Polished & Casual
The best performances are an integrated combination of polished and casual.
Performing
Not Because We’re Ready
We don’t do the concert because we’re ready. We do it because it’s concert day.
“Keep The Classical”
Overheard recently: a traditional bel canto voice teacher offering critique to a crossover student singing a jazz standard.
Personal
Make it personal. The best educators make it personal. They tailor the instruction to the student. They adjust their lesson plans in the moment depending on what’s happening in the room. They teach from motivations of curiosity, passion, and love that they want to share with the individuals they’re teaching. […]
Overprepared
Overprepared is a myth. There is prepared and there is unprepared. Any preparation beyond the baseline of prepared simply moves you farther beyond the average level of preparation and into excellence. Come see my students tonight at 7pm (or if you’re not in West Michigan, watch online) as they show […]
On Not Inviting People To Your Thing
It can be hard to invite people to your thing. For a lot of different reasons. I start several months before the Aces Concert each year (it’s tomorrow, May 26 at 7pm – free admission!) letting my students know that the best way for them to get an audience to […]
Goals For A Performance
What are your goals for a performance? Goals? Obviously, the goal is to perform your music well! What else? Actually, there are a lot of different and overlapping goals you can have as a performer; some are audience-facing and some are performer-facing. Audience-Facing Performer-Facing All of these and many more […]
Three Quick Tips
How do you help students take a Cabaret/Lounge-style solo to the next level? I watched a student rehearse with a big band yesterday, and offered these three tips. I share them because I find them to be near-universal in applicability.
You Can’t Always Be On Tour
The magic of tour! It’s experiencing new cultures. It’s performing in new venues. It’s moving at breakneck speed, because you know it’ll be over soon. It’s getting away from the routine. (I didn’t wash a single dish in Spain.) But you can’t always be on tour. And as much as […]
How To Drive The Point Home
Some of the best teaching I’ve ever done has been in bringing my students to a concert. When students hear high-level versions of what they’re working on, so many lessons get driven home. A concept I’ve been working on for months becomes instantly understandable because they’ve heard it done right. […]