In this episode, Chris dives deep into the world of private music studios with Kelly Riordan, a powerhouse in music education, hybrid teaching, and marketing. Kelly shares her journey from building her own thriving private studio to helping over 3,000 teachers and students grow their music careers worldwide.

This conversation explores everything from setting rates, avoiding burnout, and managing student anxiety, to leveraging marketing strategies for long-term success. Whether you're a seasoned educator or just starting out, this episode is packed with actionable insights.

New Podcast Episode: Angela Beeching on Building a Sustainable Music Career

In this episode of the Honesty Pill Podcast, I sit down with Angela Beeching, career coach and author of Beyond Talent. Angela shares her insights on how musicians can find clarity in their careers, overcome procrastination, and create a fulfilling, sustainable career in music. Whether you're just starting out or feeling stuck, this episode is packed with actionable advice to help you thrive. Tune in now!

Nikki Abissi, a professional trombonist, shared her remarkable journey from growing up around New York City to attending Juilliard, joining the New World Symphony, and eventually becoming an orchestral musician. Throughout her career, Nikki has grappled with performance anxiety and negative self-talk, emphasizing the importance of mindset work in overcoming these challenges. She introduced the innovative "3 envelope" audition preparation strategy and advocated for bringing a sense of "play" back into music practice.

In this insightful episode, we explore strategies for productivity, mindset shifts, and overcoming roadblocks with our guest Cami McLaren, founder of McLaren Coaching. Cami shares her unique perspective as a former lawyer who transitioned into coaching musicians and professionals from various fields. Get ready to dive into practical tips, thought-provoking discussions, and personal insights that will empower you to unlock your full potential.

In this captivating episode, we delve into the fascinating world of harp mastery with Emmanuel Ceysson. Join us as we explore his remarkable journey from starting the harp at the tender age of 7 to becoming a renowned professional harpist. Emmanuel shares insights into the challenges he faced as a male harpist, the intricacies of the pedal harp, and his unique approach to overcoming performance anxiety.

“If you are not fueling yourself, you are not going to be in top condition and reaching your goals is going to be so much harder.”

“We sometimes think that being hard on ourselves is the way to succeed, and that is absolutely false. ”

“That was my best, and it wasn’t good enough. So somehow, I had to figure out how to exceed my best. And that was daunting.”

“Are we going for it, risking judgment, or are we playing it safe, staying invisible? What’s it gonna be?”

“I'm working with human souls. If I can bring out the best of everyone in that one moment, I think I did my job.”

“If you're going to spend days and weeks and years working on something, it better be something that makes your heart happy!”

“We can't afford to be complicit and sit on the laurels of our conservatory degrees. We need to do something.”

“Opera needs to be focused far more on people of color and female voices, to have a future. We need to be doing more work on this.”

“The truth of being a leader? The first step is to know yourself really, really well.”

“We are all human. We all blow it once in a while. The idea that we have to be perfect to win a job is just not true.”

“When it comes to being nervous, you’re going to get the butterflies. The trick is to get them to fly in formation.”

“There are things I would do during an audition that aI would never do on stage in a performance. It’s a totally different mindset.“

“What I was doing was bringing in money, but it was not my definition of success... Because I couldn't breathe.”

“If you want to be a composer, at some point the rubber needs to meet the road and you need to start putting dots on a page.”

“If you mess up, you have to accept it. I accept every single mistake I make: it's all part of the process of learning.”