I don't remember much of anything I learned in high school. Most of us don't. But there was one phrase my high school biology teacher said at the beginning of every week that really stuck with me: "Time spent organizing is time well-spent." At the time, I could see some benefits of giving us extra …
Take Care
You feel the exhaustion dripping from your eyes to create the dark circles underneath them. A new ring appears each morning, but you must press on. You have a goal: get your practice time in. There's never enough time. You always have more pieces to perfect, and your fingers won't do what they're told. They're …
A Little Bit of Math and Magic
Music. It hovers around us every day. Some say that it is a fundamental part of being. At its base, music is a collection of sounds in the air. (Some old-fashioners would say "organized sounds," but we have John Cage to thank for a more inclusive definition.) Once the air molecules cease to vibrate, the …
When You’re Feeling Down
One of the things that I find most inspiring about professional musicians is their ability to keep practicing every single day. Despite however they're feeling about the day, they press on and practice. There are so many days when I've just felt awful about myself and my abilities to play. I wonder why I'm even …
Tale as Old as Time
It's an oldie but a goodie, truly a "tale as old as time." This arrangement and performance is from my early days of arranging and performing, but I still love the simplicity of the song, and I hope you do too. Have a great Valentine's Day, everyone!
A Good Chord on a Bad Piano
Piano: the instrument that continues to sing to the soul of humanity since its birth in the fifteenth century. A symbol of Baroque perfection, the harpsichord evolved into the piano to find a place in every genre of music. Classical, jazz, metal, rock, folk, pop, musical theatre, mainstream, or high-brow, the piano, in some capacity, is a …
The First Noel
With all the tumult of the Christmas season, I forgot about this blog. :/ Oh well, at least I can share some Christmas cheer with you all the best way I know how. New song on the SoundCloud channel: Hope you all enjoy! Merry Christmas!
Christmas Music
Most musicians who've been at it for a long time come to tolerate the long Christmas season. What audiences don't realize is that while they might get tired of all the Christmas Carols from November and December, musicians start practicing them back as early as August. That's how much time it takes to make something …
Hello There!
This is the first post on a shiny new blog! It is my goal to post something, anything at least once a week, probably on Fridays. This blog is mostly to keep me accountable regarding my practicing and also share the many thoughts that plague this writer and musician's brain. I'll try to keep it …