jedscott

If you are having trouble finding inspiration, consider this. As an educator, your job is to breathe out knowledge, ideas, and encouragement to your students. Inspiration is literally breathing in. Breathing out requires equal breathing in, and if you are feeling uninspired, it’s because you need to breathe in. If […]

Some educators say, “The right music is the music that I think will best educate you.” These educators might program the “chestnuts” – the same literature they’ve programmed their whole careers and that they sang in their own student days. Some educators say, “The right music is the music that […]

Continuing with yesterday’s thoughts about the ensemble’s voice, I want to draw attention to two competing demands for an ensemble – two boxes that need to be simultaneously delivered upon. An ensemble must be precise. They must accurately and uniformly perform the notes and rhythms as written or taught. An […]

When I hear a great ensemble perform, I can often hear individual voices, but I can hear an additional voice that those individuals create together. It is as clear as hearing a solo singer a cappella. The ensemble has a voice. When I hear a good ensemble, I hear a […]

For most music you’re ever going to compose, a good melody is essential. But for most musicians I know, the construction of a good melody is utterly overlooked. The standard 4-semester theory sequence tends to overlook melody in favor of harmony. Counterpoint classes tend to focus on the rules of […]

Recently I’ve seen a psychological finding in several different contexts, stating that roughly 30% of humans have an authoritarian streak – meaning that: 1) a high degree of submission to the established, legitimate authorities in their society; 2) high levels of aggression in the name of their authorities; and 3) a […]

When I think about the reasons for spending rehearsal time on concert attire, I always think to Steve Zegree’s regular aphorism that “70% of the audience listen with their eyes.” (The number might fluctuate, but there is truth in this.) I think that well-chosen attire can, if nothing else, convince […]

If it’s not in tune, it doesn’t matter how emotionally connected it is. but also… If it’s not emotionally connected, it doesn’t matter how in tune it is. We in the choral education world are really good at making sure the first message is delivered. Not so good at the […]

I like to encourage my writing students to leave our lessons with a plan. What are you going to write this week? What is it going to sound like? I encourage specificity, and as much details as they can give. They might leave with a list that says homophonic slow […]

One of the most interesting traits in musical compositions is malleability. It’s anathema, perhaps, to Performance Practice-minded interpreters, but music is malleable–it can be reinterpreted to different sensibilities. But realize this: malleability is not a constant. Some songs are more malleable than others. For example, consider a song like “Autumn […]