arrange • compose • conduct
Posts discussing education, both in and outside of music
Composition lessons are generally full of careful feedback – I try to mix positive and constructive responses, while always being mindful that I, the teacher, shouldn’t force my own musical vision onto the student. But sometimes the best feedback to give is simply, “More bars.” Write more. Write more. Write […]
The longer I teach, the more I see ghosts. I see teenagers in my rehearsals who are now in their thirties, raising kids and in established careers. I rehearse pieces and can hear other groups from other years with their own interpretations. I don’t talk about these shades of the […]
I am preternaturally comfortable with silence as a teacher. But remote teaching is challenging me. I like almost nothing better than the 10-12 seconds of absolute silence that it sometimes requires for students to move past the fight-or-flight reaction to a question, think about it, and come to an answer. […]
At a certain point, we all tend to become accustomed to even the most radical changes in our life. The novelty wears off and we have “adjusted.” Usually. I don’t know about you, but in my experience of 2020, the novelty doesn’t wear off. Perhaps it’s because the novelty of […]
The evenings for the past few weeks in my house have been filled with our first read-aloud of The Hobbit. Our oldest had read it last year as a free choice book in English class, but for the other two kids it’s the first exposure to Middle Earth. The interesting […]
A teacher’s motto should be, “Please surpass me.” Write better than me. Sing and perform better than me. Teach better than me. Surpass me in all ways. My 11-year-old just came back to chess after a few months off. (He was enjoying daily Yahtzee matches in the meantime.) He is […]
I think the reason it took me so long to try out the new software was because I was afraid. I’ve been a Finale user for 25+ years – enough to learn shortcuts for virtually everything I want to do, and solid workarounds for everything it doesn’t do well. I’ve […]
There are skills I’ve built already as a teacher during the pandemic. There are skills I hope I never have to use again. And there are skills and tools I’ve tried and said, “I’ll keep using this.” I’ll keep using remote one-on-one mini-lessons. These have been a great way to […]
I was reminded today of a yearly event that the Rockford Aces used to participate in. The local Education Foundation (nonprofit) would conduct an annual phone-a-thon fundraiser, with calls going out for six nights over two weeks. Volunteer supporters would be given a script, a stack of contact cards, and […]
I try to address pertinent areas of music theory musical literacy throughout my teaching – whether private, academic, or ensemble. Here’s why. Mastering musical literacy makes everything else you’re doing work more efficiently. It’s the grease on the axle that keeps you moving swiftly. The point of musical literacy is […]