# Setting personl music goals



## Rodney Money (Jul 25, 2018)

I graduated from college majoring in music back in 2005 where the highlight was the completion of my senior composition recital where I had the pleasure of hearing my music performed by my peers and even my professors. The most important thing that I got from school was not what I learned but the relationships I established with fellow musicians that I make music for to this day. Since then I have treated every year like I was going to perform a composition recital and it has seemed to have helped over the years. My new goals tend to start in the summer around June and finish by next May instead of starting in January. I thought I would share some of my goals since June and if you would like please share yours.

1. Performance goals on cornet and flugelhorn: August recital, November recital featuring English music, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter performances, March recital featuring German music, and playing in the pit for 2 theatre productions.
2. Arrange Bach's "Fantasia in G," "Amazing Grace," and "Also Sprach Zarathustra" for trumpet (cornet and flugelhorn) and organ.
3. Finally complete trumpet concerto after 2 years, get it performed, and recorded, and arrange 6th movement for soprano and trumpet featuring Dr. Bill Jones for the International Brass Chamber Conference.
4. Build a website.
5. Write flute piece accompanied by celesta, music box, or electronic media for Dr. Nancy Sheeloch-Bingham. https://music.appstate.edu/faculty-staff/directory/dr-nancy-schneeloch-bingham
6. Goals that I have already accomplished since June: rewrote Alma Maters for 2 schools including arrangements for their choruses and bands, wrote a brass quintet piece called "In the Heart of Our Home" that was performed by 2 professional brass quintets on July 4th, Independence Day, had some of my sheet music sponsored to be presented in my hometown's art gallery located in the local public library, was interviewed by the papers on composing music for this past Independence Day, and commissioned a new cornet build that has not been seen since the American Civil War which will be gold-plated, copper based 100 year-old Boosey's shepherd's crook bell with rotary valves, a tunable lead pipe like a flugelhorn, triggers on both 1st and 3rd valves, with a custom and vintage mouthpiece.
7. Other goals, maybe purchase a vintage Eb Alto Horn (aka Tenor Horn.)


----------



## WindcryMusic (Jul 28, 2018)

I’m sort of at a crossroads. Several months ago I finally wrapped up a 3+ year video and scoring project that had sucked up virtually every moment of my free time on nights and weekends (since I also have a day job that isn’t in music) and saw me writing and mocking up in excess of three hours of mostly orchestral score, along with releasing a soundtrack album. During that period I’d also accumulated a plethora of new sample libraries, hardware, instruments, etc., but hardly had a chance to explore more than the surface of any of them, because the schedule was always so tight.

So for this year, before I take on any new music projects, I’ve set myself the following goals, in order:

Rebuilding my studio and orchestral template(s) with an eye toward everything I’d learned over the last few years (nothing teaches like errors!). I’m still working on this item, but the end is in sight ... and this is also allowing me to finally learn more about my latest crop of sample libraries, too.
Build a custom wooden platform (throne?) for my iPad Pro to sit on in the revamped studio, since it will be a central feature going forward. (I have a new miter saw, router and an oak plank sitting in my garage, waiting for this.)
Remix and remaster cues from the latter episodes of that recently completed project, and release them as a soundtrack part 2. (I consider this to still be part of wrapping up that last project of mine.)
Finish going through all of the Mike Verta masterclasses I’ve accumulated over the last year or so, along with several books on scoring and harmony that I haven’t had enough time to really dig into yet.
Begin transcribing music on a daily basis, rather than just every now and then as I’d been doing to date.
Update my long-neglected website.
After all of the above are either done or well underway, finally begin more serious planning and preparation for my next video/music project.


----------

