jedscott

A conference offers three major benefits to prioritize. Learning. New ideas, strategies, music. Inspiration. Motivation to improve, renew, or reinvent yourself. Connection. With friends old and new. Walk into a conference knowing those three benefits, and prioritize them. These priorities can change over the course of your career (with a […]

The sooner you recognize that there’s a second, secret, school you can enroll in, the better. Some never realize it, or discover it only after college is over. Others perceive it in elementary school, and are able to enroll in Secret School and get all the advantages of concurrent enrollment. […]

That blissful July hour isn’t what you think it is. Here’s what that July hour means. That yoga class? It’s actually an hour spent after school consoling a student struggling with anxiety. That walk in the woods? It’s actually an extra long weekend at Solo & Ensemble. That soft serve […]

Welcome to Week 1 of The Definitive Version, a new weekly feature of my website. You can read more about the project here. Song: Misty Composer: Errol Garner Lyricist: Johnny Burke Form: AABA, 32-bar Standard Key: E-flat major Composed by Errol Garner in 1954 and first recorded by him in 1955, Misty is a super-standard: […]

For each piece your choir sings, you, the conductor, need to determine how the choir will engage with you and your audience. You have the following options: Singers remain focused solely on you throughout the piece. Singers remain primarily focused on you, but are also able to engage at some […]

First rehearsal is around the corner for many choral ensembles. One of the most important things you can do in that rehearsal is establish pace. The pace of your rehearsal is primarily determined by the amount of time it takes to go from one musical moment to the next. Part of […]

Sometimes having something to say precedes saying it. Often, though, having a place reserved to say something helps you find something to say. Put another way: it’s easier to know what you think when you have to say it out loud. Having to say something helps you have something to […]

One of the most vital questions in your arsenal should be, “How do you do this?” Ask it whenever you see a fellow music educator do an event/fundraiser/activity that you don’t do. Ask it when it’s one that you do do! You find out how others do it, what they do […]

Making a choice between your mental health and your GPA should be a no-brainer. Students should structure their learning to maintain their mental health, understanding that they will excel when they are mentally stable and strong. Students must not neglect the things that fill your soul and keep you well, […]

Perhaps you are seeking quietude – a few moments of silence. Let The Manhattan Transfer’s early-90’s song The Quietude help you describe what you seek. They created it before social media, 24-hour news cycles, or computers in pockets; and yet it persists as a description of the busyness of the world […]