arrange • compose • conduct
The idea of a perfectly efficient education system is an oxymoron. The best teachers know that there has to be a give-and-take in the pacing, including sufficient slack and downtime, because humans don’t process learning at the same pace. The push to make learning more efficient comes with several big […]
I’ve seen repeatedly the following education aphorism: “Getting mad at people for making mistakes doesn’t teach them not to make mistakes. It teaches them to hide their mistakes.” If tests can’t be retaken, then students are not rewarded for learning except on a prescribed timeline. Don’t you want them to […]
I tried a new activity at this year’s retreat, and I’m keeping it. Two Minute Talents! Each singer brought some small talent or trick (think “Stupid Human Tricks”) that could be performed in two minutes or less. It was raucous fun – laughter, silliness, and impressive, all at once! It […]
Recently asked online: “Are part recordings cheating?” That is, does providing part recordings diminish an ensemble experience because we don’t force our students to develop the reading and keyboard skills to learn the music on their own? The answer is: of course not. In fact, I think our music education […]
In her recent podcast interview with Dr. Brené Brown, Dr. Amy Cuddy describes the turmoil she felt about whether to continue her career path. I was sort of saying, “Do I want to go for tenure or not?” It’s stressful, to go up for tenure – you know, you’ve got, […]
Tonight, I said to my son, “My studio setup should work just fine. Logic is right there. Go ahead – you can’t break it.” The fear that something might break is major stifling force in creativity. Especially in new creators, and young people, the safety rules, the strongly imposed caution, […]
My students and I talked about 9/11 this weekend on our retreat. I shared my story, and reflected on the arc of my students over the years – my first students had been in middle or high school at the moment 9/11 happened. My current students weren’t alive, but their […]
The last time I was on a retreat was in 2019, and this weekend I’m (with school approval and as safely as I can) on a retreat with the Rockford Aces. I’ve noticed a trend in my own retreat planning towards more human connection and away from actual musical rehearsal. […]
In rehearsal, I heard myself say, “It’s your group – I’m just here to help you achieve your potential.” I really believe that. I call them “my students” or “my singers” but they don’t belong to me. On the other hand, “their director” is a good description – my role […]
Our society has long been obsessed with marking the differences between “Generations” (basically arbitrarily marked) like Z, Millennial, X, etc. The obsession has seemed to ramp up in recent years. The truth is, there are some noticeable and consistent differences in generations over time, though I think that they’re detectable […]