arrange • compose • conduct
Vacations take vigilance. I’m writing this on May 28, patiently waiting for Final Cut X to render a video for the Aces Concert on May 30. That, of course, is long in the past. To really take a break from your chosen work is harder and harder. Double it if […]
It’s best to buy an umbrella on a sunny day. You don’t need an umbrella when it’s sunny. It’s not urgent. So you can comparison shop, think carefully about your needs, select the best choice rather than the immediately available one. You aren’t running the risk of umbrellas being sold […]
One of my favorite reharmonization tools in the arranging toolbox, when used sparingly, is the pivot reharm. A pivot reharm is when you keep the original melodic note, but use it as a different part of an unrelated chord. For example, a B-flat can be the 5th of an E-flat […]
Don’t write it down until it’s the same three times. I learned this rule from others, especially Alice Parker, who has written with her usual clarity about her process in her books. As I’m writing, I’m constantly singing (shakily) and playing (barely passably) whatever I’m working on. And until it […]
I’ve been solving some logic games this summer, and I’ve noticed there are two opposing strategies I employ. I think it’s good to use them both when facing many different kinds of decisions. Strategy 1 is “Stay In It.” In the course of the minutes I’ve spent on this logic […]
“Whenever I hear [A], I know [B]” I’m allergic to musical opinions made in the above form. For example, recently I heard someone say something along the lines of, “Whenever I hear a half-step modulation in an arrangement, I know that the arranger has run out of ideas.” Maybe we […]
I’m looking at a 1,000 piece puzzle that is missing one piece. One. Probably you know this feeling – and the desire to tear apart the room to find the missing 1/2 square inch of cardboard. Consider – that is only 0.1% of the puzzle. It is 99.9% complete with […]
With the size of the COVID-19 pandemic, I’ve found it hard to look directly at the challenges ahead. I’ve found it equally hard to look away from it. Where do you look when both looking and looking away cause anxiety? I think it best, in these months of preparation, to […]
Like many, podcasts have become a vital part of my media consumption. Between walking my dog 2-4 miles a day and various other commutes and passive time, I had plentiful time where the only media I can consume is sound media – anything visual won’t work. Here’s a list to […]
I love to describe art that I don’t connect with with the generous expression “It’s not for me.” Maybe that expression doesn’t go far enough, though. Often it happens that you rediscover and connect deeply with music that previously “wasn’t for you.” It’s that the music hadn’t come at the […]