That's a tough gig at O'Hare. Good for your brother-in-law not going on strike. That was really tough back in '81. Reagan had to deal with the PATCO strikers because the post office workers were thinking of striking and watching what was going to happen to the controllers. A lot of my friends lost their jobs then. PATCO made a big mistake in talking about striking for years before they actually pulled the trigger. FAA management were smart in promoting a number of controllers to staff jobs so they would be around to work the boards. Lots of overtime though. Tough time for sure.
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Deducting musical instrument on tax forms
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Rick Floyd
Miraphone 5050 - Warburton BJ / RF mpc
"Always play with a good tone, never louder than lovely, never softer than supported." - author unknown.
Symphonic Band of the Palm Beaches
El Cumbanchero (Raphael Hernandez, arr. Naohiro Iwai)
The Cowboys (John Williams, arr. James Curnow)
Festive Overture (Dmitri Shostakovich)
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We know music is fundamentally mathematical. Rhythms are but fractions and notes are frequencies at defined intervals. Non-western music may have notes that we don't acknowledge as notes, per se, because they exist in physics whether we use them or not. I think this article provides a succinct review of the academic literature, which is apparently non-conclusive.
Personally, I am exceedingly right-brained. In every aptitude test, brain test, personality test, Oprah quiz, whatever you have it, I consistently show a strong right brain and a fledgling left brain. As a young undergrad, I majored in communication and easily graduated with honors. Later, after a number of unexpected influences, I got a master's degree in accounting with a 4.0 GPA and more wailing and gnashing of teeth than you can imagine. It was hard, but I was more mature by then and I did the work. I'm still not naturally left-brained, but skills can be taught. There must be some fundamental intelligence in there somewhere that my left brain can pull from, but I imagine our Gary, in his love of logic and reason, would go bonkers if he spent about 0.8 seconds inside my brain. Linear my thinking is not.
As this applies to music, I find I'm fairly gifted at musicality and pitch, but oh how I struggle with rhythm. It isn't intuitive, it doesn't internalize easily, and I have to literally sit there and do the fractions sometimes in order to understand how a phrase should sound. This kinda makes sense to me. If musicality is a more abstract, right-brained skill, and rhythm is a more concrete, left-brained skill, then music is to me exactly what one might expect it to be. Of course, personality apart from intelligence plays a strong role in giving me a love and almost need for music, but we all know that appreciation and aptitude aren't the same.
That's kind of a long way to answer the question about those with financial backgrounds in music, but it also goes to support this theory:
Music performance requires multiple parts of the brain working together, and it will therefore attract people whose gifts come from any of those parts. Those who are most talented, however, are the ones who have a strong ability to use all the parts of their brain at the same time. Or at least, those who practice allllll theeeee tiiiiiiimmme.Wessex Dolce
"Suppose we have only dreamed, or made up, all those things -- trees and grass and sun and moon and stars and Aslan himself. Suppose we have. Then all I can say is that, in that case, the made-up things seem a good deal more important than the real ones." - Puddleglum in "The Silver Chair"
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Originally posted by lzajmom View Post….That's kind of a long way to answer the question about those with financial backgrounds in music, but it also goes to support this theory:
Music performance requires multiple parts of the brain working together, and it will therefore attract people whose gifts come from any of those parts. Those who are most talented, however, are the ones who have a strong ability to use all the parts of their brain at the same time. Or at least, those who practice allllll theeeee tiiiiiiimmme.John Morgan
The U.S. Army Band (Pershing's Own) 1971-1976
Adams E3 Custom Series Euphonium, 1956 B&H Imperial Euphonium,1973 F. E. Olds & Son Studio Model T-31 BaritoneAdams TB1 Tenor Trombone, Yamaha YBL-822G Bass Trombone
Year Round Except Summer:Kingdom of the Sun (KOS) Concert Band, Ocala, FL (Euphonium)Summer Only:
KOS Brass Quintet (Trombone, Euphonium)Rapid City Municipal Band, Rapid City, SD (Euphonium)
Rapid City New Horizons Band (Euphonium)
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Originally posted by davewerden View PostRight back at'cha, Gary! This is something that I've seen reinforced tons of times in my latter career. But of course that is still anecdotal.
