arrange • compose • conduct
Musical retention and forward progress can be a challenge with an intermittent rehearsal schedule. Short daily personal practice can make the difference between continued growth and stagnation or repetition. Weekly rehearsal with no practice in between is like going up the down escalator. You can get it done, but the […]
Jazz singing is an oral tradition. You need to listen to multiple recordings as you begin to prepare a song, for one big reason. It’s this: the interpretation of the song has evolved away from the original sheet music and into something living. Only by listening to multiple recordings can […]
Small daily habits are better than big habits that happen less frequently. Dr. Steve Zegree always used the idea of “five minutes a day” as the benchmark for practicing a new skill. And it’s really true – a half mile run every day for a month is easy to repeat […]
We sometimes think that all the learning happens during those four or six years of college/grad school. The truth is, lots more learning happens afterwards, if we are open to it. In other words: what used to be hard doesn’t stay hard. I was reflecting on this today as I […]
Tonight I heard the newly approved vaccine for COVID-19 described as a “medical miracle.” It’s not a miracle; it’s the result of millions of dollars in research, tens of thousands of minds working together and pursuing the results of years of study and discovery. It came mind-bogglingly fast, (the previous […]
A project finished without learning one new thing is a wasted project. I’ve been doing a lot of recording studio work this year. That was unexpected. With each project, I’ve been honing skills I developed in my college and grad school years, and then more or less rested on since. […]
I finished a small household plumbing project today, one that a plumber could have dispensed with in ten minutes. It took me the better part of the morning and three trips to the hardware store. The big cause of that extra time is that I don’t do plumbing projects regularly. […]
There are two phases of skill growth. One requires solo work, the other requires help. There is a phase when you are developing a skill when doing it every day will lead to inevitable improvement. If you do sit-ups every day, you will get better. If you sing every day, […]
I last missed a daily post her on this day in 2014. Tomorrow begins year seven of my daily streak. (Wolfram Alpha tells me that’s 2,192 days) But it’s November 3 I remember. I remember where I was in 2014, why I missed posting. I commemorate it and move forward. […]
I should have listened more vigilantly to those recordings from my voice lessons. Not because they would have helped make me a better singer – though surely they would have. No, I should have listened because I would have put in more hours towards egoless singing. The self-protective ego can […]