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Once you establish your expectations for your ensemble, how do you enforce them? There are lots of options: Punishment for failure Cheerleading positive behavior Regular testing for personal effort Clear communication of expectations in rehearsal Setting a consistent example Tirades Increasing individual buy-in Deadlines Encouraging in-ensemble leadership to show more […]

You must develop quality before speed. My son mentioned that one of his friends makes excellent snowballs. When prompted, he recognized, of course, that the friend developed this skill with practice. But more important, it’s how his friend must have practiced. Before he could get good at making snowballs quickly, […]

There are situational limits on the trajectory of the ensembles you conduct. A top-tier 4-year school’s top choir is going to make music of a different caliber than a y’all come 9th grade chorus. There are situational limits, but far more important are expectations. What you expect an ensemble to […]

I love daily streaks. I love them because they pile motivation on top of motivation to keep going. A 1-month streak is harder to let break than a 5-day streak, and a 6-month streak is much more motivation than that 1-month streak. I also think that the easiest streaks to […]

The article I recommend more than any other is also the article I reflect on more often than any I’ve ever read in The New Yorker. Late Bloomers, by Malcolm Gladwell, asserts that we make a mistake with this common assumption: Genius, in the popular conception, is inextricably tied up […]

A while back, I noticed something peculiar about my drive to the library. On the way there, I would stop at 6 stop signs and two lights. Returning home, I would hit the same two lights–and zero stop signs. Sometimes the direction you’re driving makes as big a difference as […]

RULE SEVEN: The only rule is work. If you work it will lead to something. It’s the people who do all of the work all of the time who eventually catch on to things. 10 Rules for Students, Teachers, and Life by Sister Corita Kent Read all ten rules. But […]

The second-best part of Halloween after the trick-or-treating is definitely the trades. My kids will spend a remarkable amount of time devising increasingly Baroque trades of candies to optimize their stash to their tastes. This always strikes me as ironic, since much of their candy ends up uneaten, even months […]

Memorization is a consistent challenge in ensembles, and I think that a big part of it is an overarching strategy that musicians learn with experience. When I’m memorizing a piece of music, I am often focusing more on the differences, not details. That is, I recognize that music almost always […]

Tired piles on tired as activity piles on activity. What does the director do? Demand a vigorous rehearsal, denying the exhaustion of the singers? Slow down, offer sympathy and a restful, unproductive time? Surely there’s a middle ground to find – one which honors the time that the singers have […]