Jed Scott Music

Yesterday marked the 50th anniversary of the beginning of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood. Today I was struck with this quote: “It’s not so much what we have in this life that matters. It’s what we do with what we have. The alphabet is fine, but it’s what we do with it that matters […]

George Washington wrote in a letter to his nephew, True friendship is a plant of slow growth and must undergo and withstand the shocks of adversity before it is entitled to the appellation. So it is with great ensemble singing. We cannot attain the deep, intimate, soul-stirring performances of our […]

Overwhelmingly often, students will rise to the bar you set for them. They will not always clear the bar, but they will rise to meet it. Musical students have infinite potential for growth, and too many students turn away from music-making, or never reach their potential, because their leaders do not set […]

There is a balancing act in handling personal failures – particularly when it comes to mindset. Performing arts students should be reminded regularly of these two opposing forces. Take your mistakes seriously. Work hard to recognize mistakes, work hard to prevent mistakes, and work hard to correct mistakes once made. Don’t take your […]

Views, likes, shares. They’re what we count, because they’re easy to count. But views are a terrible metric for quality. As my 11-year-old pointed out today, Gangnam Style holds the record for most YouTube views, at over 3 BILLION. It doesn’t make it the best song, the best video, even the best Psy song. But it’s easy […]

Ask as often as possible to the people you work with: How can I make your life better? Ask as often as possible to yourself: How can I show my love?  

There are lots of ways a piano can help increase your practice efficacy. Here are ten: Use the piano to play your part in time with your singing. Use the piano to play first and last pitches in each phrase. Use the piano to play the full accompaniment as you sing. Use the piano […]

We go through many stages in our development of skills. Here’s a rough outline of the progression. I can’t do this at all. I can’t do this well. I can do this well as long as I’m not doing anything else. I can do this well with slight distractions. I […]

“I work from a hypothesis of generosity with you. If things are not going well, I assume the best I can about your intention and behavior, and I ask you about it.” – Brené Brown, in conversation with Krista Tippett (unedited interview) I find that approaching work, love, and life with this generous mindset […]

Do it now. You are overestimating the stress you will feel when you dig into the work you need to do. You are underestimating the stress of having it hang over you until you start. Do it now. You are overestimating the difficulty of the work. You are are underestimating the great […]