New Studio

I was in a recording studio I don’t regularly work in today, and I was reminded: the best studio engineer, entering a new studio, might be unable to even turn on the system and get started. There is a lot to a studio that is particular to that space and requires particular knowledge.

The same might be true of a rehearsal space: you know where everything is kept, but if you move to someone else’s choir room, you might not know how to turn on the projector, unlock the piano, etc.

It’s less true for directing an ensemble. If I walk into a room full of singers I don’t know, I know how to help them sight read a new piece; if it’s a piece they know, I’m ready to clinic it and help them move forward. That requires a domain specific knowledge, but not particular knowledge.

Differentiating between work that requires particular knowledge and work that requires domain specific knowledge is important. When you’re young, you might not be able to even tell them apart. If your only experience is in a single space, you might not be able to divide the things you’re learning for the domain from the things you’re learning for the particular space.