TALENT

Dr. Scot Brown – Music Historian/Teacher

ADVICE

Juggling the demands of being a professor and musician can be overwhelming, not to mention
all that’s going on in the world today. This pandemic has jolted the very fabric of my being.
Like so many, I’ve lost good friends and have other ones who are seriously ill due to COVID-19.
While I make daily efforts to proceed with all due caution (wearing masks and social distancing),
self-care can suffer during these strange and strenuous times. We need each other. We need
community, but time-honored ways of coming together and congregating in groups are no
longer safe. So, I communicate regularly with friends, family, and loved ones by phone and
social media. My storytelling and listening skills have improved significantly as a result.

QUOTE

I work best with affirmations wrapped up in melodies anchored in rhythms that move the body effortlessly.

EXERCISE

To stay mobile and motivated, I take walks at a brisk pace with my headphones playing music
that surrounds my mind with lyrics that affirm how I want to feel. These days, I’m taking a deep
dive into old school soul, so I’ll keep playing a jam that musically makes me feel upbeat with a
hook that instills the affirmation for that day. Yesterday I was feeling down. I needed a boost,
so I went with Curtis Mayfield’s Move On Up. I had that jam replaying over and over. By the
time I made it back home, I felt that I had actually “moved on up” above-and-beyond the
negativity of the moment – just as the song says: “Move on Up/to your destination/though you
may find/from time to time/complication.”