jedscott

Three times this week, I’ve had people reach out to me and say, “you wrote just what I needed to hear today.” As an introvert, it takes courage every day to click publish and send my words into the world. One reason I do it is because occasionally I say the right […]

I found myself saying this to my son last night, as he was plotting how to get a better handle on being proactive with his responsibilities. He wants to be very on top of things, but he doesn’t have the skills yet. You can have an inclination for being organized, but in the […]

Most kitchens of good cooks have piles of great cooking tools: whisks of various sizes, wooden spoons and spatulas, ladles, slotted spoons, and more. A dozen or more knives of various sizes and designs. Most kitchens of great cooks have a few well-chosen tools that serve every purpose the cook intends. Three […]

I have several current students I’ve been encouraging to share their art with the world. Start a Youtube channel, I say. Form a band, put on a play, make short films, start a poetry blog. So far, none has. What are you waiting for? Whose permission do you need to start? Do you […]

I re-shared my post “Discovery Day” yesterday, about how to make a Snow Day productive and fun. Yesterday for me, like many snow days, was about extra writing time. And I finished the day feeling light and free. Enervated, rejuvenated. I wrote a tremendous amount for me: about 2/3 of a choral […]

The last year of a president’s term in office, the last few years before a CEO or superintendent retires or moves on, she is often said to be “focusing on her legacy.” You’ll hear it a lot in 2016, describing virtually every action President Obama makes. You don’t build a legacy […]

I like to save recordings for as late in the year as I can – an ensemble matures as the year goes on, so why record earlier than you have to? The exception is Christmas music. I’ve been slowly assembling a Christmas album for the last five years with my choir; […]

I’ve been trying to sort out why I am not outraged about the Old Navy shirt designs that caused so much uproar last week. So much that Old Navy removed them from the store. I understand why people are feeling outrage; these are the reasons I can’t muster any. It’s poorly designed – I’m […]

I’ve been making homemade pizza for the better part of a decade. It’s gotten consistently better over the years as I’ve honed recipes and learned tricks. Every year or so, I get to a plateau in my pizza where it’s pretty consistent from one week to the next. But every time I […]

I think it’s too easy in a choral rehearsal to skip talk about how the music works. We want to train smart musicians, but in the moment, we’re solving problems to improve the piece we’re working on. Most of us are far more likely to reach for vocal technique to solve the problem […]