arrange • compose • conduct
Posts discussing creativity, both in and outside of music
When you are making projects – recordings, arrangements, compositions, performances – there is a time when the work is complete but no one else has it yet. It’s an exquisite moment to be in sole possessions of your new work of art, particularly if you are feeling confident in its […]
The hardest part of the creative process, oftentimes, can be finding a way in. Sometimes a creative project can feel totally locked up – windowless and doorless. You have to take the time to look closely, as often as it takes, to find an entry point into the project. It […]
“The Beatles made better recordings than you’ll ever make on worse equipment than you’ll ever use.” John Campos My recording teacher at Western Michigan University had a way with words – he surely put things in perspective in this oft-repeated line. It’s true – just as it’s true that Mozart […]
As my composition students work hard to shape strong melodies, I try to remind them to have faith in the next melody. It takes pressure off of my current project to know that there will always be another melody. I still try to craft the piece I am working on […]
If you listen to Bobby McFerrin’s collected recordings in chronological order, you will find an artist who reinvented his musical approach with each album. Here are his albums just from the 1990’s: 1990: Medicine Music. a cappella group vocals with original songs, in collaboration with his Voicestra. 1992: Play. Live […]
My son made custom Valentines for his classmates – assigning them to a Greek God and sketching a symbol for each. I sat and helped him with inking the drawings – tracing his sketches and then erasing the original pencil. It’s so satisfying to remove all of those rough sketch […]
I’m seeing Bobby McFerrin tonight in concert for the sixth time, and that prompted me to do a quick retrospective on the roughly quarter century of my hearing him perform. Each one was unique and has remained with me, as the best live performances do. April, 1996 My first time […]
I’m pretty rotten at drawing hands. As a doodler, that’s not a huge deal. In fact, I’ve just started drawing my people with arms that just end abruptly at the wrist. Since I’m drawing mostly for my kids, no big deal. But it’s a great way to define the difference […]
Some singers never learn the joy of getting beyond the notes and rhythms. It’s obvious when they aren’t in a hurry to get past learning of the notes. If they knew the joy that awaited, they’d want to hurry up and get there! Alice Parker says that she can only […]
I’m a good proofreader – I fairly reliably can open a program and book and find the one error that the publication process missed. And yet, I am unreliable at catching typos or errors in my own writing – both words and music. I think it’s the old problem of […]