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Music resources

Music Career  Musicians Company  Musicians Answering Service  Musical Chairs Jobs Board  Music Industry  Help Musicians  Musicians Union  Independent Society of Musicians  Music Earplugs and In-Ear Monitors  ACS Custom  Music Books Musicians Handbook (Rhinegold)  Effective practicing for musicians (Benny Greb)  Orchestra Confidential (Mark Gould) Oxford Dictionary of Music  Music Audiologist  Musicians Hearing Services  Harley Street Hearing  Music Dentist  Specialist Dental Practice Weybridge  Music Opticians  Performing Arts Vision Care  Music Medical  British Association of Performing Arts Medicine  Music Minds Matter  Royal Society of Musicians  Music Support  Music Pastoral  National Musicians Church  Music Practice Room  Marylebone Music Studios  Drum Practice Room  London Drum Studio  Drum Store  Drumshack  Drum Hire...

Music hearing protection

Ear Plugs  ACS Custom Earplugs  In-Ear Monitors  ACS Custom In-Ear Monitors  Studio Headphones GK-Music UltraPhones (High Isolation 29dB Studio Headphones)  Support  Musicians Hearing Service Harley Street Hearing  Tinnitus and Hyperacusis  *This will be challenging for musicians who produce sound internally (vocal, woodwind, brass) due to earplugs causing occlusion 

Living in shared accommodation

Post  Royal Mail PO Box  Collect your post from the local depot or ask them to deliver everything to your home at a convenient time  Spare Key  Banham Key Holding Service  24/7 fast response  Bills Having a joint bills account with a flatmate will mean your credit records become financially linked, which means firms can access and look at that persons credit report as part of assessing wether to accept you for a financial product in the future. So, if your flatmate has a poor credit history or lots of debts, keep your finances rigidly separate. 

Drum practice

Practice  Effective Practicing for Musicians (Benny Greb) Moises App  Rudiments  Small practice pad and drum sticks  Great Hands for a Lifetime (Tommy Igoe) Stick Control (George Lawrence Stone) Gap Click App (Benny Greb)  Local Studio   London Drum Studio  Local Drum Store  Drumshack  Local Music Library  Barbican Music Library  Westminster Music Library 

Fast cheap travel in London

Santander cycles e-bike The app doesn't work, best to sign up for membership and order a key fob 

Loud noise on the tube

ACS Custom Pro27 Earplugs available at Harley Street Hearing 

Resilience

In your 1st year of financial independence working and living in the city, expect to live in harsh conditions with little money, food, clothes or property.  It may be helpful to adopt the comforting and timeless military attitute "Go where you're sent and learn to like it"  Remember there's nowhere to go but up, so instead of worrying about your current situation, invest all your energy and creativity into actions focused on delivering the future you'd like.  Resilience isn't achieved by reaching a destination, it's gained through embarking on a long complex journey managing unexpected setbacks and recovering from them well, feeling stronger than before. 

Free London

Free Books City of London Library  City of Westminster Library   Free Lectures  Gresham College   Free Office   Middle Temple Garden Room  Free Meeting Space  Soho Theatre Bar  Barbican Centre  Southbank Centre  National Theatre  Free Fitness  London City Runners  Free Botanical Garden  Middle Temple Garden  Barbican Conservatory  Free Outdoor Space  Lincoln's Inn Bandstand  Free Chapel Space Lincoln's Inn Chapel  St Bartholomew the Less  St Anne's Soho 

Finance

Live below your means, you should never be spending anywhere near your total income each month  If your salary is £35,000 live with the mindset that it's £25,000

Career

Your current job  In your current job, keep a log of all of your main responsibilities and key achievements as you go along, so you have a list of your recent professional responsibilities and achievements on standby ready to go.  Your future job  Make your own luck!  Keep applying for job opportunities that interest you anyway, even if you're not sure if you're ready for a career promotion right now, or you don't think you're qualified enough or experienced enough to get it. Remember it's up to the hiring managers to make that decision, it's up to you to bring fresh energy to their team and tell them about everything you can offer them, not what you can't. 

Places to read and study in London

Barbican Library  Westminster Reference Library  Caffe Nero Broadcasting House  Soho Theatre Bar  Hatchards Piccadilly Waterstones Piccadilly  Lincoln's Inn Chapel  Middle Temple Garden Room  St Bartholomew the Less Barbican Centre  National Theatre  Southbank Centre  Bread and Roses Theatre  Battersea Library 

Take a Drum Kit on the Bus, Train or Airplane

Tama Club Jam Pancake Kit (Kick, Snare, High Tom, Floor Tom)  Tama HC4FB Classic Hardware (Snare Stand, Hi Hat Stand, Crash Stand, Ride Stand)  Yamaha FP7210 Folding Kick Pedal Choose the smallest and lightest 3 cymbals you can find (hi hat, crash, ride)  Substitute the crash cymbal for a splash cymbal if needed  Substitute the ride cymbal with a smaller crash-ride cymbal if needed  Wrap up everything individually in clothes, towels or bedsheets  for extra protection  This will all just about fit inside a large 4 wheel suitcase   You may need to play a few rounds of Tetris to get everything to fit inside  I appreciate this doesn't include a drum stool or drum mat. I've tried but found it's tricky to either get everything to fit inside the suitcase or to keep the suitcase at a comfortable weight to wheel it along. It's easiest to just borrow a chair from a friendly local when you arrive Look on the bright side, now you don't need to worry abou...