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Note Reading: Following the Contours

Note Reading is one of the most fundamental, but difficult, skills for beginner musicians. In this blog post, I will share with you one of the novel approaches invented by

Politics and Music

Music and Politics Songs have been used to foster patriotism; national anthems, patriotic songs, and campaign jingles arouse the spirit. Anti-government songs are the other side of the political music spectrum:

Silence: Exploring 4’33” by John Cage

Where Does Silence Begin? Claude Debussy famously quipped “Music is the silence between the notes.” Or consider this wisdom from an old Zen koan: “It is the silence between the notes

The Judges

Banishing Negative Self-Talk For the first several years after I started my job as music director, I had a lot of anxiety about the job. I often came home on

3 Listening Lessons for the Choir… And for Life!

3 Listening Lessons for the Choir As part of an ongoing series about spiritual practice and music, this blog post will focus on the art of listening. Music practice is

The 5 Spiritual Lessons From Choir

Being a member of a choir can be a deeply spiritual experience. Every choir is an intentional community of individuals with a common purpose. We come together to inspire and

Con Text: Poetry and Music

Context What makes vocal music different from instrumental music? Of course there are obvious differences like the lack of fingerings or bow marks. But the most profound difference is that

Music as a Spiritual Practice: My Path

Music as a Spiritual Practice: My Path The Beginning Like many people, I first began to connect music and spiritual practice while a young child. I attended a large, stone Presbyterian church with

The End of Average – book review

The End of Average: How We Succeed in a World That Values Sameness Are you average? Author Todd Rose argues that nobody is average. We all have unique, jagged strengths and weaknesses.

Saving for Later

Stick a pin in it – Saving these websites for later. I keep a running list of articles, websites, leads that I want to investigate further. Here are some of the