arrange • compose • conduct
When I was in high school, if someone said, “you need to listen to XYZ,” here’s how I could hear it. At someone else’s house. (with friends) A mix tape someone gave to me. (with friends, even if they weren’t there) On the radio. (alone or with friends) Buy the […]
How do you know you’re chasing the right dream? Easy. How do you feel when you’re away from it? I gladly tell people that one of the reasons I wake before dawn to write is because if I go too many days without writing music, I get difficult to be […]
What do you do when your rehearsal plan isn’t working? No matter how prepared you are, the state of your singers that day can occasionally mean that your plan won’t work. The Post-Thanksgiving Monday rehearsal is always awful and I never remember. Five days of relaxing – and often travel […]
When you get to a tough day, make it small. Practice in the tiniest way you can. But practice. Add to your streak. Just keep moving forward. Subscribe to my mailing list Get updates, writing, and interesting links delivered every week
Every December I like to take an hour of rehearsal for a guided listening of a single Christmas song, performed by multiple artists. This approach to guided listening has several advantages: Listening to the same song allows us to focus on other aspects of the recording. Christmas songs are so […]
Thursday, the Rockford Aces sound checked for their performance by singing an arrangement we’re working on of “God Rest Ye, Merry Gentlemen” which is mostly in 7/8. Just after, I was by the sound board to check in and overheard the sound guy whistling the tune. In 7/8. I’m sure […]
50 Posts in 50 days. It’s been a test of discipline to maintain the consistency of writing every day, but an incredible experience so far. It really helps me to focus and sort out my perspective to have a place to put my thoughts. I have some bigger features planned […]
I often hear complaints about the “lack of creativity” in LEGO sets. Getting a LEGO set and building it precisely according to instructions stifles creativity, we are told. It reminds me of Michael Chabon’s essay on LEGO in Manhood for Amateurs, in which he says he resents “the authoritarian state of the […]
As far as I’m concerned, Tom Allen is the ideal classical radio host. He hosted CBC Radio 2’s Music & Company, a morning classical show, the entire time I taught in Grosse Pointe (it’s easy to pick up Canadian stations in the Detroit-area) and now hosts Shift, a “cross-genre” program […]
Sometimes, when my sons are going a little crazy in the evening, I have to remind myself that all they’re really doing is saying “see me.” Notice me, pay attention to who I am and what I’m feeling. Teaching is no different. Students want to be seen, want to be […]