arrange • compose • conduct
I love cognitive dissonance: the concept, but also when I come upon an intact example in my own thinking. Cognitive dissonance is the idea that we can hold two seemingly opposing thoughts at once. It’s not just possible, it’s beautiful – to be able to live in a world where […]
It seems like in music education we’re often talking about the two ways of learning music – by reading and by rote. We tend to denigrate rote learning in favor of gaining the musical skills to be able to read; this piece isn’t meant to disagree with that. But it […]
Sometimes I have ideas ready when I sit down to write this daily post. Sometimes I have to start at the computer screen for awhile before any words come out. And I’ve noticed an ebb and flow: it will be relatively easy for a few months, and then I’ll have […]
When you’re a freelancer, working out of your home, it’s awfully hard to not “take your work home with you.” It’s very easy to work, talk shop, and generally stay engaged in your work every day, all day. Even when you’re engaged in other things, it’s not far from your […]
Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover. Sarah Frances Brown, NOT Mark Twain You […]
I’ve been sewing a bunch of patches onto my son’s Scouting BSA shirt the last couple of days – new rank patches, new leadership role, new patrol name, etc. It got me to thinking about the unseen stitching in the shirt. I think I did a pretty nice job of […]
I’ve been making a massive playlist of vocal harmony groups on Spotify – it makes for nice shuffling when I’m working in the kitchen. There’s lots of great music on the playlist, but whats’ most interesting is what’s missing. What’s outside the database. There are albums around the corner on […]
One of the things you learn as a long-time listener to the music The Real Group is a sense of musical malleability: the idea that their compositions and arrangements can evolve and change over time. An original version can be rewritten, expanded for a studio recording, and revised multiple times […]
Getting a commissioned work in the mail is a little like Christmas – except that, unlike a holiday, it’s always a surprise exactly when it’s going to come. It’s a thrill to be the first to set eyes on a piece you’ve commissioned, and to start to imagine interpreting it […]
“What does ‘done’ look like?” is an question I took with me from my in-depth read of Brené Brown’s Dare to Lead this summer. What’s vital to understand is that even on relatively simple projects or goals, my concept of “done” might be different than yours. Until we agree on […]