Trust Them
If you want to be able to trust them later, you have to trust them sooner. This is a core tenet of my approach as an educator and as a parent: let your trust spread as wide and as deep as it possibly can. The key to making this work […]
Aptitude/Passion/Need
Where these three overlap, is where you will do your most valuable work. There are skills you develop because you have an aptitude for them. There are skills you develop because you have a passion for them. There are skills you develop because you have a need for them. Some […]
The Usuals
I love Thanksgiving for the Usuals. I love that when I make this cranberry recipe, I think of that person and our meal together twenty years ago. I love that when I make this apple pie recipe, I know to omit the golden raisins because my niece has strong opinions. […]
The Day Before
Everyone always talks about the work on Thanksgiving Day. I’m much more interested in the work on the day before. The day before is when the pies are made, the stuffing is prepped, the turkey is brined (if you’re making a turkey. I’m happy to not.) The day before is […]
The Difficulty-Joy Axis
Keep the music you select on the correct side of this axis. My students in Shades of Blue are working on the very difficult a cappella arrangement of “Almost Like Being In Love” by Darmon Meader. It’s aurally demanding, rhythmically tricky, and long! It’s been hard work, but they haven’t […]
How Doesn’t Matter
How you get it done doesn’t matter. You can organize your rehearsal plan with a spreadsheet, a notes app, a pen and paper. You can mark your score with eighteen colored pencils, with highlighters, or a stylus and ForScore. You can arrange or compose at a piano, a DAW, or […]
Surprises
The difference between student and professional musicians is in how they react to surprises in performance. I am sometimes asked whether I could put together our Rockford Choirs Cabaret show with student players rather than professionals. The answer is, kind of. Could they learn to play the music? Certainly? Smart, […]
Decisive
The right directorial approach depends on the situation. I love the Socratic method in music rehearsal: asking questions, probing possibilities, discovering the right solution for this ensemble. I love it because it’s a powerful tool for learning, growth, and empowerment of my students. But it’s not the most efficient. There’s […]
Notes in the Score
The more clarity you can give to the musicians reading the music, the better the reading will be. Nowhere is that more essential than when in a reading session like the Rockford Choirs Cabaret I do every year. We have a full band and allow just five minutes per song […]
Don’t Be Closed Off
We tend to close ourselves off to things we can’t do. I know there are choral professionals who won’t let others visit their rehearsals, or who avoid hearing other choirs, because they don’t want to be exposed for what they can’t do. But opening yourself up to what you can’t […]