arrange • compose • conduct
Posts discussing education, both in and outside of music
At a Scout campout earlier this year, a fellow parent pointed out that, “The boys never seem to realize that if they put in even a tiny bit of prep work, their meals would be so much better.” It’s really true – they tend to choose for meals the foods […]
Do you know the scene in Despicable Me 2 when the hero, Gru, follows his nemesis, El Macho to his secret lair? El Macho decodes the door by dancing across plates that play out “La Cucaracha,” a la the classic game Simon. When Gru follows, not knowing the code, he […]
“Why is this important to know?” is a question I almost never remember asking in high school. If it was something that could be know, I wanted to know it – that was enough why for me! Even then, there were a lot of people wiser than me asking why […]
I think the key to succeeding in math classes was to do enough problems to see the patterns. Then, when confronted with a new problem, you can say, “I’ve solved a problem like that.” And while the path might be different, it isn’t that different. There’s an element of that […]
The key to sight reading might be to increase the number of chances to try and radically decrease the chances of a student feeling like a failure. I stood next to my son today during a funeral service, and when the second verse came around, I remembered how I learned […]
There are three kind of repertoire: Standards. These are the pieces you’ve conducted enough times that you can correct the mistakes before they’re made. Pieces You Know Well. Maybe you’ve conducted it before, maybe you studied it in depth in a choral lit class or by listening to that one […]
This school year is easier and harder than last year. Everyone I talk to seems to agree. It’s easier because we’re closer to normal interaction; there are concerts, regular rehearsals, and more of the normal events we associate with the school year. It’s easier because we can connect as humans […]
I used to get frustrated as the conductor of a tenor-bass a cappella ensemble, because of the easy fandom they received. They could give a good performance and get screams from their peers, even when an outstanding performance by another choir on the same concert didn’t receive the same level […]
My downtime app of choice, lately, is a corner of the Lichess app devoted to chess puzzles. They take a minute or so to solve a puzzle, and it gives a good mini-brain break from concentration-intense projects. It also helps me keep up with my kids, who keep proving themselves […]
“The ego falls away. Time flies. Every action, movement, and thought follows inevitably from the previous one, like playing jazz. Your whole being is involved, and you’re using your skills to the utmost.” – Mihály Csíkszentmihályi, describing Flow in Wired Magazine I think most children naturally experience flow state when […]