jedscott

Whatever your beliefs, today is a great day for family, friends, and music. Take five minutes today for the soul-magnifiying setting of Greensleeves by Ralph Vaughan Williams. Vaughan Williams has taken the harmonic divergence of the Medieval tune and magnified it with his own clear sensibility. To me, it’s a setting of […]

“It is better to give than receive” – so goes a proverb popular this time of year. And I really believe it’s true. It’s been a thrill this Christmas season to watch my sons really come alive with the joy of finding a gift for someone they love. Prioritizing others above ourselves should be […]

Non-intentional Listening (You are not in control of what comes next) Muzak/Store Playlist Radio Pandora Unlabeled mixtape Intentional Listening (You are in control of you will hear next) Repeat Shuffle Play-through (album or playlist listening) Active Listening (You are actively engaging with the music being played) Asking questions as you […]

There are two different prerequisites to make your creative endeavors successful. A planned outlet for your creativity. A recital, a commission, a publishing deadline. Faith in your ability to create. You need both, and in a careful balance. Lean too heavily towards #2 and you will procrastinate and create in a flurry of last-minute panic. Lean […]

Note: this is the twelfth of a series of posts investigating the leadership style of John Wooden and its applicability to choral music education. John Wooden’s final block in the third tier of his Pyramid of Success is TEAM SPIRIT. Wooden says, “This block of the Pyramid addresses a most important characteristic: selflessness which is the opposite of […]

One of the blessings of Christmas caroling is that singers are liberated from the page. For people who have grown up with this music, all that is needed is a lyric sheet, if that. The rest is understood by tradition and tacit agreement. It’s one of the things we should seek in all our music-making. Liberate the […]

There doesn’t need to be an objective or obstacle for team building to occur. Sometimes all you need is a celebration. Christmas is a busy time of parties for all sorts of groups: work, church, social, family. A few hours in the same room, not working on “work” can strengthen the bonds […]

I recently read a well-argued and reasoned editorial advising that choirs retire from their Winter Concerts the Hallelujah chorus from Handel’s Messiah. The author made excellent points, but I disagree with his conclusion. I’d like to address some of the assertions and add my own thoughts. Familiarity is not a bad thing: the fact […]

People want to sing, they’re just waiting for someone to start. That is my experience of the last few weeks of turning off my internal singing censor. Whether at the grocery store (finding other people also singing along with the background music), walking through downtown (people crossed the street to join our family singing […]