But from my two examples, I came away with these tidbits:
- The I.T. department of a major corporation chose to recruit previously unknown candidates from the pool of music teachers.
- A successful regional tech company deliberately went to a music school to recruit people they did not otherwise know.
Gary Merrill
Wessex EEb Bass tuba (DW 3XL or 2XL)
Mack Brass Compensating Euph (DE N106, Euph J, J9 euph)
Amati Oval Euph (DE 104, Euph J, J6 euph)
1924 Buescher 3-valve Eb tuba (with std US receiver), Kelly 25
Schiller American Heritage 7B clone bass trombone (DE LB K/K10/112/14 Lexan, Brass Ark MV50R)
1947 Olds "Standard" trombone (Olds #3)
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Originally posted by John Morgan View PostIt is not unusual at all to find music people and math people living in the same mind, and doing quite well, thank you.
But with all this anecdotal evidence that these two sets of characteristics coexist within one mind so often, where did the rest of USA society get the idea that these two attributes were so far apart from each other?!
Ah well, the silliness of being human, I guess (grin).
- SaraBaritone - 3 Valve, Compensating, JinBao JBBR1240
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Originally posted by ghmerrill View PostBoth of which COULD be alternatively explained by the realizing the readiness of teachers (and very likely particularly music teachers) and would-be musicians to jump at the chance for a well-paying regular job with actual benefits.Wessex Dolce
"Suppose we have only dreamed, or made up, all those things -- trees and grass and sun and moon and stars and Aslan himself. Suppose we have. Then all I can say is that, in that case, the made-up things seem a good deal more important than the real ones." - Puddleglum in "The Silver Chair"
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Originally posted by Sara Hood View PostOh
But with all this anecdotal evidence that these two sets of characteristics coexist within one mind so often, where did the rest of USA society get the idea that these two attributes were so far apart from each other?!
- Sara
And then there's the problem of deciding what's mathematical and what's not when you're determining what anecdotal evidence to consider. Certainly a grasp of certain relationships and concepts that can be thought of as "mathematical" (e.g., pitch, rhythm, intervals, chords, etc.) is necessary to be a competent musician. But extending this to a broader and more meaningful sense of "mathematical" is precisely like saying that NFL players must have an innate talent (embedded somehow in the wiring of their neural systems) for understanding mathematics and mathematical concepts since they're so adept at understanding and memorizing complex plays, trajectories of passes, paths of runners, etc. Yeah, and this leads down the path to the view that my Neanderthal ancestor had particular "mathematical skills" or "mathematical inclination" since he was adept at throwing a spear and hitting a target.
(In full disclosure, there's an interesting argument concerning abstract mathematics and the spear-throwing thing, but I won't wander off into it here. For those really interested in this topic of mathematics and associated skills, I strongly recommend George Lakoff's and Rafael Nunez's Where Does Mathematics Come From?. Despite some subsequent criticisms of their view, it's the best account of the "origin" or "source" of abstract mathematical concepts that I've seen, and matches my personal experience in such areas as set theory and abstract algebra. It might provide you with even MORE evidence for the music/mathematics link!! )Gary Merrill
Wessex EEb Bass tuba (DW 3XL or 2XL)
Mack Brass Compensating Euph (DE N106, Euph J, J9 euph)
Amati Oval Euph (DE 104, Euph J, J6 euph)
1924 Buescher 3-valve Eb tuba (with std US receiver), Kelly 25
Schiller American Heritage 7B clone bass trombone (DE LB K/K10/112/14 Lexan, Brass Ark MV50R)
1947 Olds "Standard" trombone (Olds #3)
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Originally posted by lzajmom View PostCan hobby accounting be a thing??Gary Merrill
Wessex EEb Bass tuba (DW 3XL or 2XL)
Mack Brass Compensating Euph (DE N106, Euph J, J9 euph)
Amati Oval Euph (DE 104, Euph J, J6 euph)
1924 Buescher 3-valve Eb tuba (with std US receiver), Kelly 25
Schiller American Heritage 7B clone bass trombone (DE LB K/K10/112/14 Lexan, Brass Ark MV50R)
1947 Olds "Standard" trombone (Olds #3)
