arrange • compose • conduct
I don’t want to write. I don’t want to practice. I don’t want to do the dishes, make bread, walk the dog. I want to have done them. I want to live in the future in which I’ve done those things. Because I like the outcomes brought about by doing […]
My son loves Scouting – he’s passionate and committed. But he also knows that his forward motion slows down every few months. It’s a natural cycle of the type we all go through in any activity. When he noticed that he always gets reenergized after participating in certain optional events […]
I often encourage the Aces to adopt a 5×5 practice regimen outside of rehearsal. (5 minutes/day, 5 days/week). The problem is that often, the group members end up carrying tremendous individual guilt around failure to meet that modest goal. The guilt can lead to avoidance, creating a vicious cycle of […]
I am much more interested in New Year’s Reflections than Resolutions. It’s universally accepted that those resolutions don’t usually stick, and even if they do, it’s hard to wait a whole year to assess the outcome of a resolution. A month is a much more realistic time for a resolution. […]
When I was teaching my kids to swim, I had a mantra that I repeated and asked them to repeat. “You’re Always Safe With Dad.” If they were going to take the risks they needed to take to learn to swim, they needed to know that their safety was utterly […]
I am writing 2-4 posts a day right now. All in preparation for a month when I don’t have to write and post anything new. It’s not easy, writing up to 400% of my usual daily quota; it takes effort and it takes persistence. But it is a gift I’m […]
Many of the activities that bring me the most joy in life are all the things that require – or compel! – total focus from me. Writing music. Writing words. Puzzles. Making music with an ensemble. Ensemble music is the trickiest, because it relies on the whole ensemble committing to […]
Some say it as, “Early is on time; on time is late.” My family calls it “Scott Time.” It’s the habit of arriving early so you’re ready when an activity starts, instead of hustling to be on time. I prefer the way I heard it, repeatedly, throughout my college career […]
Don’t outsource your rhythm: own it. Who might you outsource your rhythm to? A drummer. A fellow ensemble member. A conductor. The only outsourcing that’s worthwhile is a metronome in the practice room. And even then, you should still be engaging actively with the rhythm, so that when the metronome […]
We get a lot better a lot faster if we aren’t so caught up in our momentary expectations. Have high expectations for yourself. Stop having high expectations for yourself in this moment. My daughter was trying to trace perfect circles around a biscuit cutter, and kept running into herself, causing […]