Carson Rose Studios

01/16/2023

Happy New Year everyone!

I've been a little silent on here, but it's been a wonderfully busy year of meaningful music experiences! I definitely post more often on my Instagram account, so go give me a follow at if you want to see more content!

Wondering how to use recording more to help you as a classical musician?

Here are 3 examples of how to use recording to create your own opportunities!

I have found that classical musicians tend to only record out of necessity--myself included!

Maybe you only view recording as a necessary evil as part of applications for music schools, young artist programs, or competitions.

But when was the last time you had a fresh body of work for your website, or even your YouTube channel?

I get it, we have so much on our plate that it’s impossible to prioritize everything.

Often it’s our personal projects that get put on the back burner, especially when we might not be seeing a salary from these projects in the near future.

Here are three examples of how I have used recording to create MORE paid opportunities:

🌟Recorded a benefit recital

🌟Produced a body of work by a living composer in collaboration with an organization (OOPSMN) so we could get paid

🌟Collaborated on a multimedia video of an art song cycle that featured different mediums including dance and photography

I have been able to use the recordings after the fact to assist in advertising for live performances, to have a bigger body of work to apply for a grant, and to put on my website and other social media platforms.

How have you used recording in your classical career beyond applying for auditions and in personal practice to create more paid opportunities?

Let us know in the comments!

10/01/2022

Happy Autumn, everyone! Want direct access to studio happenings, season announcements, blog posts, and more? Click the link to join my email list! I'm aiming to send an email once a month or every other, so I promise I won't be flooding your inbox :) Thank you so much for being part of my community and I'm excited to share some new content and posts with you soon!

Welcome! My name is Carson Rose Schneider, and I am a collaborative pianist, opera coach, and owner of Carson Rose Studios, a video recording studio for classical musicians in the Twin Cities. Sign up to find out where I'm performing next, to hear about happenings in the studio, tips to improve your...

06/02/2022

Thankful to be busy inside the studio and performing regularly again! It has been an absolute joy to use my recording space to make recordings of works by living Minnesota composers. OOPS MN sponsored a recent project I curated with mezzo Kara Morgan called "Ladies, Lyrics & Lagers."

Enjoy this recent video of "A Sprig of Rosemary," by Minnesota composer Edie Hill and sung by the outstanding Kara Morgan, mezzo.

Are you looking for a space to record something like this? Or are you in need of a space to make those audition videos? I currently have openings for recording and coaching!

Featuring Kara Morgan and Carson Rose Schneider"A Sprig of Rosemary" from "The Giver of Stars" by Edie Hill - https://www.ediehill.com - with poetry by Amy ...

04/20/2022

I'm so grateful to have been busy these last few months in the studio and returning to live performance in the community!

I'm excited to share my latest work in the studio: this is "Flame Apples," the second song in Minnesota composer Edie Hill's gorgeous cycle "The Giver of Stars" with fabulous mezzo Kara Morgan.

We are launching a new song series "Ladies, Lyrics, & Lagers," co-produced and sponsored by OOPS MN. We are bringing works by living Minnesota female composers out of the recital hall and into local Twin Cities breweries! You have three chances to hear us live, with our first even this Saturday at 4pm at Forgotten Star Brewing (RSVP recommended)! Check out our website for more information and to RSVP: https://www.oopsmn.org/ladieslyricslagers



https://youtu.be/7UW1wp3YMAk

Featuring Kara Morgan and Carson Rose Schneider"Flame Apples" from "The Giver of Stars" by Edie Hill - https://www.ediehill.com - with poetry by Amy Lowell....

10/18/2021

The key difference in a recording vs a performance and why it’s holding you back ⬇️

Do you create actionable goals for recording?

Sometimes in recording sessions, many of my clients focus on things such as:

“This was going better yesterday.”
“I could sing that better.”

Which leads inevitably to “I’ll never get it.”

Recording is a rare process, as classical artists we are taught to perform not to record.

This is why wanting to ‘be better’ isn’t a specific enough goal.

If you practice the recording process and create actionable goals your recording session will not only be more effective, but it will feel better.

For instance, I have worked with a client who I supported in giving more space for two takes to release the technical talk and focus on HER story to meet her goal of submitting an authentic audition recording.

You don’t need to leave recordings feeling demoralized, but the change isn’t going to happen overnight.

I collaborate with you beyond the notes to create an environment that’s comfortable and positive.

My free recording planner provides a guided to write everything down, from subtext, affirmations, to goals for the next recording.

The recording planner will help you set up for success later even if recordings aren’t in your current plans. Send me a DM to grab yours today!

09/21/2021

Join me and Robert H. Riordan, baritone on September 21st (that's TONIGHT!) at 7pm CST as we premiere the Quixotic Benefit: Explorations of a Madman. We will present a lecture recital of music inspired by Miguel de Cervantes’s 17th century novel Don Quixote. Alongside performances of music by Ravel, Ibert, Kienzl, and Darion/Leigh, we explore the texts, musical settings, and the history behind the main character and its connections to the present-day. The recital is free to stream but donations to the Alzheimer’s Association are greatly encouraged. Link to donate is in the event page, which I'll post below!

If you can't watch the full video all tonight, don't worry--it's going to stay up for awhile!

