arrange • compose • conduct
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 […]
The scariest moment is always just before you start. After that, things can only get better. – Stephen King, On Writing Stephen King wrote this in his book about writing, but it really applies to virtually everything you want to do. Knowing this, deeply and completely, is one of the best […]
Yesterday I wrote about Penn Jillette’s definition of success as “show up on time and do what you say you’re going to do.” Underneath Penn’s statement is a fact that’s important to recognize: if you can’t meet those two halves of success, there are plenty more who can. That’s true […]
“Successful is, simply, show up on time [and] do what you say you’re going to do. That’s all success is–everything else in success is bulls**t.” – Penn Jillette, in conversation with Brian Koppelman It’s as simple as that: show up and deliver what you’ve promised. This is from one of […]
Don’t worry if you haven’t got powerhouse voices in your incoming groups. Worry about finding powerhouse attitudes. If your goals for your choir include: Create a positive creative environment Continue to grow throughout the school year Make egoless music Draw more students into your choral program Have singers leave excited […]