Hattie and Becca discuss the need for many creatives to prove themselves to others online, often sharing data about their work. Do we need a structure and numeric guide for practice or can it be intuitive? And how does this link to intuitive eating? They also go on to discuss the complexities of dealing with criticism, where that sensitivity comes from and how Hattie copes with empathy for performers whilst writing reviews 02:51 Workaholics and their quirks 16:20 Intuitive eating vs intuitive pr...
Jul 01, 2025•40 min
Mezzo-soprano Jamie Barton has been fighting the corner of the marginalised in classical music now for over 10 years. From a marriage breakdown to a queer awakening and struggles with learning repertoire, Jamie joins Hattie and Becca to discuss her experiences as a queer woman in America and her journey to discovering her ADHD. She also shares powerful insights into body positivity, her approach to music and the importance of using her platform to support marginalised communities Jamie Barton is...
Jun 18, 2025•1 hr 6 min
Entering our YouTube era...! And we're talking about returning to things we didn't expect to: Hattie to America and Becca to the harp. We also have a good ol' think about child prodigies, faith and praying, and Becca obsesses further about JULY. We've got some absolutely stellar interviews lined up for release, so stay tuned. Thank you to forScore for advertising with us and to the Royal Society of Musicians for their ongoing support 🙏 forScore: https://forscore.co Things Musicians Don't Talk A...
Jun 04, 2025•34 min
After a performance we term as 'bad', it can be difficult to return to a sense of confidence in our playing. In this fourth mediation, Ruth Philips leads a meditation to disarm the inner critic and restore a sense of peace and acceptance in our performing. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
May 25, 2025•16 min
Our aim as musicians is to communicate generously and freely to our audience but we rarely turn towards ourselves with the same degree of care. In this meditation, Ruth Philips leads a loving kindness practice, exploring how it might be to extend that kindness outwards towards our audience Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
May 18, 2025•17 min
This meditation aims to bring you closer to your instrument and aid in healing any sense of disconnect you may be feeling Discover Ruth Philips *Ruth Philips and Lucy Russell are running a course 'Mindfulness for Musicians' at Benslow Music from 13-15 June. More information here * ------------------------------------------------------------- Things Musicians Don't Talk About is supported by the Royal Society of Musicians ! Follow RSM on Instagram , X and Facebook . ------------------------------...
May 10, 2025•22 min
A meditation for musicians lead by cellist and mindfulness meditation teacher Ruth Philips for use to calm the mind around stage fright and performance anxiety. Discover Ruth Philips ------------------------------------------------------------- Things Musicians Don't Talk About is supported by the Royal Society of Musicians ! Follow RSM on Instagram , X and Facebook . ------------------------------------------------------------- Support TMDTA Want to support us on a regular basis? Consider joini...
May 02, 2025•19 min
'On returning from America, I listened back to lots of my old recordings and discovered a paradox: I had no confidence but also thought I deserved more – thought I was better than I really was'. Hattie sits down to share reflections from her trip to America from health anxiety and Curtis, to self-love and deleting dating apps Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Apr 23, 2025•22 min
This week we interview trumpet player Lucy Humphris about her journey through music college and the contemporary music scene. We speak about the institutional barriers Lucy and others face as a female brass player with a non-traditional career trajectory, sharing her experiences of feeling "othered" and misunderstood. From battling expectations of orchestral conformity to navigating the complex landscape of contemporary music, Lucy reveals the personal and professional struggles of forging her o...
Apr 15, 2025•48 min
Eating disorders and intense practice obsession have a lot in common. How do we move from an 'all or nothing' mindset to something structured and regular? Becca shares the start to her return to exercise following healing from an eating disorder and Hattie shares the parallels to the toxic relationship she has to the cello and hours of practice Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Mar 26, 2025•32 min
There are statements made time and time again when you approach the topic of women in music: 'but historically music by men is just better', 'I'm sick of this wokeism in classical music' and 'people won't buy tickets to concerts of just women's music'. CN Lester and Gillian Moore join us live at the Royal Society of Musicians to unpack these statements and uncover the truth to performance, programming and pessimism around classical women composers. Things Musicians Don't Talk About is supported ...
