#311. Fear

#311. Fear

Of all the things we have to help students overcome, work through, manage, and conquer, fear has to number high on the list. Fear of the unknown. Fear of trying. Fear of failing. Fear of letting others down. Fear of maintaining success. And the list goes on and on and...
#310. Rehearsals

#310. Rehearsals

T. S. Elliot stated that “the journey, not the arrival matters.“ I think we can all agree with that wonderful thought. As teachers, that is our stock-in-trade. It is what we dedicate our professional lives to. It surely describes the big picture of our time with our...
#309. Believe

#309. Believe

As you walk into your classroom today, remember these words of Anatole France, “To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream; not only plan, but also believe.” We can follow the advice of the remarkable sentiment: “To achieve all that is possible,...
#308. Why Make It Vivid?

#308. Why Make It Vivid?

When rehearsing an ensemble, one of the challenges is to convince our musicians that they must make the piece not only come to life, but do so incredibly vividly. The best way I have found is to ask them how many times we will rehearse a piece before a...
#307. Don’t Say A Word

#307. Don’t Say A Word

I have often suggested that you should write a quote of the board at the start of a class or rehearsal, and then simply point to those words or tap on the board. I wouldn’t say a word. I would just stare at the words, and then start teaching. The following quote by...