The MikeDrop Podcast

The Mikes reflect on concertizing, teaching, planning, and productivity, and make a plan for the future.   Episode recorded January 2025.

Mike T. thought we were talking about Timpani mutes, but together we talk about timpani concepts and basics also, which is a better topic.   What's the difference between "dampening" and "muting"?  We don't know and confuse these words the whole episode.   Overall, we don't solve anything and get to the bottom of nothing, but at least it uses an hour of your precious time!  Happy listening!    

The Mikes attempt to remember each others' names and it proves difficult.  Mike T. gets quite animated and goes on a lengthy monologue.  He should have been sedated but wasn't.  Overall, a great discussion of the reasons and techniques of memory and music, in our humble opinions.

The Mikes enter into a battle royale over the best etudes in this iconic text. Blood is shed, but feelings are not hurt.  How to prepare these? Which ones should I play for an audition? Are they etudes or solos? Do they still matter?   Also, we originally recorded this with a video in mind but scrapped it. You'll understand once you listen.  We hope you enjoy!

The Mikes discuss one of the warhorses of 20th-century music: Iannis Xenakis. Fun debate, pieces we never knew, and of course, loud sounds!

http://www.mikedropduo.com   The Mikes discuss our summer reads, postulate about future reads, and fill in the cracks with the usual banter. Maybe one of these books will interest you!

http://www.mikedropduo.com   As Mike C.  once wonderfully mentioned, “you gotta show up for training camp in shape!” But how do you get in shape? The Mikes talk it out and offer some specific pieces, thoughts and tips!     00:00 - Three cool updates!   8:35 - It's okay to have taken a break   12:00 - Breaks - do we need them? How to use them?   16:08 - Why do I have to be in shape?    21:34 - What does it take to get in shape?   30:08 - Mike T. benchmark pieces    34:04 - Mike C. benchmark pieces   39:24 - Building strength like weight lifting   45:45 - Be better than you were at the end of last year     49:31 - How do you not get bored?    58:43 - The Mikes share their exercises   1:04:40 - Getting organization and systems in place    1:15:11 - Mike C's non-performance skills to be in shape   1:17:50 - Saving $   1:20:14 - Mike T. revisits organization priorities 

The Mikes try to unpack a touchy subject: musical taste!  What is it? How do you get it? How do you develop it? and more!

The Mikes just recorded a few pieces (to be released…sometime)! Have you ever completed a recording session and thought “Did I do this right? Does anyone else feel the same way as I did?”    The Mikes break down their session and get into some deep philosophical topics about the recording process.  

The Mikes lead up to a rousing discussion of their favorite recordings, starting in classical music and reaching far beyond. Enjoy the ride!   MikeDrop is Mikes Compitello and Truesdell

In this episode, the Mikes talk with Four/Ten Media about their favorite past projects, filming techniques, how to be a great client, nostalgic memories, and of course, what is up with that sound in TENET??   MikeDrop is Mikes Compitello and Truesdell Four/Ten Media is Kevin Eikenberg and Evan Chapman www.fourtenmedia.net

Aphasia is by Mark Applebaum   Mark Applebaum is a musical inventor whose music combines the unrelenting rigor of post-war European Modernism with ridiculousness and whimsy borne of zooming obsessively and exactingly close to the mundane. Mike and Mike break down how they learned Mark Applebaum's iconic solo work *Aphasia.* “Eat sandwich,” “smell grapefruit,” “open beer,” “close window,” “fasten seatbelt”!   Topics include: - Prior experience with Applebaum's music - Practicing slow and fast - Memorizing new repertoire - Being specific in theatrical repertoire   Mike C's video of Aphasia with Four/Ten Media https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B2YLoqIYEUI   MikeDrop is Mikes Compitello and Truesdell

Mike and Mike go behind the screen for a first, second, and final round on orchestral excerpts, an essential part of classical musical training. Or are they? In addition to tips and tricks for organizing, learning, and refining excerpts, the Mikes discuss: Why learn excerpts, beyond winning a job? How to learn them? How to teach them as part of a balanced diet? What are other practical considerations when learning and deploying tiny nuggets of musical goodness?

