arrange • compose • conduct
Take a deep breath, and consider what it means to be emotionally professional. Here’s Simon Sinek: “If you’re having a bad day, you can say, ‘Listen, I’m a little off my game today.” But you can’t sit in the meeting and be grumpy and give one word answers. That’s emotionally […]
It’s short. The most consistent block I find in my creative work is my self-judgement. I have a hard time objectively assessing the work I create, because all I can see and hear are the flaws. But I come with good news. The half-life of that self-judgement is so, so […]
Say you get excited singing vocal jazz, but never responded to singing Baroque or Renaissance choral music. There are two ways to say that. In my experience, most people tend to focus on defining what they don’t like; “I don’t like singing traditional choral music.” The second, and superior way […]
This is the most hopeful warning to give to students heading into the world. You’ll never be done learning your craft. You’ll never be done fighting the good fight. You’ll never be done rediscovering truths you thought you knew. You’ll never be done trying to live up to your own […]
When you have a different interpretation from someone else, when do you offer it? It depends on the situation, naturally. If I’m observing my students run a rehearsal or sectional, I’m likely to offer my advice right away. If I’m observing a respected colleague, I’m going to save it for […]
Should you spend more time studying a language, or studying linguistics? We talk about learning music theory as if it’s learning a language. It isn’t. Music literacy is language-like – it’s learning to read, and translate music through eyes and ears. Music theory is much more akin linguistics: the study […]
Here’s how I see my job as a private instructor. My goal with private students – whether in composition, voice, jazz piano, or anything else – is to serve as an extra brain. It’s not my job to criticize or diminish (though I may, when warranted). It’s not my job […]
How do you get out of work triage? I have been in triage since August, when I got back from my week visiting with Alice Parker. Too many projects and too little time leads to spending every work moment just trying to “staunch the bleeding” of the most urgent project […]
Historically, composers drew no distinction between composing and arranging. Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, virtually every composer since has transformed existing melodies for their own purposes. I don’t think of the last movement of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony as an arrangement, and neither do you. The simple truth is that good arranging is […]
My sons are out selling door-to-door right now. I have been an outspoken proponent of reducing sales-based fundraisers in favor of straight donation models; I stand by this approach: it takes pressure off of busy parents, and it lets kids focus on kid stuff, rather than being salespeople. But. But. […]