arrange • compose • conduct
What is the thing professionals can do that amateurs can’t? Okay, there are a lot of things – not least, the facility on their instrument, their reliability, their reading chops, etc. Maybe the most significant skill pros have is the ability to adjust in the moment, while keeping the big […]
Theory is good for understanding music. Well, the right theory for the right music. Roman Numeral analysis isn’t so great for understanding contemporary pop. Jazz theory isn’t great for Renaissance motets. Counterpoint is a great tool to clarify some aspects of much music, but if you’re trying to understand an […]
Teachers come with a lot of wishes for their students. They can wish for students to realize the dreams they themselves haven’t. They can wish for students to achieve success and so reflect back on them as teachers. They can wish for students to matriculate to particular schools, particular majors, […]
I didn’t have a concert tonight. More precisely, I didn’t have the concert I planned – several of my students put together wonderful jazz solos to fill some of the time that Shades of Blue was set to perform in. Unfortunately, a quartet and Covid-19 don’t go together well. It’s […]
About halfway through rehearsal tonight, I remembered. Rehearsals are always chaotic and significantly less productive when we rehearse here. (“Here” is a just different room, having vacated the choir room to allow an extra warmup room for an elementary concert tonight. I don’t know whether it’s the novelty of the […]
Gotta do the listening. I’ve written more than once about jazz being an oral tradition – to speak the language, you’ve got to fill your ears with the great recordings. That’s how you learn the language. The thing is, it’s not just jazz. Every style of music demands a massive […]
Don’t be afraid to make a deal with yourself. I have days in my creative work where my entire self – body/mind/soul – is screaming at me to just get up and walk away from the work. “Take a break!” “Check Facebook!” “Go make a cup of tea!” It’s so […]
Once upon a time, it was a fun piece of trivia to reveal that the jazz singer Mel Tormé was also a songwriter. “Did you know that ‘The Christmas Song’ was written by Mel Tormé?” These days, I can’t say that. The name Mel Tormé will elicit only blank stares […]
Be aware of just how much context you’re bringing when you begin a piece with your students. I’m watching a “Technical Challenge” in the Great British Bake-Off, in which the contestant bakers are asked to bake a recipe sight-unseen. Sometimes, as in the one I’m watching now, it’s a type […]
If you want to be able to trust them later, you have to trust them sooner. This is a core tenet of my approach as an educator and as a parent: let your trust spread as wide and as deep as it possibly can. The key to making this work […]