Dear Musicfriends, Awaywithers* and Adam Cole Watchers, 

I can't very well go proclaiming myself the world's best anxiety coach unless I do scary things myself!  Can I?

So here's what I did yesterday.

I've been planning to create a series of ads for our upcoming performance of Bruce Springsteen's Born to Run album in April.  I knew what I wanted the ads to look like:  me playing some of the gorgeous Roy Bittan piano parts from the album, with mysterious and tempting words.  The problem:  I'd have to play those parts on camera!  

They're hard!

I had just finished up my church job yesterday and I had some time to kill.  I thought, “Let's go for it.”  I asked my music director to video me, and I dove in!  This is the first ad I created!

The reason I had time to kill is because later that day I had a studio session scheduled to record the vocals for my newest track on my upcoming album, Mix Six.  The song is called “I Picked Up My Guitar,” and not coincidentally, it's about stepping out of your comfort zone!  I had this bass and drums track that we recorded to practice on at home, and feel free to sing along to it!

I've been having trouble with my throat for about a year now, have lost my voice frequently, and have been to the doctor to find out I'm clear in every way.  So a mysterious throat ailment means you just have to work around it.  I've been warming up and hitting the Feldenkrais a lot to get myself as ready as I can be.

Lo and behold, the session went great!  I even hit a really high note that I've been dreading for months since I wrote it, and it sounds really good!  I'm eager to share the track with you when it's done!

What have you been up to?

Love,

Adam

Adam Cole, Performance and Confidence Coach

https://acole.net

*Awaywithers are our newest group, people looking for coaching on presentation topics that are separate from music, like writer's block, public speaking, and marketing challenges! If you're one of those people, or you know someone who needs help, please contact me!

How do you get to be a music photographer? What do you have to know? In Part One of his interview with Adam Cole, photographer Jason Herman talks about what he loves doing best.

Jason Herman is a DC-based music photographer who is featured in the documentary "A Year In the Pit." His work can be seen on his Twitter feed iamtourmalet and at dcmusicreview.com. 

https://youtu.be/tP0SwimbBmA

In Part One of our Interview with Richard Beauchamp we explore the question of piano technique. Is there a "good one?" What does "good" mean? Is there one technique or many?

Richard Beauchamp is a pianist and educator who has studied with, among others, Ernest Empson. He performed on radio and television and appeared as soloist with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra.

Early in his training he became fascinated by the difficulty music teachers seem to have in explaining what they mean, and by the fact that what they did was very often different from what they said. This led to a lifelong interest in anatomy and the mechanics of movement. 

In 1977 he joined the staff of St Mary's Music School in Edinburgh, where he has been Head of Keyboard for the majority of his years there until his retirement from the post in April, 2014. He continues to teach piano and accompany the students.

(Interviewer's note: The history of piano technique to which I refer in the interview is "Famous Pianists and Their Technique" by Reginald Gerig.)

https://lnkd.in/efh7CaeB

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/finishthetrack/the-next-two-tracks-for-the-album?ref=user_menu

What is it about drummers and their cymbals? Podcaster and drummer Michael Vosbein explains in this illuminating interview. #drums #drumeducation#karencarpenter #cymbals
https://lnkd.in/gc8MbUfi

In Part Two of our interview, Tony Award Winning Set Designer Beowulf Boritt explains what Stephen Sondheim taught him about the potential of theater. He also talks in depth about working with Kenny Leon and getting out of his own comfort zone to tell necessary stories. Not to be missed! www.truermu.com #sondheim #blacktheatre #setdesign #broadway 
https://youtu.be/S70hxBBhsqI

Publicist Bob Merlis has spent over 50 years representing Z Z Top, Dion, and many others. In this excerpt from the complete interview with host Adam Cole, Merlis discusses meeting Little Richard, and what that pioneering Black rock artist taught him. www.truermu.com #Bobmerlis #Zztop #publicist #JohnCougarMellencamp #JDsouther #Dion #littlerichard

One of Adam's long-time collaborators is songwriter and psychologist Brent Stansfield. The two have collaborated twice on "Song Fight," an online songwriting challenge. In Part 4 of our interview, we discuss quick-writing challenges, being young and foolish, and why collaboration will be the thing you wish you'd done when you're almost dead.  #collaboration #songwriting #songwriters #songwriter #songwritingchallenge #psychology #statistics

If it's so easy to lie with statistics, why do we use them? In Part 3 of Adam's interview with psychologist and songwriter Brent Stansfield, Brent discusses research, unsustainable results, and the easiest way to lie.  #statistics #research

In Part 2 of Adam's interview, Brent condenses his extensive research and experience into powerful summations of what we need for optimal learning, and teaching. Brent Stansfield is the Director of Education: Graduate Medical Education at Wayne State University School of Medicine. He is also a songwriter and collaborator with Adam Cole.

Adam reconnects with a long-time collaborator he hasn't seen in 34 years. Brent Stansfield is a psychologist, medical educator and songfighter -- yes, that's spelled correctly. This is the first of four parts. #songwriter #medicaleducation#statistics  

Jerry Fields is a remarkable drummer and percussionist whose work with Bruce Hampton and the Afro-Cuban Jazz ensemble Vecinos Del Mundo has made him a sought-out session player and a vibrant educator. In the first part of our interview, Jerry talks about how he got his start in the dive-bars of 60's Atlanta, and what it was like to play with the not-yet-legendary Col. Bruce Hampton. Watch part two at www.truermu.com #jerryfields #drummer #musiceducation #drumming #drumminglife #BruceHampton https://youtu.be/hdVdI6jljyY

https://medium.com/authority-magazine/rising-music-star-adam-cole-of-truermu-on-the-five-things-you-need-to-shine-in-the-music-industry-310b1badbb78

https://acole.net/the-feldenkrais-method

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLloavO5rySxZcLadG-I1uu--dzxhvygN1

https://youtu.be/aIjccbZjuYA