig (Weekly services and rehearsals)

I’m fortunate to be part of the music team at Vine Street Christian Church. I sing with the choir, help lead hymns as part of a quartet, and occasionally provide ‘special music’ during the offering. Vine Street is our church home and it’s a joy to be part of this community. Church also makes up a very small portion of my income, but it means I can write off the mileage on choir Sundays! We also have rehearsals on most Tuesday nights, but this month was a bit atypical with the schedule. Again, church gigs are a very common way for musicians to supplement income—especially in Nashville!

Recording (May 6th)

May was special because I had the opportunity to record in-studio with some of my favorite musicians. Ever since the pandemic started in 2020, all the recording I’ve done has been remote—as in, I record my parts from home and then send it to a pianist or a bassist, etc. and piece things together from there. I’ve released several songs I’m proud of in this manner, but it often takes months to finish a single recording.

So I decided to try something different—I booked a pianist (Kelli Cox) and a bassist (Katie Blomarz) for a day at Chris Leidhecker’s studio. It was more expensive up front (paying for a full day for piano, bass, and engineer), but ultimately an incredible value as we were able to knock out 5 songs with vocals and 1 without (I will record vocals for that one on my own later). I also lucked into receiving some birthday money at the end of April, specifically earmarked for music. I used that money to hire a fantastic drummer (Luke Woodle) for a half day, and he added an incredible amount to the session.

I was feeling well and my voice was strong on the day of the session, so I ended up recording live vocals on 5 of the songs. When you’re all in the same room, there’s mic bleed (ie the microphones used to record the drums pick up a little bit of the piano and vocals, and vice versa) that prohibits you from doing much editing after the fact. It means you have to accept what you get instead of counting on re-recording things later. I have never recorded vocals in this way, but I’m surprisingly delighted by how it turned out! While there are imperfections in my vocal tracks, I think there’s enough good in the recordings for listeners to enjoy it. AND it means I don’t have the mental load of recording from home and trying to get the perfect take.

Now that the songs are recorded, I’ve sent them to a mix engineer, and he’ll send them to be mastered, and then I can start planning my releases.

Jazz in the Park (Monday afternoons)

For the first time in my life, I have a regular gig, and it’s an incredible opportunity. On Monday afternoons, I join Nate Felty and Alec Newnam (usually, though when they’re touring they bring in subs) for “Jazz in the Park” at Church Street Park in downtown Nashville. It’s a one-hour set, which is pretty incredible since most jazz gigs are close to 3 hours. Playing with other musicians means more and different growth than just playing by myself, but the fact that it’s one hour means it’s never overly tiring or stressful. Not to mention that I meet interesting people there all the time and get an opportunity to advertise for upcoming performances! The only downside is that it’s an outdoor performance, which means we sometimes get canceled due to weather, and in the summer it will a very sweaty situation. Still an incredible opportunity and a highlight of my week!

Wedding reception (May 11th)

On May 11th, I had the honor of providing dinner music for an incredible wedding at Cheekwood Estate & Gardens. I got to hire some of my favorite musicians to play jazz standards in an elegant, elaborately decorated (albeit sometimes warm) tent on the grounds. We did my usual tunes, so there wasn’t a ton of preparation involved in putting together new music or song requests, but between parking, unloading, re-parking, setting up, playing, tearing down, and loading out, it ended up being about a 6 hour commitment for about 90 minutes of playing.

Quaver

One of my favorite things to work on is music for Quaver, an educational company that uses music to teach a variety of topics. Over the years, I’ve been able to write, record, produce, and edit music for Quaver as a freelancer. This time, I was just doing edits to a song I had recorded vocals for previously. I once considered asking for a full-time job at Quaver a few years ago, but ended up feeling that the freelance relationship was just right for me, and it has ended up working really well for our family as we welcomed our son 2 years ago.

Nicole Zuraitis show at Rudy’s

This wasn’t an earning opportunity, but I decided to include it because 1) it was an amazing experience, and 2) it is an important part of my work life. On May 13th, I went to Rudy’s Jazz Room (a wonderful local jazz club that you must visit if you’re ever in town) to see Grammy-winning vocalist, pianist, composer, and arranger Nicole Zuraitis. I could go on and on about the show, but I’ll just say: I’ve never been so quick to give a standing ovation at Rudy’s. It was an incredibly inspiring performance. Attending live performances is part of my job because it spurs me on to create more and better and with more courage. This particular performance was also important to me because I want world class performers, especially women, to have a great experience when they tour in Nashville and feel motivated to come back. Connecting with artists like Nicole is part of investing in the health of Nashville’s jazz community.

ISJAC (May 15th and 16th)

The International Society of Jazz Arrangers and Composers held their bi-annual symposium at Vanderbilt University in Nashville this year. I was invited to sing with Music City Big Band as part of a Kenny Wheeler clinic. We rehearsed on May 15th at the Musician’s Union, and performed for the clinic at Vanderbilt on the 16th. I’ll write lots more about this, because it was both a huge success and a huge failure for me personally, but it was honor to be given the chance to sing for such an incredible audience of professional composers, arrangers, and performers.

Music City Without Borders at City Winery (May 16th, May 18th)

After the performance for ISJAC on the 16th, I headed over to Diamond Sound Studios to rehearse for “Music City Without Borders”, a fundraiser show that my friends James Richardson and Kristian Dambrino put together. Throughout the process, I was blown away by James and Kristian’s efforts. James managed most of the musical organization, arranging songs and communicating with the band. Kristian managed most of the fundraising efforts and show logistics, raising $15,000 for NICE (Nashville International Center for Empowerment), an organization that assists refugees resettling in Middle Tennessee.

I sang background vocals (BGVs), along with Therry Thomas and Bridget Moses. Therry and Bridget are incredible vocalists, and it was an honor to sing with them on James’ gorgeous arrangements. The band was absolutely stacked, with some of Nashville’s very best instrumentalists playing.

