arrange • compose • conduct
Don’t you worry about repeating yourself? That’s a question that might be lobbed at a prolific blogger or author or composer. I certainly used to worry about it with regards to my posts here, or even with my composition and arranging – I felt I should always seek to say […]
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 […]
For the past 5 or 6 years, I’ve had an annual Tip Jar in which I accepted donations from readers to help support my costs of maintaining the website. Many people were very generous in their encouragement of my writing. In 2020, I skipped it – it was a time […]
Alice Parker, describing her work for Robert Shaw, pointed out that she was writing her arrangements while raising five children and maintaining a home. She discovered that the only way to get it done was to write while cleaning, write while cooking, write while doing all the tasks that we […]
In my daily writing, I tend to focus on what’s next. (Since I write daily, I’m focused on what’s immediately in front of me – I’ve got to write something again tomorrow!) It’s how I live in the rest of my work life, too – pride and very occasional reflection […]
I have recently begun a new practice of posting my daily post early on Patreon. In terms of my writing work, there has been no change. At the moment, I write in the evenings, as my kids get ready for bed, or just after. (My practice changes over time, because […]
I published a post here every day in 2020. Here’s a favorite post from each month. January: Three Goals For RehearsalFebruary: DisputableMarch: Do The Right Thing & Permit Yourself to GrieveApril: The Best We Can…Is Pretty GoodMay: Form Goes DeepJune: SaltingJuly: Not For Me Right NowAugust: Don’t Be A Game ChangerSeptember: […]
Yesterday, I finally got to share one of the projects that has been occupying my work daily for the last couple of months. This arrangement, a lullaby version of the Beatles’ “Golden Slumbers,” was written in a flurry the week after we lost a former student, Katherine, at 22. She […]
It’s been a long dark nightAnd I’ve been a waitin’ for the morningIt’s been a long hard fightBut I see a brand new day a dawningI’ve been looking for the sunshineYou know, I ain’t seen it in so longAnd everything’s gonna work out just fineAnd everything’s gonna be all rightThat’s […]
Great songs don’t require rhymes. Great poetry doesn’t, either. So why do so many have them? From Shakespearean sonnets to the Beatles to Stephen Sondheim, rhymes have a massively important place in the creation of both song and poem. But none of it is required. The art form includes them […]