arrange • compose • conduct
Two recently resurfaced arguments that in my brain are long-settled. “You can’t sing straight-tone healthfully.” I can’t believe vocal educators are still saying that, when the evidence is clear that that is simply not the case. Any style of singing can be healthy. Any style of singing can be unhealthy. […]
I’ve been busy this week, among other things, prepping three of my old scores for publication. These are arrangements from various dates in the past – the oldest more than 15 years old. I am certainly no longer emotionally tied to these old scores, which allows me to really assess […]
If when I fail, it won’t be for lack of trying. I will fail because I made a bad decision. I will fail because we didn’t have the right resources, or the right skills, or enough time. I will fail because I choose to quit, having gotten into a project […]
I stopped rehearsal last week to ask an important question. “I just said to make that AH vowel taller. But was I talking to everyone?” No, probably not. So I followed up with, “Who here has taller than average vowels in the group?” About a third of the group raised […]
A big part of singing close harmony is personal time spent learning your parts. “Sing it like it’s a solo” my teachers would say. But a big part, and one I didn’t hear as often as a student, is that you have to make friends with the dissonance. Dissonance can […]
I had the opportunity to help my son with a small project way outside my areas of expertise. (It was the design and manufacture of a custom patch). I looked at a lot of websites that promised a lot, but ended up reaching out to a recommended local company who […]
Many experts have written in the last few years about the effectiveness of triggers to forming habits. I find it just as important to have anchors to my day – the things that I always do that help me see my day and get my work done in response to […]
Hiring a pro band for our annual Cabaret is certainly not the cheapest way to put on the show. Particularly with the availability of good quality karaoke tracks as well as skillful student musicians, it might seem hard to justify. It never is for me. For a lot of reasons. […]
There’s something magical about the first snow, isn’t there? It uplifts, even as it chills you. That same snow, falling in March, wouldn’t have the same effect. We want to maintain our joy in the things that we do, but it’s simply not possible, always, when we’ve been doing the […]
We talked in rehearsal today about the skill of initiative, in the context of working our way through John Wooden’s Pyramid of Success. One of my students succinctly defined it as, “Doing things without being told to do them.” (He also said his mom is often telling him to find […]