jedscott

One of my weekly habits is to solve the Matt Gaffney Weekly Crossword Contest. Gaffney’s crossword is solved like a normal puzzle, but always a contains a hidden meta-puzzle, with a single often cryptic clue. You must solve the meta to enter the contest. [Poke around his website to see […]

Consider the expression: “Indecision made the decision for me.” How often do you let indecision make the decision for you? In other words, do you ever wait so long to make the decision that it is made for you? We all have moments when we procrastinate to the point where […]

I have a deep love of the Great American Songbook – the songs that form the core of the jazz repertoire (as well as the songs we reach for at weddings, in romantic comedy movies, and when pop singers want to make a “retro” album). With that in mind, I’m […]

The scariest moment is always just before you start. After that, things can only get better. – Stephen King, On Writing Stephen King wrote this in his book about writing, but it really applies to virtually everything you want to do. Knowing this, deeply and completely, is one of the best […]

Yesterday I wrote about Penn Jillette’s definition of success as “show up on time and do what you say you’re going to do.” Underneath Penn’s statement is a fact that’s important to recognize: if you can’t meet those two halves of success, there are plenty more who can. That’s true […]

“Successful is, simply, show up on time [and] do what you say you’re going to do. That’s all success is–everything else in success is bulls**t.” – Penn Jillette, in conversation with Brian Koppelman It’s as simple as that: show up and deliver what you’ve promised. This is from one of […]

Don’t worry if you haven’t got powerhouse voices in your incoming groups. Worry about finding powerhouse attitudes. If your goals for your choir include: Create a positive creative environment Continue to grow throughout the school year Make egoless music Draw more students into your choral program Have singers leave excited […]

Nothing brightens a room like a fresh coat of paint. Dings and smudges disappear, old cracks and nail holes can be covered and smoothed. A new color breathes new life into a familiar space. What about bringing a fresh coat of paint to your rehearsal? A few new strategies, a […]

In The Importance of Being Earnest, Algernon’s second line is, “I don’t play accurately—any one can play accurately—but I play with wonderful expression.  As far as the piano is concerned, sentiment is my forte.  I keep science for Life.” Oscar Wilde wrote the line for laughs – who, after all, wants to […]

“To be natural is such a very difficult pose to keep up.” – Oscar Wilde, in Importance of Being Earnest Oscar Wilde was never exactly natural – the work of writing a brilliant play like Importance that also includes dozens of witty one-liners must have been tremendous. No one speaks as witty as […]