How Can I Share the Music I Play or Compose with Others?
- Diana Mascari
- 24 minutes ago
- 6 min read
Since I’ve been playing the piano for more than five decades, I never gave much thought to how I could share my music with others. Growing up, I was part of family soirées where we played informally for relatives and friends. Later, I performed professionally for many years, including fourteen years of Friday and Saturday nights at the Sheraton Milford Hotel. I also served as Music Director for the Hartford Street Presbyterian Church in Natick for more than four decades.
Sharing music simply came with the territory—and that was one of the reasons I wanted a life in music in the first place: to share what I played and what I knew with others.
How Can Students Share the Music They Play with Others?
When it came to teaching, helping students share their music with others was more complicated.
For many years before Covid, I held annual piano recitals every June. Early on, my adult students asked for their own smaller and more intimate recital. Once we started doing this, something important happened: the feeling of sharing replaced the feeling of performing.
While my younger students were still performing in a more formal recital setting, they were also sharing their music with:
parents
grandparents
siblings
friends
and fellow students
The emotional atmosphere changed when students realized they were not simply being judged—they were communicating through music.
What Has Changed Now That Lessons Are Online?
Because lessons have been online for the past six years, our annual student recitals are no longer an option. As a result, helping students find meaningful ways to share their music has become something I take very seriously.
To adapt to this change, I shifted my focus.
Instead of coaching students to prepare one or two recital pieces, I now help them build and maintain a personalized repertoire of music they continue practicing every week.
You can read more about this approach in my earlier blog:
Although working on repertoire may seem less direct than preparing for a recital, I’ve found that this approach can be truly transformative. It reminds me of a quote from Abraham Lincoln:
“I will study and prepare and perhaps my time will come.”
This philosophy perfectly reflects my goal as a teacher: to help students stay musically prepared for opportunities that may arise naturally in life.
The Importance of Being Ready
My goal is to help students feel ready whenever an opportunity to share music appears—whether with:
family
friends
classmates
colleagues
or members of the community
Over the years, I’ve had students perform:
at assisted living facilities
at senior center luncheons
at open mic nights
at school events
and during church services
Many students haven’t yet “taken their repertoire out for a spin,” but they often share music informally with family members and friends at home.
This process of consistently maintaining repertoire helps students:
stay motivated
retain pieces they’ve learned
and feel prepared when opportunities appear unexpectedly
How the Repertoire Approach Solves Two Problems
The repertoire approach solves two important problems at once:
1. Students don’t forget how to play the songs they’ve learned.
2. Students already have music prepared when opportunities arise.
If a student is asked to:
play at a church service
perform at a school assembly
participate at summer camp
or share music publicly
They already know the music and simply need extra polishing to bring a few pieces to performance level.
How Can I Share the Music I Compose with Others?
Because of my experience as a pianist and church musician, I immediately felt a strong desire to share my compositions with others as soon as I completed my first major composition, Trio for Flute, Cello, and Piano, in 1991.
To make this happen, I hired musicians to perform the piece on two occasions. I did the same with my next composition, which was later performed in New York City.
Soon afterward, I became part of composer William Thomas McKinley’s apprentice program. Through that experience, each composition I wrote—whether for orchestra or chamber ensemble—was eventually performed in New York City.
From there, through personal connections, I began receiving commissions to write new pieces for:
orchestras
choral ensembles
chamber groups
Some of these projects also included:
composer-performer programs in schools
composer residencies
and educational outreach activities
There was always an important element of sharing connected to every composition I wrote.
When Composing Suddenly Stopped
And then everything came to an abrupt stop.
Without musicians willing or able to perform my music, I could no longer do what I had done for sixteen years:share the compositions I created with others.
With great sadness, I said goodbye to composing.
In fact, I became so convinced that I would never compose again that I disposed of:
my scores
parts
recordings
and other materials
And then, seventeen years later, something unexpected happened.
The desire returned.
The inspiration returned.
The motivation returned.
And I began composing again.
It was truly a blessing.
For more than three years now, I’ve been composing six days a week.
But a new question emerged:
How was I going to share this music with others?
What Has Changed Today?
During those seventeen years away from composing, technology changed dramatically.
Today there are many ways composers can share their music online—even before live performances occur.
Some of my compositions have already been performed again, and others are scheduled for future performances. But beyond live concerts, technology now provides many additional possibilities.
Ways I Share My Music Today
Sibelius allows me to:
create MP3 and WAV audio files
generate PDF scores and parts
and distribute materials electronically
DistroKid distributes recordings of my compositions to:
Spotify
Amazon Music
and other streaming platforms
SoundCloud allows listeners to hear my music online and also makes it possible to embed recordings of my compositions directly into my website.
ArrangeMe / Sheet Music Plus / Sheet Music Direct
I publish many of my compositions Hal Leonard’s self-publishing platform arrangeme.com.
My music is then available through:
Sheet Music Plus
Sheet Music Direct
My Website
On my website:
listeners can:
hear recordings of my compositions
learn about individual pieces
and access purchase links for sheet music
YouTube has created additional opportunities for sharing music visually.
My wife, artist Marcia Cole, and I collaborated on a multimedia project called:
In Tandem combines her artwork with one of my compositions, Trio No. 1 for Violin, Cello, and Piano.
I’ve also had music used by community organizations. For example, the Heritage Village Hiking Club selected one movement entitled Peaceful Vistas from my Trio for Flute, Cello, and Piano as the background music for one of its winter videos.
Final Thoughts
If you want to share the music you play with others, there are many ways to do this. By consistently reviewing and maintaining a repertoire, you can remain ready when opportunities appear.
If you want to share the music you compose, today’s technology offers more possibilities than ever before. Online platforms make it possible to distribute recordings, scores, videos, and performances to people throughout the world.
And sometimes, an ensemble may hear your music online and decide to perform it—which is always a wonderful bonus.
Being able to play and compose music is truly a gift.
Sharing that gift with others enriches not only their lives, but your own as well.
Interested in Exploring Composition or Playing the Piano?
If you are an adult student with some musical background and have ever been curious about composing, I would love to help you begin. If you played the piano in the past and want help reawakening your musical interest, I'd like to help you do that.
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