arrange • compose • conduct
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 […]
If I drip a little honey on the side of the bottle as I’m making a cup of tea, I’m liable to wipe it with my finger and taste it. It makes the first half of the teacup taste bitter. Of course, the tea doesn’t get any more bitter, but […]
I’d rather have no chocolate than bad chocolate. (For me, that means no Hershey’s bars, but you can draw your own line! Throughout this piece, I’m using bad as a shorthand meaning “not for me.”) I’d rather watch no television than bad television. I’d rather listen to no music than […]
“Some of our transformative leaders in history have been introverts. I’ll give you some examples. Eleanor Roosevelt, Rosa Parks, Gandhi — all these people described themselves as quiet and soft-spoken and even shy. And they all took the spotlight, even though every bone in their bodies was telling them not […]
Keep going. That’s my 2020 resolution. Keep learning, of course. Keep dreaming, definitely. Keep connecting, keep teaching, keep growing, keep questioning, keep improving. But most of all: keep going.
Thanksgiving comes with it a chance to celebrate gratitude–a sentiment we can hold all year long, but too often don’t, or at least don’t acknowledge. So I’m sitting, thinking about the things I’m grateful for as a musician and a person. The music I get to make, certainly, but more […]