I am thrilled to have the space and the equipment to create meaningful projects like these! Have an idea for something similar? Send me a DM!

09/08/2021

I'm thrilled to share some new content with all of you!

Here’s the thing about risk-taking:

You have to accept the fact that you might not be awesome right out of the gate, especially if you’re learning new skills.

You have to “embrace the suck.”

Brené Brown talks about this a lot in her book, Dare to Lead. When you start anything new, it takes courage to “rumble with vulnerability” (her words, not mine, but this phrase has been living with me).

This was hard for me to accept in the beginning of my new business.

I kept finding excuses not to start my business page on Facebook, and then Instagram.

I procrastinated updating my website to reflect my new video recording packages.

Finally, my husband was like, “what is holding you back? Just start.”

The cold truth was that no one was holding me back but my own limitations.

When you start a new venture, especially one that requires you to show up in a different way, you also have to shift your mindset. You have to let go of perfection.

You have to embrace fear.

You have to “embrace the suck.”

My first videos, although better quality than I had thought possible of myself, were admittedly not amazing. But I posted them anyway.

I started advertising and recording with select colleagues who were already in my pandemic bubble.

I realized there was a market for entrepreneurs on social media, even in the classical music industry, so I started working with to craft my brand and online presence.

I started posting content knowing that I was, and am, still experimenting.

One of the things I love about video recording is that it’s a portfolio of your progress.

While I look at my early videos and cringe, my clients who worked with me then have been returning, which gives me courage.

I’m excited to share this video of Ricky Ian Gordon’s beautiful song, “Will There Really Be a Morning” that I made with Sahar Hassan (), as part of Journey North Opera Company’s “Changing the Narrative” program.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart to JNOC and Sahar for trusting me with not only my collaborative skills, but my recording capabilities as well.

What’s holding you back from risk-taking?

It’s time to stop listening to fear.

Let’s “rumble with vulnerability” together, starting this month--I have a few openings for in person and virtual clients, so send a DM for more info!

08/25/2021

Why negativity bias is so strong and how to overcome it ⬇️

Simply put, negativity bias is the human tendency to give more weight to negative experiences than positive ones.

Research has found that negativity outweighs positivity almost 3:1.

One of the things I hear most often in recording sessions from clients is, “Well, that wasn’t perfect, but...”

Here’s the thing about focusing on perfection: it’s essentially feeding this negative mindset.

But it’s easy to sit back and say, “perfect is boring, it doesn’t exist.”

Most of us already know this to be true.
Knowing isn’t enough to avoid falling into the perfection trap.

Guess what: you CAN actively work to shift this mindset!

On my journey towards opening my home recording studio, I realized it IS possible to let go of negativity bias and view my work more objectively, but it’s a process.

A lot of us struggle with it on our own, but things really shifted for me when I started sharing my thoughts with others.

So, here’s a couple things that I do with my clients, and myself, to help overcome our negativity bias:

~Record works that bring you JOY
~Listen to yourself A LOT
~Affirm strengths FIRST
~Share with FRIENDS
~Update materials a LOT

My process with all my clients is to coach, record, and NOW you have the option to add on a collaborative review of your recording.

This approach helps overcome negativity bias because you’re not tackling those thoughts alone--I’m there to cheer you on every step of the way!

Let’s get you over your negative bias starting THIS month--I have a few openings for in person and virtual clients, so send a DM for more info!

07/12/2021

Read on to learn how fearing mistakes is sabotaging your recording sessions ⬇️

Because we mostly make recordings for auditions, we can get caught up in focusing on not making mistakes as the goal. In some ways, our training brings this about. We grow up in universities & YAPs being corrected and told what to do, which makes us want to be right.

Here’s the thing.

At some point, we have to trust that if we’ve worked & prepared hard enough, we will perform our best. Fearing mistakes means you aren’t trusting yourself, & that self-doubt is going to manifest itself during the recording process.

It can happen to all of us regardless of experience.

I recently remembered how poisonous the fear of making mistakes can be while performing Schubert’s “Winterreise” in a recording session.

I felt prepared going in, & it was actually going well. But in the first few songs I was trying to control the performance, & playing on eggshells. I think we can feel more weight when recording such famous pieces, & I was letting myself get unnerved by it. Without an audience, you become even more aware of this mindset because negative self-talk is LOUD.

“Phew, got through that one alright.”
“That was close.”
“I need to be more careful.”

Unsurprisingly, early on, I DID make a mistake during a playout.
It wasn’t just one note, but a string of measures I tripped over, because I was so tense.

It was like a mental reset.

Instead of beating myself up, a weight was lifted off my shoulders. I laughed, let it out, & realized I could stop pretending to be perfect. (Thankfully, I could also re-record 🙌🏻 )

Since what I had been fearing had happened, I could refocus on telling OUR story.

Not anyone else’s.

OURS.

So next time you’re fearing mistakes in a recording, give yourself permission to not be perfect.

It's easy to forget it's the uniqueness of singers that make them so loved, NOT their academic perfection!

Maria Callas was unique. Jessye Norman was unique.

YOU are UNIQUE.

In my coachings, I work WITH you to empower you to use your unique voice to craft a performance only YOU can create. Do you want to make recordings you’re proud of sharing on social media? Send a DM!