arrange • compose • conduct
Posts discussing creativity, both in and outside of music
Once you’ve done two, it’s easy to write a third. I’m back in my mischief, pre-writing posts and giving myself future vacations. Part of that is that I’m having an increasing number of weekends when I’m offline, so I need to be planning ahead. Part of it is I have […]
A new school year means revisiting Ken Robinson. As I begin teaching, I almost always spend a few minutes listening to Ken Robinson’s lectures and conversations about education. I haven’t ever found a more compelling, interesting, engaging person talking about education and education policy. As you begin your own school […]
Being at the mercy of your calendar can be a great gift – if you only choose to see it that way. As summer ends, teachers ramp up. I don’t know any choir teachers who aren’t at the mercy of their calendar from August to June. Concerts, rehearsals, trips, personal […]
Don’t believe me? Try it.
My son said, “You’re smarter than me.”
Is there such a thing as too many good things? As a general rule, I think no. I think that you should fill your life with as many good things as you can. My January might be filled to the brim with good things: concerts, conferences, dinners with friends, family […]
I find it helpful to envision a time horizon when I take on a project. Especially for gig- and project-based work, it’s valuable to know how long it’s going to take. An arranging project for a client? Depending on the time of year, I can anticipate first contact to finished […]
You’ll never start. I’ve had a lot of students over the years who knew they were going to accomplish something specific – as soon as they were ready. “I’m going to be a composer, once I’ve taken all the classes to have the skills.” “I’m going to write a book, […]
Aspiring chess masters have to learn established sequences for the beginning portion of chess games – traditionally called openings. (There are hundreds, with names like “The Sicilian Defense.”) Learning these approaches is essential to avoiding blunders in games, and moving on to the more nuanced and wide-open middle game. Creative […]
What are you trying to get better at? What are the stakes you’ll have when you’re good and how can you lower those stakes now? I got good at writing by lowering the stakes. If I had sat down at my computer and said, “I’m going to write an essay […]