jedscott

When you start to get good at juggling three balls, often you think the next move is to add another ball. That’s not the next move. Going from three balls to four requires a completely different set of moves – it’s not addition, it’s reinvention. When you get good at juggling, rather than […]

The wonderful YouTube science creator Mark Rober said the following during his cool video about winning the board game “Guess Who.” “Teachers don’t make a difference. Awesome teachers make a difference.” I think he’s right. And you’ll have to watch the video to get the context, because it’s sweet, and because his quote sounds […]

You will not love every piece of music we do together. Every piece will offer something to you. You will not identify with the point of view of every composer. That’s not the point. Making music from many points of view is a great way to widen your worldview. With every piece […]

Find the kind of work where you can’t wait for Monday. If you’re dreading Monday, maybe it’s time to change how you do your work.

Don’t start because it’s perfect, start because it’s time. You will always discover things as you go, always change things for the next time. But waiting till it’s perfect is really an excuse to never do it. Start. Learn. Fix. Repeat. Not because it’s perfect. Because it’s time. I’m celebrating today the […]

Every creative person I know balances their creation – their true work – with many other obligations. Family, home care, email, promotion, business work, teaching, traveling, and on and on. All of it will be more bearable if you create first. First do your true work, and then do everything […]

Just a reminder that when you’re in the middle of a storm, it can feel permanent. It can literally feel like it will never stop raining. It will stop. All you have to do is weather it until then. Don’t do anything rash mid-storm: it’s not an accurate impression of your […]

You’re only going succeed in music if you acquire massive skills. It’s too competitive, too challenging, there are too many other good people out there. Skill building is – and should be – the primary motivator of serious music study. But you’re also only going to succeed in music if you continue […]

Rehearsing in a new space can be daunting. New spaces come with new acoustics, new visuals, new interpersonal dynamics. It can affect personal space, intonation, balance, blend, and so much more. You can lose a whole rehearsal to overcoming challenges that aren’t due to any person in the room, but due to a change […]

Creativity requires space. Space free of obligations, space free of distractions. Maybe that’s part of why childhood is such a fertile time for creative thinking. Children create with abandon, given the space and a few tools. (And without the tools, they improvise!) There are two factors in recent years that undermine this […]