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With the federal standard deduction being doubled to $12K for individuals and $24K for unions, itemized deductions (of which I'm not sure instrument expense can be applied) are off the table for a lot of taxpayers who used them previously. Just something to consider as you investigate tax laws related to this issue.James Kircoff
Genesee Wind Symphony - principal euphonium (Adams E3 Custom .60mm yellow brass bell w/ K&G 3.5)
Capital City Brass Band (2019 NABBA 2nd section champions) - 1st baritone (Besson BE956 w/ Denis Wick 6BY)
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Instrument expense and depreciation are separate from itemized deductions. Apples and oranges. Unless I'm wrong, which my wife says is entirely possible most of the time.John Morgan
The U.S. Army Band (Pershing's Own) 1971-1976
Adams E3 Custom Series Euphonium, 1956 B&H Imperial Euphonium,1973 F. E. Olds & Son Studio Model T-31 BaritoneAdams TB1 Tenor Trombone, Yamaha YBL-822G Bass Trombone
Year Round Except Summer:Kingdom of the Sun (KOS) Concert Band, Ocala, FL (Euphonium)Summer Only:
KOS Brass Quintet (Trombone, Euphonium)Rapid City Municipal Band, Rapid City, SD (Euphonium)
Rapid City New Horizons Band (Euphonium)
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It all depends on if you are using the instrument to make money, or just playing a horn for the fun of it. And then from there, if you are getting paid by the gig, or receiving a regular paycheck from a music making organization. Itemized deductions is another, separate issue, that has more to do with the individual person's tax situation, than whether a purchase can qualify for a deduction or not. Like it was said before, USA tax law is very complex. And two people with similar circumstances can be taxed very differently, depending on their individual details. So check in with a professional, if you plan on taking advantage of any of the information discussed in this thread. And for heaven's sake, be sure to keep your receipts and documentation for any calculations made, for at least seven years! Keeping records will help the IRS to take your case seriously. It can also help avoid having something you claimed thrown out and then penalized as frivolous or fraudulent.
- SaraBaritone - 3 Valve, Compensating, JinBao JBBR1240
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jcirkoff and John are both right. Standard deduction did double last year, but that would only be applicable if you were deducting the cost as a medical expense (which is unlikely). Deducting a business expense is an apple, and the decision whether to itemize or take standard deduction is a big juicy orange.Wessex Dolce
"Suppose we have only dreamed, or made up, all those things -- trees and grass and sun and moon and stars and Aslan himself. Suppose we have. Then all I can say is that, in that case, the made-up things seem a good deal more important than the real ones." - Puddleglum in "The Silver Chair"
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Just for fun...
Going back to our tangent discussion about music-brain/computer-brain similarities, I'll add a little anecdote. As I was watching the old quiz show "To Tell the Truth" there was a contestant who successfully bluffed the panel. As he revealed his true occupation he said he was the head of a computer company. Then he added he was a former member of the Count Basie Orchestra.Dave Werden (ASCAP)
Euphonium Soloist, U.S. Coast Guard Band, retired
Adams Artist (Adams E3)
Alliance Mouthpiece DC3, Wick 4AL, Wick 4ABL
YouTube: dwerden
Facebook: davewerden
Twitter: davewerden
Instagram: davewerdeneuphonium
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Speaking of lawyers, music, cabbages, and kings...Leonard Garment, famous for being Richard Nixon's head lawyer, was a tenor sax player who, IIRC, had brief stints with some name bands in the 40s. IIRC again, he crossed paths with Alan Greenspan on a couple of bandstands during that time, perhaps on Woody Herman's band.Jim Williams N9EJR (love 10 meter CW)
Formerly Principal Euphonium in a whole
bunch of groups, now just a schlub.
Shires Q41, Yamaha 321, 621 Baritone
Wick 4AL, Wessex 4Y, or whatever I grab.
Conn 50H trombone, Blue P-bone
www.soundcloud.com/jweuph
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On a tangent....does anyone here deduct their mileage for concerts with non-profit bands, which covers about 99% of all bands in existence?James Kircoff
Genesee Wind Symphony - principal euphonium (Adams E3 Custom .60mm yellow brass bell w/ K&G 3.5)
Capital City Brass Band (2019 NABBA 2nd section champions) - 1st baritone (Besson BE956 w/ Denis Wick 6BY)
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