The Mikes sharpen their knives and wits and go head-to-head to discuss music competitions. What does it take to prepare for a competition? Do they offer benefits other than winning? From reframing the competition as a personal growth opportunity to the role of judges in shaping the future of our art, the Mikes volley and trade broadsides on the positives, negatives, ins, and outs of individual performance contests. Also featured: Mike C and T continue to develop a comprehensive taxonomy of sporting events.   MikeDrop is Mike Compitello and Mike Truesdell

Making a video, and want visible Mikes but not visible mics? We've got you covered. The Mikes discuss the various types of videos classical musicians are deploying and peel back the gild from their own video-making experiences, covering ideation, execution, and collaboration, particularly with the astonishing Four/Ten Media. Diners, swimming pools, isolated wooded areas, smoke machines: let's go! MikeDrop's recording of Retrouvailles, by George Aperghis Mike T's video of An Elemental Thing, by Liza Lim Mike C and Hannah Collins' video of Down Down Baby, by Robert Honstein Four/Ten Media

MikeDrop finds a method (book) to the madness of instructional percussion books, sharing their go-to texts while quizzing one another about George Hamilton Green's rules for practice and hatred of glancing blows.     Audio wizard: Rebecca Moore

Choices, choices. The Mikes share how they select mallets for a variety of situations. Mike T. endorses Marimba One Mallets Mike C. endorses Vic Firth mallets and sticks   Rebecca Moore is our amazing audio engineer.

Is teaching more about what one teaches, or how one teaches? The Mikes share their insights on key concepts and structures in percussion pedagogy. Fast fact: Mike T. teaches at Ithaca College and Mike C. at Arizona State University.   Rebecca Moore is the expert behind the sound of these episodes.

Mike C and Mike T see how well they REALLY know one another glimpse into each others' creative minds and personal approaches to spending time developing ideas both big and small.   Thank you, Rebecca Moore, for the wonderful work fixing our audio!

http://www.oktavenaudio.com/   MikeDrop calls in reinforcements from a classical music heavy hitter: Ryan Streber, composer and engineer at Oktaven Audio, one of the leading recording studios for contemporary and classical repertoire. Ryan's razor-sharp ears, gentle demeanor, and insightful sonic choices have had the Mikes returning time and time again to Oktaven for recording projects, and we were delighted to have some time to turn the microphone the other direction and learn more about Ryan's life in music. Topics in this mega-episode include: Ryan's musical background Developing home recording studios Working with difficult artists Being a gear-head and how to make tech transparent in the studio Preparing for recording sessions The importance of curiosity File management and Ryan as a topic of future dissertations Starting a record label How composition informs his work as an engineer and producer Ryan's workflow as a “classical” engineer Vintage microphones and facsimile scores   Thank you, Rebecca Moore, for your audio magic!

Get ready to tap that! The Mikes bounce like a hovercraft over contentious (but bouncy) waters to debate using practice pads for good and evil in one's musical development. The Duo discusses pad selection, and setup, and makes some recommendations for pads in several categories. Pads mentioned, in no particular order: Ikea bath towels Tom's Pad The Billy Hyde Vic Firth Stock Pad The Remo Practice Pad Remo Silentstroke Heads Sabian Quiet Tone Timpani practice pad Vic Firth Chop-Out Practice Sticks Dragonfly Practice Mallets Mike C endorses Vic Firth pads and sticks, Beetle Pads, and Remo drumheads.     Rebecca Moore is our wonderful audio editor.

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

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

The Mikes' go head to head on their alliterative strategies for music-making, marking, and mastering for before, during, and after rehearsals and practice sessions. There's nothing like describing visual practices in an audio-only medium, so buckle up! Topics include Why write in your music? What can/should one mark? Reading from scores vs parts Marking and part-making gear Cheat sheets, memoization, and everything in between   Thank you to Rebecca Moore for all of the magical audio work with this episode!

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

The Mikes compare notes (written on paper) on their favorite technologies for music-making, productivity, and…getting away from technology. But first, what IS technology? While the Mikes agree that less is more, apps and tools mentioned include: Transcribe! Earplugs Headphones (both noise cancelling and monitor headphones) Focus/Airplane/Do not disturb mode Forscore Mindnode Notion Omnigraffle Scrivener Dropbox Text Expander Keyboard Maestro Toggl Magnet Rhodia Pens Colored Pencils Dictation mode (MikeDrop is not sponsored by any of the above, although they'd like to be!)   Special thanks to the technology EXPERT, Rebecca Moore, for her expert skills and ears. She made us sound the best we could!

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