arrange • compose • conduct
Posts discussing education, both in and outside of music
We planted a couple dozen vegetable plants today – tomato, squash, cucumber, herbs, kale, chard, lettuce. Planting vegetable plants is, in the grand scheme, a necessary act – for human survival. But in the small scheme, for instance in my backyard, planting vegetables is an aspirational act. When I plant […]
Feedback loops are an incredibly vital part of teaching. Great teachers are right now discovering just how much they rely on tight feedback loops to inform their teaching and connect with students. It’s the ten questions you can answer in five minutes – and see in their eyes when they […]
“I don’t know how to do this, but I’m willing to try and learn.” That is the exact attitude that we should desire from our students – the sign of curiosity, engagement, and a desire to grow and improve. It seems to me to be the message that all teachers […]
We didn’t ask for this. We didn’t ask to reinvent our curricula over a weekend. We didn’t ask take decades of in-person teaching experience and transition to all online teaching without proper training. We didn’t ask to see and hear our choirs one-at-a-time in Zoom windows. But we’re doing the […]
My kids have been watching YouTube clips of close-up magicians, particularly from America’s Got Talent and Penn and Teller’s Fool us. So YouTube suggested yesterday I watch clip of magic revealed – a freeze-frame walk through of a close-up magician. Does it bring you less joy knowing how the magic […]
Don’t pursue your dream…is something I’d never say. I’ve seen enough success–and failure–stories to know that I am not ably to reliably predict what someone’s career trajectory will look like. Actually, I’ve seen enough to know that I don’t think anyone can. Actually, I think the “don’t pursue your dream,” […]
Greek thinkers separated love into multiple varieties, rather than the single overarching word we have in English. Much has been written about these different types of love. The choir can be a great place to explore the love that the Greeks called philia, which is often translated in English as […]
Early into his time with the 2020 Michigan All-State Jazz Honors Choir, Duane Davis introduced one of the themes of his leadership and worldview, and he kept returning to it throughout his time with the singers. Yesness. “Have a pocketful of yesness,” he would say. “Let your face say ‘yes.’” […]
The right book can teach you what you need to know. Learn by reading. The right teacher can lead you to understanding. Learn by listening. If you repeatedly try, in public, you can master a skill. Learn by doing. When you watch a master work, you can see the solution. […]
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 […]