arrange • compose • conduct
When you start a project, the end seems impossibly far away. Whether time is crunched or stretches off for years, it’s hard to see the end. That’s why I warn my students at our first rehearsal in September: it will be June tomorrow. Because it seems impossibly far away in the future; but in the present, it […]
Some of the best days I’ve had were the ones I had to talk myself into starting. The best practices, the best walks, the best runs, the best dinners, the best conversations, the best experiences. Sometimes it takes talking yourself into walking out he door, talk yourself out of hitting […]
If I increase my running mileage too quickly, I’ll injure myself and never be ready for my race. If I don’t increase my running mileage quickly enough, I’ll never build enough stamina and be ready for my race. These are the twin rules guiding me right now. In between is […]
“Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive and go do it, because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” -Howard Thurman This is what I wish for my students more than anything. Every year as May turns to June, we all say […]
When I start teaching standards to my private students, I make sure to give a brief overview of the history of fake books and The Real Book. It gives a good perspective on the history of this art form, and is a perfect lead-in to a conversation about jazz singing being […]
When you give more than you can recover, you end up with a deficit. Run deficits long enough, and your stores are depleted. Your savings gone. It’s true in finance, but also true for physical exertion and emotional labor. At the end of May, the many outstanding teachers I know have a debt-ridden look in their eyes. […]
The great part about creating a physical object is that you can hold something and say, “I made this.” That’s the main reason why I still make physical CDs, rather than digital downloads. Someday my students will be able to say to their children, I made this. You can’t do that with […]
1. Show up. 2. See what happens. That’s Napoleon’s Batte Plan, as described by Aaron Sorkin in the eponymous Sports Night Episode (#22). We tend to think that the best way forward is to be as specific, detailed, and forward thinking as we can–and it’s true that in many situations, that’s the […]
When you are so sick you have to cancel rehearsal but: 1. It makes you cry to have to miss rehearsal and 2. You know your students are still going to have an excellent rehearsal even without their director. That’s how you know it’s right.
Do you find it easier to learn words or tunes? If you’re like me, my students, and most people I’ve asked, the answer is tunes. Thus the number of times you’ve sung along with the radio, and nailed the song but made up words. I mention this for two reasons. First, because […]