In the end, I made one big mistake during that show that has sort of haunted me ever since, but all I can do is make note of it, try to figure out why I made the mistake, and do better next time.

Parenting so Quentin can work

An essential part of my household ‘making it’ is being the on-duty parent when my husband is working! We knew, when we decided to have our son, that daycare wasn’t going to be the best fit for our family for a number of reasons, so we decided to juggle work and childcare ourselves.

Before our son was born, we could both say yes to as many work opportunities as we wanted with minimal consequences. Now that we have our precious boy, we have to be more thoughtful with our scheduling. My husband and I are both so fortunate to do work that feeds our souls, so we make a concerted effort to say yes to as much as we can handle. While I don’t get musical fulfillment from being the on-duty parent, I do get the joy of spending time with my son and supporting my best friend in his musical pursuits, and he does the same for me.

Self-directed work

Between all these random gigs and assignments, I have what I think of as ‘self-directed work’. It’s the stuff no one is making me do, but it advances my career. This includes things like making arrangements to sell on my website, recording my own originals and arrangements, learning new songs to work into my performances, practicing improvisation, sending booking emails, writing new music, posting on social media when appropriate, learning new skills online (like watching YouTube videos for how to use my recording software more efficiently), and listening to new music as inspiration for my songwriting assignments. All of these things come at the bottom of my priority list because there’s no deadline and no promised income, but they’re essential elements of my career.

Now, the month isn’t quite over yet, so more random assignments or gigs could pop up. But this is a pretty good snapshot of what work life looks like for me right now! In the coming weeks, I’ll be asking some of my friends to share what ‘making it’ looks like for them, in the hopes that others might be inspired or informed on how to pursue their dreams in similar ways. For now, I’m off to practice!

Prepping for a crushingly hard gig!

The other day, I shared a series on my Instagram account about how I’m preparing for a really difficult gig. We all, once in a while, come upon musical mountains that seem impossible to scale. For many people, the “mountain” is singing and playing an instrument at the same time. For me, this week’s mountain is a Kenny Wheeler clinic at the International Society of Jazz Arrangers and Composers symposium at Vanderbilt. The music is extremely difficult for me, and there is a LOT of it. Since I often discuss practice strategies with my students, I wanted to share my approach here, while I have a concrete example of how I have to employ these strategies myself!

Start listening as early as possible.

The number one most effective strategy I have is to introduce my brain to the music as early as possible. Ideally, I should listen to and read through the music the day I receive it. Did I do that this time around? Of course not. But it would have helped!

My brain needs time to process things in the background. One listen/read-through a month before the gig does more for me than an hour long practice session the day before. Consistent practice is the best option, of course, but when time is limited and I have to prioritize, a little practice early on is always preferable for me.

Separate the layers.

Music has many layers, and each one presents different challenges. For my ukulele students, the layers are usually playing chords with the left hand, strumming a rhythm with the right hand, singing the melody, and singing lyrics. For the music I’m learning right now, there’s the unfamiliar groove (7/4 makes it harder for me to instinctively feel the downbeat without counting); there’s the rangy melody; there’s the rhythm of the melody; there’s counting long stretches of instrumental music to make sure I enter at the right time; there are meter changes; there are counter-melodies from the rest of the band, and I have to know how my starting note relates to them.

Whatever the challenge is, I like to separate the layers and practice 1 or 2 at a time. Log lots of practice strumming your right hand rhythm without worrying about the left hand chords or the melody. Log lots of practice doing your left hand chord changes with just one right hand strum per measure. For my own gig this week, I’ve practiced the melody “out of time” (disregarding rhythms, but practicing unfamiliar intervals); I’ve tapped and spoken the rhythm without pitch; I’ve done active listening to the bass and drums on the reference recording in order to internalize the unfamiliar groove. After some practice, I can start combining elements—singing the pitch and rhythm of the melody at a slower tempo, for example.

Slow down and slice thin.

On that note, slowing down is a crucial part of any practice. Sometimes playing a difficult passage slowly is actually more difficult than playing it at tempo! Regardless, slowing down allows you to focus on more details and aim for more precision. A metronome is your friend in this practice!! Many find metronomes to be demotivating, so another tool I recommend is the app DrumGenius. It allows you to download actual drum grooves to practice along with, which is often much more fun than practicing with a metronome, AND it helps you hear the subdivision of the beat.

Slowing down isn’t enough, though. You also have to ‘slice thin’, or zoom in on the challenging areas. If I need to practice a section with 32 measures, I will not learn much from playing those 32 measures slowly if I’m still making mistakes when I practice. Instead, I start practicing those measures slowly until I make a mistake. Then I pause and practice the few measures before and after my mistake. A good rule of thumb is to drill those measures until I can execute them correctly 3 times in a row. Then keep moving on. Soon, I will make another mistake. Repeat the process. Once I can execute the 32 measures without consistent stumbles on any particular passage, I can bump up the tempo a bit. I usually choose 5 or 10 BPM increments.

Tragic MIDI Demos (trademark pending).

One of my favorite tools for practicing difficult music is the Tragic MIDI Demo (trademark pending). I go into my DAW, LogicPro—you can use GarageBand or any other recording software—and create a bare-bones mockup of the section I’m practicing. I call it tragic because it’s such a pathetic shadow of the real music, but it gets the job done!

A few months ago, I was practicing a really difficult tune by Jazzmeia Horn called “Searchin’”. For that song, I had access to a lead sheet with the chords, so my TMD included a drum track, a bass track (playing only bass notes, not a walking bass line), and a track playing the melody. I copy and pasted these parts at several different tempi, so at the end I had a few minutes of audio that repeated this section at slow, medium, and fast paces. I then export that audio and e-mail it to myself so I can listen ad nauseam in the car or on a walk.

This time, I do not have access to the chord changes; I only have reference recordings and sheet music for my vocal line, so my TMD consists of a percussion track and a track for the vocal melody. I made sure to try and mimic the groove in my percussion track, since the 7/4 time signature is part of what is challenging for me. Again, I have this section repeated at 5 different tempi ranging from 135 to 180.