Mar 08, 2025•1 hr 4 min
10 years ago trombonist Emily White lost her husband after a prolonged period of illness. She was thrown into the worlds of death admin and loneliness, but out of it discovered a perspective on what was important as a musician. She shares with Hattie and Becca an insight into her grief journey, as well as her infectious joy of teaching and hatred of the word 'should'. Emily also takes them through her interest in research about practice and performance optimisation and how much joy is able to im...
Feb 21, 2025•1 hr 9 min
Is capitalism to blame for the mental health crisis? Should we separate the art from the artist? Rebecca and Hattie have been reading non-fiction. And they are sharing two of the books with each other. Naomi Klein's Doppelganger won the Women's Prize for Non-Fiction in 2024 and has had a strong impact since it hit the bookshelves. The pressure for us to 'perform' online is overwhelming, and Becca brings a musician's perspective to Klein's reflections. Then to what appeared to be anti-psychiatry ...
Feb 05, 2025•1 hr 10 min
Mark Brierley came to the world of classical music via journalism and without any prior knowledge of the industry. Now, as Head of Membership and Communications at the Royal Society of Musicians, he spends every day hearing from musicians about the reality of their lives. He speaks with Hattie at the RSM headquarters about the origins of the 'Fund for Decay'd Musicians', his perspectives on the industry as an 'outsider' and how he's developed a love for it. They also discuss marketing and commun...
Jan 10, 2025•38 min
It's Becca's turn to sit down for a solo check in with the help of some listener questions. The grief journey continues, as does the freelancing, and Becca reflects on emotional regulation, balancing her various jobs, and processing the death of an abuser. Things Musicians Don't Talk About is now supported by the Royal Society of Musicians ! Follow RSM on Instagram , X and Facebook . ------------------------------------------------------------- Support TMDTA Want to support us on a regular basis...
Dec 26, 2024•36 min
Hattie sits down for a late night chat about everything on her mind this Christmas. New Year's resolutions, jealousy, musician guilt, ambition and the illusion of festivity are chaotically unpacked. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Dec 23, 2024•32 min
We asked Linton Stephens to come and speak about authenticity for our first live show at the Royal Society of Musicians. A musician and broadcaster who has been naturally unapologetic about his identity in all corners of his career, living authentically is just part of Linton's everyday. But classical music's fragility means that this type of openness can be hard to find. We discuss Linton's early life, campaigning for women's music, the power of mentioning his boyfriend on the radio, the import...
Nov 22, 2024•1 hr 9 min
Back in February we talked with the legend, Jalayne Mitchell. It was such a special episode that we had to keep it brewing for many, many months. Jalayne has since taken a break from Classical Wellness but her message is still so vital and timely. We talk about starting an instrument 'late' and playing catch up, starting a bold project outside the norm, the paralysis of performance anxiety and culture of silence at music college, amongst other things that just aren't cute at all. Thank you Jalay...
Nov 16, 2024•1 hr 10 min
CW: death; brief mention of disordered eating What happens when someone dies? How do you talk to someone who's lost a parent? What's wrong with the word 'talent'? Do you take on work that makes you uncomfortable? Why are we so scared of Freshers Week? We answer all these questions with absolute authority this week on Things Musicians Don't Talk About! Grab a cuppa, walk the dog/child, endure the commute, or simply rawdog this episode. We have a chinwag, a catchup and put the world to rights as p...
Nov 10, 2024•46 min
The start of an unedited series of podcasts. TW: mental illness Hattie shares the story of her 2017 nervous breakdown and reads a blog she wrote about it back in August. She also answers questions about breakdowns and whether she worries about them returning Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Oct 31, 2024•23 min
When cellist Matthew Barley was 16 he tried to take his own life following a drug-induced psychotic episode. He then went on to channel everything into music until in 2019 the trauma of the event resurfaced. We speak to Matthew about his experience of psychosis, looking back on his experiences and the process of trauma therapy and the impact of ayahuasca. He takes us through writing music for his new album based on the events and discusses the way the classical music world views mental health co...
