arrange • compose • conduct
Tonight, I heard an ensemble demonstrate something I had been pretty sure was impossible.* Knowing it’s possible will change my musical outlook forever. That’s one of two reasons I program hard music by great ensembles with my groups. When an ensemble hears New York Voices or The Real Group or […]
Pacing in a studio session is one of the overlooked essentials of success. I’m obsessed with getting a new engineer up to speed on my strategies, preferences, and quirks before a session, and the reason is that those are the things that most affect pacing – the downtime between takes, […]
“For those who have been trained by it, no discipline seems pleasant at the time but painful.” These words, this tune, sing in my ears whenever I’m struggling to find the discipline to do the work I intend to do. “I’m tired.” “I don’t feel like it.” “I can do […]
How should musicians emulate physicians? First, do no harm. Those are the words attributed to Hippocrates, though they don’t appear in the Hippocratic Oath. And they’re a great takeaway for musicians. Do no harm – don’t alienate your music students or inhibit their love of music. Do no harm – […]
As we’ve gotten back into events that we haven’t done in a while, I find myself having to approach them differently. The event the Rockford Aces hosted last night, for example, ran since 2012. In 2019 it had to be canceled unexpectedly, so after seven years of running it, there […]
A big part of success is knowing when you won’t have time later. Self-honesty in planning ahead is essential to success. There were so many times as I was honing my craft when I thought I could fit more into a busy day than I could. Like, by a lot. […]
The small things are important. But they can be agonizing. Half Time 12/8 feel (quarter=90) Half Time, 12/8 feel (quarter=90) Half time (quarter=90) 12/8 feel quarter=90, 12/8 feel Half time, 12/8 feel 12/8 feel, quarter=90 These are just some of the metronome markings I considered for a particular spot in […]
Ensembles go through many phases with a piece. “That sounds cool.” (while listening to a recording on YouTube) “I don’t like this piece.” (while slogging through sight reading) “That part is fun to sing.” “The rest of it, I’m not so sure.” “This is too hard.” “I’m kind of getting […]
Spacing project completion is a hallmark of successful work. When I’m managing my work schedule well, projects overlap only as much as necessary. They have a staggered finish date, so that I’m not frantically completing too many projects at once. Sure, there are busier and quieter moments, but if I’m […]
Choose remarkable, not predictable. Every bowl of Cheerios I’ve ever eaten has tasted exactly the same. That’s a feature of grocery store food – predictable is better than remarkable. And we’ve come to expect that predictability in a larger and larger part of our lives. Actually, though, in other human […]