One important note: because this challenging section segues into a more approachable section in 12/8, I have included 1 extra measure in my practice track to practice the starting note of the next section. In the past, I have failed to include transitions in my practice and what might have been an easy section becomes very difficult because I haven’t practiced getting into it!

An added benefit of the Tragic MIDI Demo is that in order to make it, I have to be able to play my melody on the keyboard! As a vocalist, I don’t have buttons to press; most of the muscles involved in my instrument are hidden away where I can’t see if they’re behaving correctly. I have to get the music into my body and mind in a different way. Playing the melody with my hands is a massive help in internalizing the music, and basic keyboard skills are an essential tool for reasons just like this.

I also have the option to quantize rhythms, which I have done in this case. Real live music doesn’t occur perfectly “on the grid” like my TMD, but I would rather listen to and practice a mathematically correct rhythm (which can then be imbued with human interpretation in rehearsal) rather than the other way around.

Approach from all angles.

I said in my Instagram series that I think of “the problem” or the musical challenge as the center of a sphere. I need to approach the center of the sphere from as many external points as possible. I want to be as prepared as possible; I want to be prepared to hold steady if someone else in the band makes a mistake. I can’t just “know’ the music well enough to sing along with the recording. I need to understand the form of the song, I need to be aware of patterns and repetitions in the music. I need to know where my cues are coming from.

There are endless ways to approach learning music. A few strategies that I find myself recommending frequently:

-Tap out the rhythm while listening to a reference recording.

-Make a recording of yourself strumming, then sing along with it so you can hear how the instrument and the melody interact, but you don’t have to play and sing at the same time yet.

-Create a practice track in iReal Pro and play or sing along in different keys, with different grooves, with different instruments muted (I often practice singing with bass only), or at a different tempo.

-Practice the melody while playing bass notes on the piano.

-Play the chord and sing your melody out of time so you can really feel how each note interacts with the chord.

-Take a video of yourself practicing in order to trigger nerves and get experience moving through and past the nerves.

-Active listening: listen to the reference recording and focus on the part you’re trying to learn (ie the vocal, in my case). Then listen again, focusing on a different instrument. Listen again, and focus on a different instrument. I often find hidden layers I wasn’t aware of because I was so focused on my own part. As I focus on different instruments, I’m still taking in my vocal part, but I’m becoming aware of it in relation to the piece as a whole. That is a very beneficial, deep level of understanding!

I’m sure there’s a lot more that could be said, and I hope to share updates as I receive feedback and ideas from other musicians! For now, I’m off to get my last few hours of practice in before rehearsal.

New Blues tutorial!

Hello, folks! I wanted to share a new tutorial and e-book I worked up last week. I made a tutorial a few months ago about “how to play 12 bar blues on baritone ukulele” and it seemed like a lot of people were interested. Since then, I’ve gotten better equipment and improved my editing skills, so I wanted to revisit the topic and add some detail. That led to this past week’s tutorial, in which I share how to play a 12 bar blues on baritone ukulele in the keys of D, A, and E.

The e-book for this lesson (which contains the visual aids from this video in a concise format) can be purchased HERE!

These are a few of my favorite things...

Hey, friends! There are a handful of uke-adjacent products I get asked about pretty frequently, number one being which strings I use. I decided to put together a list of my go-to accessories, as well as some cost-efficient options I don’t personally own but think could make a suitable replacement.

FYI, if you decide to buy through one of these links, I receive a small commission at no cost to you. It’s always best to buy through your local music shop, but if that’s not an option, try out my links!

Snark Clip-On Tuner

As a baritone player, I wouldn’t buy one that says it’s for ukulele because we want one that has a guitar setting since that’s what our tuning matches.

Walker & Williams Straps: https://amzn.to/3cpkjDW or https://amzn.to/3pAt4yL

These aren’t the exact same as my strap because they make them in limited qualities, but I LOVE my strap and would highly recommend W&W! I wanted something a little more substantial the typical ukulele strap, and I loved the look of W&W straps. While I’m personally not drawn to the styles with skulls and flames and such, I love that they have a variety of designs, from botanical to edgy, with plenty in between.

Hercules Instrument Stand, perfect for baritone ukulele!

Traditional floor stands often have trouble fitting a baritone, while this one fits almost any size instrument.

D'Addario Strings

These are what I use because they were what the local shop had in! Truth be told, I’m not a string nerd… But I definitely have enjoyed these so far!

Baritone Case

This is the case I use. While I ADORE the more vintage-looking, hard cases, I’ve found that they just don’t have the same storage as this one. I use the pocket and inside compartment to carry cables, tuners, extra strings, batteries etc.

Hard Baritone Case

Now, if you don’t need the pocket, is there anything in the world more handsome than this case?! I don’t own one myself but if I needed a case for the aesthetic over the storage, I would buy this one.

Baritone Fly Case

Again, I do not own this, but fiberglass cases are great for if you need to fly with your instrument. Plan A should always be to keep your instrument with you, but if you are absolutely unable, this is the type of case many musicians use.

Fishman Amp

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve used this amp. It’s perfect for solo performances where I’m playing and singing. I’ve only ever had 1 gig where it wasn’t sufficient, and that was outdoors and there was a waterfall between me and the audience. This is an incredible investment for solo performers, but I’ve also used it in many a small group setting.

Hercules Music Stand

This is the stand I use, and to be completely honest there are things that annoy me about it. But here’s what’s priceless: the easy grip extender thing--I just squeeze and it moves freely. ALSO I will never go back to using a stand that doesn’t have the little metal clips to keep your music in place. Whether you’re playing outdoors or playing indoors with a strong fan, you’re going to regret buying a stand that doesn’t have the metal clips at some point!

Cheaper Music Stand

I don’t own this stand, but if you’re looking for a cheaper option, this may be a good place to start! With music stands, you always have to be careful about the weight you put on them. Try not to put large, heavy books on if possible.

