arrange • compose • conduct
Posts discussing creativity, both in and outside of music
It’s poetry time. Let the prose wait for a week. A celebrate quote from former New York governor Mario Cuomo states, “You campaign in poetry. You govern in prose.” I don’t know about the work of politics, but I do think that prose and poetry do have seasons. The week […]
Alice Parker is one of the wisest, most settled musicians I’ve ever spent time with. She knows what works for her, knows what her opinions are, and knows how to express what she hears in her mind. That’s what has made it all the more inspiring, in my time with […]
There are three reasons you think a subject matter is boring. You’re not in the right headspace to absorb it. Tired, stressed, distracted. It isn’t in a realm of knowledge/insight that is attractive to you. We all have subjects that interest us more, especially as time goes on and we […]
Don’t be afraid to make a deal with yourself. I have days in my creative work where my entire self – body/mind/soul – is screaming at me to just get up and walk away from the work. “Take a break!” “Check Facebook!” “Go make a cup of tea!” It’s so […]
Once upon a time, it was a fun piece of trivia to reveal that the jazz singer Mel Tormé was also a songwriter. “Did you know that ‘The Christmas Song’ was written by Mel Tormé?” These days, I can’t say that. The name Mel Tormé will elicit only blank stares […]
How you get it done doesn’t matter. You can organize your rehearsal plan with a spreadsheet, a notes app, a pen and paper. You can mark your score with eighteen colored pencils, with highlighters, or a stylus and ForScore. You can arrange or compose at a piano, a DAW, or […]
Like you, I have the unfortunate tendency to get into my own head. I’m thinking about the things on my seemingly endless to-do list; I’m thinking about goals, dreams, plans, frustrations, disappointments, fears. I’m thinking. For me, at least, the cure is to be making something. When I’m making something, […]
Do you enjoy being a part of scrappy organizations? I teach in music departments – often the scrappiest part of a school. Fighting for every dollar, getting creative to solve problems. I love vocal jazz – is one of the scrappiest contingents in the choral world – working to convince […]
Don’t sit and wait for your past inspiration to return. It very well might not. Go out and find it. You can’t find your passion, your creativity, or your drive by waiting for it to come back. No, if you’re feeling blocked, I think the thing to do is go […]
It’s short. The most consistent block I find in my creative work is my self-judgement. I have a hard time objectively assessing the work I create, because all I can see and hear are the flaws. But I come with good news. The half-life of that self-judgement is so, so […]