arrange • compose • conduct
Welcome to Week 1 of The Definitive Version, a new weekly feature of my website. You can read more about the project here. Song: Misty Composer: Errol Garner Lyricist: Johnny Burke Form: AABA, 32-bar Standard Key: E-flat major Composed by Errol Garner in 1954 and first recorded by him in 1955, Misty is a super-standard: […]
For each piece your choir sings, you, the conductor, need to determine how the choir will engage with you and your audience. You have the following options: Singers remain focused solely on you throughout the piece. Singers remain primarily focused on you, but are also able to engage at some […]
First rehearsal is around the corner for many choral ensembles. One of the most important things you can do in that rehearsal is establish pace. The pace of your rehearsal is primarily determined by the amount of time it takes to go from one musical moment to the next. Part of […]
Sometimes having something to say precedes saying it. Often, though, having a place reserved to say something helps you find something to say. Put another way: it’s easier to know what you think when you have to say it out loud. Having to say something helps you have something to […]
One of the most vital questions in your arsenal should be, “How do you do this?” Ask it whenever you see a fellow music educator do an event/fundraiser/activity that you don’t do. Ask it when it’s one that you do do! You find out how others do it, what they do […]
Making a choice between your mental health and your GPA should be a no-brainer. Students should structure their learning to maintain their mental health, understanding that they will excel when they are mentally stable and strong. Students must not neglect the things that fill your soul and keep you well, […]
Perhaps you are seeking quietude – a few moments of silence. Let The Manhattan Transfer’s early-90’s song The Quietude help you describe what you seek. They created it before social media, 24-hour news cycles, or computers in pockets; and yet it persists as a description of the busyness of the world […]
One of my weekly habits is to solve the Matt Gaffney Weekly Crossword Contest. Gaffney’s crossword is solved like a normal puzzle, but always a contains a hidden meta-puzzle, with a single often cryptic clue. You must solve the meta to enter the contest. [Poke around his website to see […]
Consider the expression: “Indecision made the decision for me.” How often do you let indecision make the decision for you? In other words, do you ever wait so long to make the decision that it is made for you? We all have moments when we procrastinate to the point where […]
I have a deep love of the Great American Songbook – the songs that form the core of the jazz repertoire (as well as the songs we reach for at weddings, in romantic comedy movies, and when pop singers want to make a “retro” album). With that in mind, I’m […]