"What A Wonderful World" Baritone Ukulele Fingerstyle Tutorial!

Hello! A few weeks ago, I shared a video of my baritone ukulele fingerstyle arrangement of “What A Wonderful World” and a few folks asked for a tutorial. This week, I finally put together a video!

The more I explore these arrangements, the more familiar and fun the process becomes. I want to get more practice arranging basics and writing my own songs, but soon I think it will be time to explore more challenging and unusual arrangements. I hope you enjoy this video, and I’ll share more soon!

"Fly Me to the Moon" Fingerstyle Ukulele Arrangement

This week, I did something for the first time: I developed a solo ukulele arrangement! I’ve always used ukulele to support my singing, but this week I branched out and learned how to play one of my favorites, “Fly Me to the Moon” by Bart Howard, solo.

You can watch the video below. If you’d like tabs for this arrangement, I’ve got them listed on my PDF Downloads page for both concert ukulele and baritone ukulele! Click here to access.

I hope you enjoy this arrangement, and please share with a friend if you do!

"I Think I Kind Of, You Know" Ukulele Chords (High School Musical, The Series)

Many people might not realize that High School Musical is an oddly special part of my life. I remember watching the first movie in the basement of my family’s home when it first came out, and I thought it was cheesy as all get out… but somehow incredibly endearing. A few years later, I was in a stage version of the musical with some of the loveliest friends I could have possibly had. I have countless wonderful memories singing songs from the musical with friends in different countries and languages, as well as here at home. So imagine my delight when I saw that folks wanted to learn a ukulele arrangement of a song from the new HSM TV series! This adorable song is called “I Think I Kind Of, You Know” and I had a blast charting it out. I hope this e-book helps you learn the song so you can enjoy singing it yourself! Just click the button below to download!

Easy Baritone Ukulele Tutorial for "Moon River" by Henry Mancini

Hello! Today on my YouTube I’m sharing an easy baritone ukulele tutorial for “Moon River” by Henry Mancini. This is one of the loveliest songs I know, and I just love how people’s eyes light up across the room whenever we start playing it during a show. I know it brings lots of other people joy, so I’ve developed two tutorial videos for it. One is this easy version in the key of G, which I’ve shared publicly on my YouTube. The other is a tutorial for exactly the way I play the song in the key of Bb. That version is available to my Patreon patrons! You can learn more about my Patreon at patreon.com/abigailflowersmusic. If you’re interested in baritone ukulele jazz, I hope you enjoy this no-barre tutorial!

My Thoughts On How To Practice Voice

I wanted to share some thoughts on how to practice as a vocalist because it seems to be a common question!

The first thing I need to say is that I am speaking as professional vocalist but NOT as a trained vocal teacher or coach. These are my thoughts and opinions based on personal experience.

1) There is no substitute for a qualified voice teacher. I used to take a lot of pride in being “self-taught” or not having any formal training. It made me feel like I was special somehow. But then I realized something very important: I was not really that good. If you are like me and were born not-great but have a deep desire to become excellent, then I strongly recommend finding a voice teacher. It may be a financial investment, but I have a hard time thinking of any professional path that doesn’t require a financial investment for training. Would you go see a “self-taught” doctor? Should I go get my hair cut by someone who is “naturally talented” or someone who has been trained? Find a voice teacher. Get training. Find one who has studied or been certified in vocology (Nashville, you know my girl is lizjohnsonvoice.com).

2) There are several different areas to practice. You need to warm up. You need to exercise and strengthen your voice. You can practice reading skills. You can practice vocal flexibility (being able to sing more notes faster). You can practice repertoire (specific songs). You can practice improvisation. You can practice scales. You can work on your vocal range. You can practice developing pitch accuracy. You should think about what you want to accomplish with your voice. My personal priorities are strengthening my voice and vocal improvisation. So I address those goals by 1) doing vocal strengthening exercises called Blaylock exercises, 2) working on exercises from Darmon Meader’s book “Vocal Improvisation: An Instrumental Approach”, and 3) learning instrumental solos from jazz recordings. Sometimes I also practice sight reading by reading new songs out of the Vocal Real Book.

Here’s a video I made to help singers practice solfege, which was the basis of my journey with ear training!

3) Both consistency and variety have their place. Consistency is important for practice. You can’t do a set of exercises once and expect to see lasting change. You must pursue discipline and consistency with your practice. But realistically, we also go through emotional waves when it comes to music. Some days I practice and the sound of my own voice makes me want to cry. How helpful is it for me to spend a long time practicing when I’m in that mental state? I would argue that it’s better to just do the essentials (my voice strengthening exercises, for example) and ditch the extras (repertoire or learning solos) for the day in favor of a different form of practice. Maybe it means practicing ukulele or charting a new song to add to my solo sets. Maybe it means breathing exercises. Maybe it simply means listening intently to an album that inspires me. So I would recommend having an arsenal of various practice strategies so that you can switch it up and still practice on days when you’re sick or struggling with the sound of your voice.

4) Practicing slowly is vital. If you can’t do it yet, break it into smaller pieces and practice it slowly. Practice it as slowly as you need to to do it right. If there’s one measure that’s giving me trouble, my first thought is to slow it down. If I still can’t do it, I need to break it into smaller pieces and identify what is giving me trouble. Often, it’s a particular interval that I’m not used to singing. So I may practice that interval—a descending minor 6th, for example—as it appears in the passage I’m practicing, then take it up a half step, then down, etc. for as long as I can. Then maybe I try to practice the whole measure slowly. Eventually, this will drive me crazy and I’ll pause until the next day :) But don’t gloss over the things you’re close to doing well but aren’t nailing. Zoom in on those spots, practice them slowly, and then give it time to sink in.

