arrange • compose • conduct
Producing creative works isn’t about having better ideas than anyone else. It’s about writing down more ideas than everyone else, then trying as many as you need to until you find a good one. Edison tried 1000 light bulbs before he made one work. Bell worked for years to invent […]
Today I made my 4:30 writing time for the first time this week. I have perfectly justified reasons for not getting up to write at 4:30; those reasons don’t help me feel less frustrated at my lack of writing momentum. It took all my willpower to get out of bed […]
30 years. That’s how long The Real Group has been singing together. During that time they’ve made many albums, countless performances and world tours. They make art and have forever changed the landscape of vocal jazz and a cappella singing. One of the things that strikes me most about their […]
Yesterday I baked my 17th loaf of bread in 2015. I love making bread because it’s a way to be of true service to my family. I know I’m putting delicious, nutritious food into their mouths. It’s a concrete way of showing my love. We all need to find more ways […]
Have you shared one of these articles on Facebook recently? It feels great to read a scientific study that confirms what you already know about music education. You are affirmed, emboldened, reassured. But there are two problems. First, you and your colleagues didn’t need convincing. If you’re a music teacher, you’ve already […]
When we finished rehearsing “That Which Remains” by Andrea Ramsey (text by Helen Keller) one rehearsal, I looked around at my twelve students. I asked, “What are you waiting for? Helen Keller, who never heard a word spoken or saw a mouth move, and who spent the last decades of […]
Last week I threw out hours of work on an arrangement. About half way through, I stepped back, took stock, and didn’t love what I had written or, more importantly, where I saw it going. So I highlighted the music, hit “clear” and started over. And I owe it all […]
We have a new motto during my sons’ piano practice time: The frustration is the best part. That’s how you know you’re learning. It’s one of the most important life skills we all need to get better at: our children, our students, and ourselves. Seth Godin calls it “dancing with […]
I always sprint the last 100 yards. Whether I’ve run 1 mile or 4, when I hit that flagpole just down the hill from my house, I push myself to go full-out to my mailbox. I do it so tomorrow I will know that I still had something left when […]
I recently saw someone write that it was a poor use of their school choir budget to commission new choral works, because it doesn’t really give anything educational to the students. Nothing could be further from the truth. Of all the projects I have undertaken with the Rockford Aces, the […]