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“A painting is never finished – it simply stops in interesting places.” – Paul Gardner Go listen to the most artful recording you know and listen with Paul Gardner’s ears. That is, listen with the understanding that it is an unfinished work of art: it stopped in an interesting place, […]

Overheard in choirs across the world as they begin to show signs of learning notes: the unisons are harder. Mark my words: no matter how challenging the harmonic materials you sing; no matter the language; no matter the breath control required…the unisons are harder. Believe me now or wait and […]

There are two ways to pull into traffic: Many people (Type 1) wait patiently until the traffic clears long enough for them to turn, join a lane, and get up to speed without interruption. The rest (Type 2) wait just until there’s a long enough gap for them to pull […]

Welcome to Week 9 of The Definitive Version, a new weekly feature of my website. You can read more about the project here. Song: “My Romance” Composer: Richard Rodgers Lyricist: Lorenz Hart Form: A B A C Standard Key: B-flat Major “My Romance” was premiered in 1935 as part of the Rodgers & […]

According to Wikipedia, “In pre-modern times it is unlikely that literacy was found in more than about 30-40% of the population.” That actually seems high to me, particularly during the so-called Dark Ages of Europe between the fall of the Roman Empire and the advent of the printing press. But […]

Sometimes teaching the same basic skills over and over can leave your shoulders sagging. Proper microphone cord coiling…again? Holding an SM58? Hearing and tuning a just-tuned third…for the 4,000th time?! And yet, there is joy in teaching these basic skills again. Especially in using the language “I get to.” I […]

Personal Bibliography: Inspiration Click here for my complete Personal Bibliography. Allen, David. Getting Things Done. A comprehensive approach to, you guessed it, getting things done. I don’t follow it to a “t” but it has been influential in my approach to day-to-day to-do. Andreas, Brian. Bring Your Life Back To Life. Poems? Aphorisms? Rules […]

Some like to put teachers into two categories: the ones who teach for thirty years, and the ones who teach the same year thirty times. Ideally, of course, we as teachers continue to evolve, grow, and change. And just as important, we should note that it’s virtually impossible to teach […]

Week One: Getting to know you, and lots sight reading. Week Two: More sight reading, lots of note/rhythm fixes. Week Three: Struggles. The first couple weeks with a diligent ensemble are a period of remarkable growth. With determination, the ensemble can make great strides in brand new music, turning notes […]

Welcome to Week 8 of The Definitive Version, a new weekly feature of my website. You can read more about the project here. Song: “The Girl From Ipanema” (Garota de Ipanema) Composer: Antonio Carlos Jobim Lyricist: Vinicius de Moraes (Portuguese)/Norman Gimbel (English) Form: A A B A Standard Key: F Major It’s probably […]