5) Imitation is an important tool. I’ve had several different people ask about finding their true sound, their unique voice. I think one of the best ways to discover your own true sound is to spend a lot of time imitating others and trying on their sounds. No matter what you do, your musical vocabulary is made up of things you’ve heard. You can’t avoid imitation, no matter how hard you try! But you can use imitation as a tool for evaluating what sounds feel best on your voice. It will take a lot of time and a lot of imitating to sift through the information that’s out there, but don’t pressure yourself to “land” on a right answer. Just accept that it’s a process that will last a lifetime. Have fun trying on different vocal tones or styles. Keep what feels right.

That about sums up the questions or thoughts that have been on my mind lately. To close, here are a list of ideas to get you jump-started on your vocal practice journey:

-Schedule an appointment with a well qualified voice teacher

-Warm up with a video like this: https://youtu.be/YTMSwPq4KIo

-Pick a song out of the Vocal Real Book to sight read and then learn

-Pick a song off YouTube to sing along with and imitate the style of the person playing or singing

-Buy Darmon Meader’s vocal book and practice different scales

-Practice singing and playing an instrument at the same time

-Try playing a piano melody and singing along in unison. Make something up

-Learn a famous vocal solo like Chet Baker’s “It Could Happen to You”, Ella Fitzgerald’s “Blue Skies”, or Sarah Vaughan’s “All of Me”

I’d love to hear your thoughts, advice, and questions!

What's New

Sitting down to share about what’s new—I’m finally back in Nashville after several weeks working at the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island, Michigan. I stepped back into an extremely busy (but exciting and satisfying) schedule here at home. A friend recently started sending out weekly e-mails to stay connected with close friends, almost like a newsletter but in a very personal way. They call it “Friday Five” so I’m going to steal that model and give you my Friday (Monday) Five.

1) Collaboration with Charlie Peacock: A few years ago, I sang a song at a fundraiser event for the not-yet-opened Rudy’s Jazz Room at Douglas Corner. Afterward, I walked to the back of the room and a man at the bar complimented my performance. We talked for a minute, and when we introduced ourselves he said, “I’m Charlie Peacock.” I said, “Nice to meet y—Charlie Peacock? Like… Charlie Peacock?” What can I say? I have a way with words. At the time, I was familiar with the fact that he was a pretty significant record producer. Give it a quick google. What I didn’t know is that he’s also a jazz pianist/composer. Fast forward a few years (to this past February). I had the opportunity to arrange 2 of Charlie’s original songs for vocal trio. So I got with my partners in crime/harmony, Hollie Hammel and Bethany Merritt, and we recorded my arrangements of Charlie’s song. These songs are finally available and I would LOVE for you to take a listen! We recorded them live—no click track, no punching in. Just singing and playing together.

iTunes: https://apple.co/2lBwuoV
Amazon: https://amzn.to/2kghUCZ
Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2lzakDA

2) Upcoming Performances: You can check out my performance calendar page for dates, but I have shows on the calendar in Nashville, Huntsville, Chattanooga, Hamtramck (near Detroit, MI) and Dallas! I’m always looking to add more out of town shows—please let me know if you or someone you know would like to host a house concert!

3) Current Projects: Here’s a sampling of what I’ve done since getting home from Michigan, plus a few upcoming projects. The day after I got home, Husband and I got to play bass + uke duo for a fancy dinner party downtown. It started later than expected so we took a nice walk to get some decaf coffee beforehand. The next day, I had a morning session for a local music education software company. I’ve wanted to do work for this company for a while now, so I was grateful to finally get the chance! I recorded a short children’s song written by a brilliant friend, so there were tons of fun harmonies and jazzy details to enjoy. That afternoon, I got to sing background vocals for another brilliant friend, Cody Fry. It was a video shoot that probably won’t be released until well into 2020, but I will be excited to share once it is available. Thankfully, the weekend was a bit slower so I had time to rest and fight off a gnarly cold. Tonight I’ll be playing solo at a hotel on West End. Tomorrow, I play at Plaza Mariachi (truly one of the best destinations in Nashville) from 12-1, then a full band show at Rudy’s Jazz Room from 6-8:30! On Thursday, I get to help write children’s music for the software company I mentioned, and on Friday I’ll be playing at a coffee shop in Huntsville!

4) Babies: I didn’t know it was possible to have so many pregnant friends. A handful have already had their gorgeous babies, and I can’t wait to meet the little ones I haven’t met yet. Some are pregnant with miracle babies, some with unexpected babies, and some have had more babies than expected (God bless the parents of multiples). I’ve always wanted to record lullaby covers of pop songs from the early 2000s and now I will just have to get moving with that.

5) Recording: This isn’t real news but just something that’s on my mind all the time. I MUST do some recording in the next year! I can’t believe I don’t have any recordings of standards. So I’m just publicly declaring my intention to make moves on that in the very near future.

Thank you for reading! New videos on Instagram, new tutorials on YouTube, new events on Facebook. Until next time!

Exciting updates!

I’ve had an exciting couple of weeks up here on Mackinac Island, MI! Being here is, in itself, a total treat. I get to perform every night with a skilled and supportive group of musicians. I’m gaining amazing experience and a good bit of confidence along the way. Plus, I have the chance to work on my running and I’ve already gotten my mileage to a place I’m really proud of.

But beyond the simple blessing of having this amazing job, there’s been even more to celebrate. Here are some highlights:

• Last week, I reached 1,000 subscribers on YouTube! This has been a goal of mine for a while and I’m really grateful to everyone who helped me achieve it!

• On August 25th, I received the Nashville Industry Music Award for “Best Jazz Vocalist”. There were several amazing women nominated in this category and I was honored to be nominated. I’m so grateful to everyone who voted and has reached out with encouragement since the awards were announced!

• I did my first instagram giveaway this past week! I love sharing about ideas and products that improve my life, so I decided to start doing occasional giveaways to share some of my favorite things. The winner has opted for a Walker & Williams guitar/ukulele strap like the one I use on gigs. I’m looking forward to doing another giveaway, hopefully in October!

