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How do you respond when the Fraud Police come calling? “The Fraud Police are the imaginary, terrifying force of ‘real’ grown-ups who you believe – at some subconscious level – are going to come knocking on your door in the middle of the night, saying: We’ve been watching you, and […]

My writing is often focused on improvement. Strategies, goals, reasoning. How to get better, and how to keep getting better. It’s just as important, and maybe to often overlooked in our society, to be happy in stillness. Be happy where you are right now. Even as there are too many people stuck in […]

Looking ahead, success can seem like a straight shot. Insert Tab A into Slot B/preheat the oven to 350º/don’t forget to floss…and you’ll be there in no time! Success isn’t like that. You can start out next to an equally talented friend, and they might reach pinnacles years before you. They’ll […]

Daniel Levitin’s The World in Six Songs names love as one of the six archetypal song subjects (along with friendship, joy, comfort, religion, knowledge). Certainly that’s my experience – particularly in pop, jazz, and other contemporary styles, love is the most consistently present theme in the music I program. Here is a favorite; A Case […]

Overheard (read) in a discussion prompted by the question  “Snapshot, beginning of 2017: what is the current state of contemporary a cappella?”: “High school a cappella is inspiring kids to sing. Something traditional choral music has struggled to do for decades.” Traditional choral music has not struggled for decades to […]

The Grammy Awards can be a great way to discover some great new music. The shortlists in many categories can be a good way to suss out music you might not have heard about. But we have to take the whole thing with a grain of salt. First, the categories are […]

My dog’s been struggling with back leg neuropathy – it’s very hard for him to get himself standing. This morning, cheering him on rather than helping him up, I was reminded about the delicate balance of teaching: when to give a boost and when to let a student try. My dog maintains […]

Jazz singing is still, above all, an oral tradition. This is despite excellent educational books and online materials published over the last quarter-century. With many of my voice students, we tackle a few standards in the course of a school year – My Funny Valentine, All of Me, Autumn Leaves. […]

I know someone who’s not about birthdays. I know because I once said “Happy Birthday” first thing in the morning and her response was…not pleasant. I know other people who aren’t about birthdays because they don’t want to get older. That isn’t her. This person isn’t about birthdays, I think, because she only likes […]

Ten minutes of music-making with your ensemble. Ten minutes of committed, connected, honest singing. Ten minutes of sharing with a receptive audience. It can lift you for days! How lucky we are to have music and to make music.