Sep 27, 2024•52 min
This was a big one for Things Musicians Don't Talk About: our first live show !!!! We are so grateful to the London Podcast Festival for inviting us to take the stage with the exceptional Ayanna Witter-Johnson. Hattie and Becca talked a little bit about the conception of the podcast and their own mental health journeys, and then chatted with Ayanna about her background and career in music. Ayanna talks brilliantly about the intricacies of making her own unique career despite not fitting into a t...
Sep 11, 2024•1 hr 12 min
We're back with our first interview after the summer! The brilliant Laure Chan speaks with Hattie and Becca about her cross-cultural, genre-bending creative endeavours and her journey to musical authenticity. How did Laure get into composing whilst already being an established violinist? How does she explore her own identity through the medium of music? How did her shoulder injury affect her outlook on making music? Find out by listening to Things Musicians Don’t Talk About. Follow Laure on Inst...
Sep 09, 2024•54 min
Trigger warning: eating disorders, weight (no specific numbers) A different format of episode this week! Becca reads out her latest blog on her body, her identity and her fears about the possibility of a life of ‘sizing-up’. She answers some questions afterwards about the blog, talking about the male gaze, the concept of numbers in recovery and the physicality of trumpet playing. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------...
Sep 05, 2024•19 min
Reflecting on recent trips back to our former music schools and colleges, we chat about the complex emotions that arise when revisiting places of past trauma. We discuss the challenges of addressing mental health in educational settings, wondering if our message is relevant to current students, and the lasting impact of architecture and locations on our wellbeing. We also explore the nuances of loneliness, and share our personal journeys of making peace with specific London locations. Link to th...
Jul 15, 2024•39 min
When cellist Ruth Philips was 29 and studying in America, she left her room as she wanted it to be found after her death. So certain was she that the performance approaching her would be the end of her life. Now, Ruth is sought after for her whole, integrative approach as a cello teacher, mindfulness practitioner and performance coach. She speaks to us about her journey towards discovering mindfulness, reframing the word 'practice' and encouraging others to consider the violent language we frequ...
Jul 02, 2024•56 min
We thought we'd celebrate hitting 3,000 Instagram followers as some sort of milestone in this crazy journey to cultivate much-needed honesty in the music industry! Every follower, every listener we connect with feels like a little headway in making change in the culture. In this episode, we take some time to look back on our podcast journey so far, reminiscing about how we became a duo and how TMDTA has grown over the past 4 years. Thanks to questions from our listeners, we also reflect on our p...
Apr 26, 2024•45 min
In this episode of Things Musicians Don't Talk About, Becca sits down with Chloé van Soeterstède in her dressing room at the Royal College of Music. Chloé shares her personal experiences of working as a musician alongside pregnancy and then motherhood. She walks us through her journey - from figuring out with her manager when might be the best time to get pregnant, to performing while visibly pregnant and giving birth naturally with the aid of mental preparation. Chloé also opens up about challe...
Apr 05, 2024•49 min
Another chatty episode for you lovely lot! This was recorded for our last Voices radio slot in February 2023. Hattie and Becca chat about queerness in classical music, exploring our opinions on the films Tár and Maestro , and how we feel power dynamics and hero-worship were portrayed in them. As we've seen over the past few decade or so, teacher-student relationships can be such a dangerous environment if those positions of authority are abused, and so we take a further look into what exactly it...
Mar 07, 2024•29 min
This week we come to you (unintentionally) from the Royal Opera House! We speak with composer, theatre-maker, and journalist Zygmund de Somogyi about growing up with Autism Spectrum Disorder, not fitting in to the classical music world, discovering the world of composing, their experiences of imposter syndrome and feeling disconnected from the world around them. Zyggy is now studying opera composition and discusses how they fell into opera and what it's like to work as an opera composer in the c...
Mar 04, 2024•49 min