• I’ve been growing my community on Patreon. Patreon is a website that allows ‘creators’ like me to connect with ‘patrons’, or folks who have opted to financially back me in exchange for exclusive content. Right now, I’m using Patreon to handle tutorial requests. I give my patrons access to live performance videos, my baritone ukulele chord diagram library, and other exclusive content. For $5 a month, patrons get priority when it comes to online lessons/tutorials. I’d love for you to check out my site at patreon.com/abigailflowersmusic.

• I’ve been booking new shows! I have a handful of performances in Nashville in September, but I also have performances in Chattanooga, Huntsville, and Hamtramck, MI! I just updated my “shows” page so you can see a list of upcoming performances. Please share with friends if you know anyone in the cities listed!

• I was accepted to a house concert network! It’s a really fantastic private community of musicians and listeners that I applied to 2 years ago, though I wasn’t accepted then. I remember feeling very discouraged at that time, so I’m proud that I worked up the courage to try again. I’m very excited for the possibilities that this network will bring.

That’s the news for now. I’m always planning and hoping and dreaming, so I hope to have more news to share very soon. Thank you so much for following along and supporting me on my way!

Teaching, tutorials, and patreon

Hello, friends! Over the past two years, I’ve been using Instagram and YouTube more frequently. I post videos of original music, jazz standards, and the occasional tutorial. I love how social media allows us to connect with people all over the world!

Recently, I’ve gotten an increased number of questions along the lines of “do you teach ukulele lessons?” and “how do you play this particular song?” I am passionate about making people feel included. I don’t think information (especially about music) should be unnecessarily exclusive or hidden. So by all means, I want to share what I know!

When I’m honest with myself, however, I know that if I were to add something to my schedule (teaching private lessons, for example), I would disappoint myself and others by not being able to follow through. And though I would like to share info about all songs I’ve learned, my musicianship is the result of years of hard work and study (and an expensive music degree I’ll be paying off for a long time). I don’t think it would be respectful of that effort to simply give away every lesson I’ve learned.

The solution I’ve settled on, at least for now, is Patreon! Patreon is a website that connects “creators” with “patrons”. Jacob Collier famously used it for his “I harmonize U” videos. The idea is that creators can share exclusive content with “patrons”, or people who choose to support them financially. Every Patreon page is different, but mine is set up with 2 options. You can pay either $5/month and have access to everything I publish, or you can pay $1 per creation. Based on how frequently I post, either option tends to cost about the same.

Right now, I typically share performance videos with my Patrons. They gain access to clips of live shows that no one else sees. But I also respond quickly to requests from patrons. If someone has chosen to support me financially, you bet I’m answering their questions as quickly as possible.

So this is what I’m going to try moving forward: I will be using Patreon to accommodate tutorial or teaching requests. If a Patron requests a tutorial for a particular song I’ve played, I will make a tutorial! If a Patron has questions about a musical concept that might be covered in private lessons, I will answer that questions for all my patrons. This is the best way I can think of to balance my desire to share knowledge and my desire not to overcommit or disrespect my own time and effort.

If joining my Patreon is not a viable option for you, I completely understand! It’s always awkward to put a price on creative endeavors, but I appreciate your patience and understanding as I try out this new approach!

You can check out my Patreon at www.patreon.com/abigailflowersmusic

The One Thing I Know About Chickens

A few months ago, a friend of mine shared a funny, slightly embarrassing story that ended up affecting me deeply. I would like to share that story with you.

My friend (we’ll call her Ann) was at a party with a group of girls she really hoped to befriend. Despite her nervousness, Ann went out of her social comfort zone and made a heartfelt effort to engage in conversation and connect with these young women. Things were going well but Ann hadn’t really made a splash—she was more of a friendly observer of the conversation than a driving force. That’s when chickens came up. The rest of the girls LOVE chickens. How cute chickens are! How quirky to love chickens! DING DING DING Ann’s brain says. I KNOW A THING ABOUT CHICKENS. LET US DAZZLE THEM WITH OUR CHICKEN FACT. So she blurts out the one thing she knows about chickens. That one thing just happens to be a rather disturbing feature of chicken mating rituals. As you can imagine, the girls Ann had so badly wanted to connect with were horrified. The topic of conversation changed abruptly and Ann didn’t see too much of the girls after that night.

As we laughed about her story, Ann said, “that’s just the one thing I know about chickens.” And I think about that story every day. Every time someone says something strange or potentially insulting to me, I imagine their brain librarian frantically searching for relevant content and accidentally spitting out an alarming factoid. “That’s the only thing he knows about chickens,” I told myself when a musician who had hired me for a gig started telling me all about his favorite jazz singer in town (spoiler alert: it’s not me). I’ve done it a thousand times: a statement that gets the green light from my brain comes out of my mouth with fabulously awkward results. It was just the one thing I knew about chickens. I related to Ann’s story profoundly. How many times have I gone to bed replaying a moment when my brain betrayed me and let me say something bizarre in public? How often have I wished I could retract a comment that sounded rude once it left my mouth?

Don’t get me wrong: I’m an intensely sensitive person and I will not waste my energy making excuses for offensive or harmful remarks. But I’m learning to sort between true ugliness and klutzy chicken facts. I’m learning to give others and myself grace for awkward moments. I have saved myself many hours and volumes of mental storage space by simply saying, “it was the one thing she knew about chickens.” Not only does the chicken fact come without bad intentions; it was actually born out of a desire to connect. It’s often not a meaningless moment, but rather a sincere attempt to relate. This story helped me translate confusing interactions and see how they might have been a humble offering of friendship.

So remember this story the next time someone nervously shouts a chicken fact at you at a party, and be sure to read this so you can become best friends.

Dream A Little Dream Of Me

I am excited to share this video of “Dream A Little Dream Of Me” that I recorded the other week! I wanted to celebrate the 1st birthday of our little vocal trio by re-recording the first song I arranged for us. This time, we included two fabulous Nashville musicians: Sissy Dinkle on the upright bass and Jack Bird on fiddle! I am so in love with the sound of this video and I hope you’ll enjoy as well :)

Support Local Venues!

