jedscott

People suddenly remember how much they love choirs in December. So you see choirs rushing around to run outs, parties, tree lightings, and more. Even the professionals know this – 3 of the last 8 albums from The King’s Singers are Christmas albums, and while Chanticleer hasn’t released a Christmas album since […]

Note: this is the eleventh of a series of posts investigating the leadership style of John Wooden and its applicability to choral music education. John Wooden’s central block in the third tier of his Pyramid of Success is SKILL. Wooden says, “At the very center of the Pyramid of Success is Skill. You have to know your stuff and […]

Deprofessionalize your Christmas listening. I know too many music-lovers who outsource their Christmas music experience to the professionals, and end up with Christmas listening filled with Hippopotami, Wham!, and, overwhelmingly often, Mariah Carey. Don’t get me wrong – if this is your taste, I won’t hold it against you. But […]

I love collage format – the holding of applause until the end of the concert – in certain situations. For example, the Holiday Collage Concert my high school music department presents every year. Collage format allowed for substantially more music in our 75 minutes concert by transitioning seamlessly from piece to piece, […]

There is a popular quote from Beethoven that goes, “To play a wrong note is insignificant; to play without passion is inexcusable.” I certainly agree that passion must be an an integral part of great music-making. However, I think there’s something even more important. Here’s what I would say: To play […]

Every day is easier than three times a week. Than once a week. If you’re forming or maintaining a habit, it’s so helpful to adopt the mindset that you do it every day. I find it really difficult to maintain habits that are inconsistent–MWF habits or every-other-day habits. But if I […]

I’ve written before about the Radio Show On Being with Krista Tippett, which is far and away my favorite audio source for inspiration. It’s a remarkable show. In September I made a list of my favorite episodes, but I have a feeling that there’s going to be a new favorite released today. […]

Note: this is the tenth of a series of posts investigating the leadership style of John Wooden and its applicability to choral music education. John Wooden’s first block in the third tier of his Pyramid of Success is CONDITION. Wooden says, “Ability may get you to the top but character keeps you there – mental, moral, and physical.” He explains […]

I believe that the silver bullet in teaching is to instill intrinsic motivation. Once a person is motivated from their very core to learn, there is nothing that will stop them from a lifetime of learning. But instilling intrinsic motivation turns out to be harder than it sounds. Every time you try to […]