I have often said that no band will play any better than they can sing. Now I know that’s a gross oversimplification, but I really do mean it. I am certainly not suggesting they...

As part of a university commencement address some years ago, Steve Jobs, the co-founder of what was then known as Apple Computer, said “You can’t connect the dots looking...

I’ve always felt that the pace of a rehearsal was best when it was broken down into small segments working on different material. So maybe I’d spend 11 minutes on the...

At the start of your next rehearsal, gather the ensemble’s attention and simply write this remarkable quote on the board: “Play the music, not the instrument.” Then simply start...

A few weeks ago I wrote about changing statements like “do it again” in rehearsals to make them actionable. Let me share with you another often-non-actionable statement that...

Xun Kuang, also known as Xunzi, who lived from 300-230 B.C., wrote: “Not having heard something is not as good as having heard it; having heard it is not as good as having seen...

So often as I look out at students in an ensemble, I see lots of them doing one specific thing that causes many different problems. It can show itself with any instrument, and...

We have all witnessed ensembles do more than we thought possible or go farther than we imagined. When that happens, it is a reminder that so often the sum of the parts is so much...

Have you ever tried to memorize a list of things only to remember the beginning and the end, forgetting most – if not all – of the middle of that list? Me too, and sadly way too...