Alternate title: “I Get By With A Little Yelp From My Friends”

Last night, I played a show at a small restaurant about an hour south of Nashville called Puckett’s of Lieper’s Fork. It’s far enough out that I had nearly no name recognition, yet we started the show with a full house! Not only did we have a kind, attentive audience, but we also received TIPS! Glorious tips! This brought to mind something that has popped up a lot over the past few years—a great way to support independent musicians is to support local venues.

Playing music and booking shows in Nashville (and trying to earn a fair wage doing it) is a lot like playing whack-a-mole. You always have to be prepared for your steady, paying gig to get cancelled with little to no notice. You have to be prepared for your favorite venue to shut down unexpectedly. The bittersweet part of this is watching new establishments spring up—there’s always a chance that the next iteration of your favorite spot could be even better for your scene. And then if it’s not, hey… start the timer. Within 2 years, it’ll probably be under new management.

If that sounds sad, it’s because IT IS. A restaurant pops up with great plans for hosting live music. They pay musicians well. Then a few months later, the pay structure changes because opening a restaurant in Nashville is HARD. Within a year or two, there’s a good chance this restaurant will be sold or change management. A hotel starts hosting live music in their lobby and offering fair pay. 6 months later, they’ve cancelled this programming because it’s not as cost efficient as playing the radio and offering cute drink specials to bachelorette parties.

So let’s talk about Rudy’s. Rudy’s Jazz Room opened almost 2 years ago just south of downtown Nashville on a street with lots of visibility and potential foot traffic. It’s certainly not Nashville’s first jazz club, but to my knowledge it’s currently the only place in town with live jazz seven nights a week. During their construction, Rudy’s managed to raise almost FIFTY THOUSAND DOLLARS of community support to buy a Steinway piano. I share that to say: there was massive excitement and hope around this venue before it even existed. You can imagine how important it is to a jazz musician to know there’s a place that’s booking local jazz bands EVERY DAY in a spot with great visibility to locals and tourists alike!

Here’s the heart of what I want to say: as an independent musician, I love and need your direct support. I need people to buy my albums, attend my shows, and follow my social media channels. But when you support me, it only benefits (you guessed it!) me. When you support a local venue, you support its entire musical community. It’s one thing for people to go to a show because they recognize my name and know they’re going to enjoy it. That would be a beautiful thing. But what’s arguably even better is playing in a town where no one knows my name but the community has learned to trust the venue and knows they’ll receive quality entertainment and service any night of the week. In other words, I want good venues to get more popular because it benefits all the musicians who play there.

So what do you want me to do about that? I’m so glad you asked.

For us musicians, it’s important to share about which venues we love playing. During nearly every performance, I ask the audience to go online and leave a positive review for the venue. This helps new people find the place. We need to promote venues as much as we need to promote ourselves.

For listeners, it’s incredibly helpful for you to leave glowing reviews of establishments that have live music and pay their musicians. How do you know if the venue pays fairly? You honestly can’t know unless someone tells you. So either err on the side of caution and leave a good review (mentioning how much you love that they have live music) OR if you know a local musician well enough, ask for their opinions on local venues!

What if I don’t actually love the place? Amazing question. To this I would say: leave the glowing review on a public forum like Yelp, Google, or Facebook. Then e-mail the place directly and say, “Hi! I went to a show at your establishment and loved the music so much. I left a positive review on Yelp to help new people find the spot. I have some feedback on my experience, but wanted to communicate it privately rather than on a review site, as I really want others to have a great experience and continue to enjoy excellent live music!”

While we’re talking about direct feedback: it would also be fabulous for you to e-mail “non-venues” that host live music. Many coffee shops, hotels, and restaurants have occasional live music but it’s not a central aspect of their business and they are usually not ticketed events. These places are less likely to pay musicians (meaning the musicians rely on tips) OR if they do pay, the programming is likely to be cancelled within a few months. Let these places know that you enjoyed the live music! Or be honest with your feedback (‘the music was a little loud for my taste but I was delighted that there was live music’) so that they can adapt and avoid complaints. A large hotel chain has no way to measure the value of live music in their lobby or restaurant unless you tell them! Or if they receive lots of positive feedback on music, that might be leverage for the musician to ask for fair payment.

So which venues do you love and want us to support, Abi? You are on fire with the great questions today!! The top 3 places I recommend writing reviews for, based only on my personal experience, are the Nashville Jazz Workshop, Rudy’s Jazz Room, and Plaza Mariachi. I would now add Puckett’s of Lieper’s Fork to that list, but I know that fewer folks reading this have probably been out there. Again, I CRAVE direct support from listeners and I’m so grateful for those who support me. But when you support places like NJW, Rudy’s, and Plaza, you help provide job security for hundreds of musicians who are being treated fairly in a town where it’s very easy to take advantage of musicians. I strongly suggest attending shows, sending direct feedback, and leaving positive reviews for establishments in your own town if you don’t live in Nashville! Reach out to a local musician and ask where they’re treated well. And please reach out in the comments and let me know of other venues that deserve support and recognition!

Ice Cream Wisdom

Band leaders, artists, contractors, etc: we’re small business owners. The business of music can be so informal, social, and familiar that we lose sight of that fact. But I see so many small business owners (musicians) accidentally sabotaging themselves that I want to share a few tips I learned during my year managing an ice cream shop.

Disclaimer: of course, none of this is “necessary”. I know most of y’all are out here in the wild west doing business willy nilly and somehow it works for you. I don’t understand how, but you do you! Just sharing because there’s no reason that small business owning musicians shouldn’t have the knowledge and opportunity to steal these ideas.

COMMUNICATE EXPECTATIONS

When I hired someone at the ice cream shop, their first three shifts were spent in training. There was a handbook. There was one-on-one teaching. There were quizzes. There was a dress code. Papers were signed.

