Art Is Specific

Great art comes from specific conditions. It can be a specific ensemble or performer, a specific message from the creator. It can be a specific story to tell, a specific theatre to perform in, a specific time in your life. Stephen Sondheim says in the revue Sondheim on Sondheim, “If you ask […]

Shock the System

Human beings carry inertia. We like the ruts we’re in. Even when we don’t like the ruts we’re in, we like the ruts we’re in. As educators, we try to change habits, to affect inertia, one minute step at a time. And that is important – the culture of my […]

Never Static

Music preparation is never static. Even a few weeks without rehearsal can profoundly affect the level of performance of the most polished pieces. The most challenging music requires daily interaction to be performance-ready. Students can easily forget the dynamic nature of music preparation. It’s worth occasionally revisiting previously-performed music in rehearsal, to give students a concrete […]

Underrated Harmony Singers

The Beatles are rightly praised for many things they did well as a performers, as collaborators, and as composers. One thing they aren’t praised enough for is their brilliant harmony singing. Today it seems we have two tracks – the harmony group, a.k.a. boy band, that sings bland pop music, and […]

Listening and Reacting

As someone who primarily works with student musicians, I always appreciate the chance to collaborate with professionals – it makes me up my own game, and I always learn from watching them work together. I left last night’s rehearsal with a pro rhythm section impressed with how quickly and intuitively they reacted to […]

Learning Ahead

Students learn at different speeds; too often we can lose the fast movers as we continue to teach notes to the ones who struggle a little more. It doesn’t have to be that way, though. We only lose those bright students because they’ve been taught through lockstep education to do what is expected […]