arrange • compose • conduct
Communities take time. One of the best things you can do for your choir is to craft a community they can be a part of. Call it communityism. Being a part of a community makes everything easier. You know who to call for a favor. You know who can solve […]
The intuition of experience is remarkable. I can look at a new score and find the spots that won’t work with good success. I’ll play through a section and say, “That won’t work.” I can go back and think about why, but the answer comes before I consciously know the […]
For every extended rehearsal you plan, ask yourself this question: Have I scheduled past the point of diminishing returns? I always want to maximize available time and use every minute for the growth and improvement of my ensembles. But I have been in situations where other leaders have scheduled a […]
Your creation doesn’t need to have everything. Just make what’s necessary, and then stop. I finished a vocal jazz arrangement today that fits on two pages. Not an a cappella ballad, either! In this case, I was casting around, trying to see what kind of soli, shout chorus, vocalese, or […]
Sometimes the important work you do today isn’t what looks like the work. For example, today’s studio session was great – we tracked three songs for the Aces in three hours, plus a little bonus track really quickly at the end! They worked hard, grew, and put down some great […]
Don’t take your creations too seriously. At least, I don’t. The third time my students read a rhythm differently than written yesterday, I changed it on the spot. As I said to them, “Just because I wrote it doesn’t mean I got it right!” I can make mistakes in my […]
For the first time, I am starting a semester at GRCC with an identical ensemble to last semester. No drops, no adds. It’s a situation I’m very excited about. As I often say, the best part about the first semester of a vocal jazz group is the second semester. It […]
Here are my top five recommendations for people new to being in front of an ensemble in rehearsal. These are the ones I say over and over to my students when they are starting out running sectionals or portions of rehearsal. (I do my best to sit in the corner […]
If you don’t know the timing, you’re asking for trouble. A concert shouldn’t go longer than 90 minutes without an intermission. So it’s essential for directors to know durations of pieces, timing of transitions, talking, and anything else that might add to the total time. Even with a format I’m […]
Do you incorporate any made-up rituals into your rehearsals? The Happiness Lab with Dr. Laurie Santos explores the way we make decisions that we think will make us happier but don’t, and also offers researched techniques that actually do improve our happiness. In a 2020 episode, she discussed the idea […]