I firmly believe that one of the most powerful things you can do in any relationship is communicate expectations. In a professional setting, those expectations should be in writing and be in a place where they can be easily accessed.

On the more formal side, you might be a church worship leader or corporate band leader. In either case, you probably have a roster of musicians who participate on a rotating schedule. In such cases, it’s a great idea to provide everyone on your team with a document that expresses your values, priorities, and expectations. This might be in the form of an e-mail, private webpage, or printed paper. Things you might include in such a document:

• leadership structure: who should your team talk to if they have a question or concern? Is there a procedure for reporting sexual harassment or inappropriate behavior?

• dress code

• timing: does your team keep to a strict schedule and need to be 15 minutes early for everything? Or is it relaxed? Make it clear if you’re a stickler for timing.

• privacy: do you have set lists or arrangements that are expected to be kept private? Do you have a policy about sharing about gigs on social media?

• alcohol (probably doesn’t apply for the worship team example but hey, I don’t know your life): what is your policy on alcohol consumption during gigs? Even if you don’t have strong feelings about this one, making a statement up front will allow you to take action more easily if a band member ever behaves inappropriately as a result of alcohol consumption. You don’t have to enforce a strict alcohol policy, but communicating one could save you a lot of trouble down the line.

On the less formal side, you might just be hiring folks on a gig-by-gig basis. It still doesn’t hurt to include some expectations in an e-mail when you’re sending information. Example:

• “Hey, thanks for agreeing to play on 6/23! The event will take place at (location). We will play from (start time) to (end time). We need to be set up by (time) so please arrive by (time) sharp. Charts and reference recordings are attached in a Google Drive link. Pay is ($$$) each. The theme is “roaring 20s” so please dress accordingly and feel free to ask for more specifics if you’re not sure. FYI, there is a $100 band tab. However, I ask that band members not have more than 1 drink during the performance window. Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have further questions.”

MAKE FEEDBACK PART OF YOUR ROUTINE

Giving feedback, especially “negative” feedback or constructive criticism, can be overwhelmingly uncomfortable. One thing that makes it easier to give feedback is to make it part of your routine. That way your team can expect it and not feel put on the spot.

Let’s return to the worship leader or corporate band leader example. Here are some ideas of how you might incorporate feedback into your routine:

• quarterly reviews: if you have consistent band members, you could provide reviews every 3-6 months. This could be in person, in writing, or both (as was the case in my ice cream job). Include how they’re excelling and include opportunities for growth. Example: John, you’ve done a fantastic job learning a ton of music over the past few months. You’re always on top of the new music and it sets a great example for the rest of the team. Over the next 3 months, I’d ask you to focus on arriving on time more consistently. We’d like to use you on more gigs, but need to see more consistency in this area before that happens.

• peer praise: consider implementing a way for band members to give each other a shout out when they see someone doing a great job. Maybe you send out monthly e-mails to your team. Include peer shout-outs at the end.

In a less formal setting, I don’t know of an easy (or even particularly appropriate) way to give constructive criticism. If someone doesn’t meet expectations on a gig, I usually just ask for something specific in the moment (if applicable) and don’t hire them again. But you can ALWAYS give positive feedback! For example, I might send an e-mail after the gig is over to tell everyone when to expect their payment, then include, “Special thanks to Rachel for showing up early and going above and beyond with setup!” or, “the client mentioned how much they loved the horn section. Thanks for making me look good!”

Special scenario: one of my favorite things I observed at Ice Cream was performance agreements. If there was a significant issue with an employee (typically a pattern of behavior, not just a one-time mistake or infraction), we would sit down and sign a performance agreement. This was a sheet of paper that included 1) what went wrong, 2) what the expectation is, and 3) what success looks like for the employee. This might sound ridiculous, but just think about the beauty of the concept: you’re going out of your comfort zone to give someone else a clear chance at success. Real example—I caught an employee playing Pokemon Go on her phone while there was a long line of people being ignored. So her performance agreement said “*Sarah (not her real name) was playing on her phone while customers were waiting to be helped on (date). The expectation is that phones are not to be used while an employee is on the clock. Going forward, success looks like Sarah demonstrating focus on customers while on the clock and not using her phone except during breaks.” Then we both sign the agreement. AGREEMENT! What a beautiful word. That means we were both on the same page. From that point forward, “Sarah” had clear instructions on how to be successful—no guessing on how to please her employer.

Now, of course this could look different on a worship team or corporate band. But the fact remains: regardless of how awkward it might feel to give someone direct, constructive feedback, it is the most respectful thing you could do if their job security is at stake.

PROVIDE INCENTIVES

This definitely applies more the formal side, where you have a roster of band members. There are a lot of ways to provide incentives.

• give raises: remember that quarterly review thing I mentioned? You could also provide small raises for folks who have stayed with your band long term. Someone who knows your music and has been performing it consistently for 6 months deserves more pay than someone who just started. Maybe it’s just $25 more per gig for anyone who’s been with your band for more than 6 months. Maybe you agree to always cover parking for folks in that category.

• give scheduling priority: make a clear policy that top performers will have their choice of gigs. If you do this, you should articulate what constitutes being a “top performer” (showing up on time, having new music learned, maintaining a positive attitude on the job, etc.) but this is totally fair in my opinion. Example: “Beth, you’ve been so consistent and professional and we appreciate you so much. Take a look at the schedule for July and have your pick of dates, then I’ll fill in the dates you’re not available for.”

• give bonuses or gift cards: make room in your budget for one-off bonuses. Maybe one month there’s a clear stand out on your worship team. Give them a gift card to their favorite coffee shop. Or someone in your corporate band suffers a personal loss yet still shows up to the gig and does their job well. Give them the tip from your client to show your appreciation. Giving bonuses or gifts is a way to honor those on your team who go above and beyond, but it also shows other team members what type of behavior is rewarded in your business.

There you go. There are a few ideas for how to apply regular-job management concepts to your creative ventures. Please let me know what ideas you have for me to add!