More from Daniel Coyle: Tip #15 "Break Every Move Down into Chunks." This is something that most conductors know how to do, whether or not they know this terminology. As Coyle says, "From the time we're small, we hear this good advice from our parents and teachers: Take it a little bit at […]
Building Skills 10
Hi all—hope you’ve had a great break and are ready to get back to work! This skills series continues: More from Daniel Coyle: Tip#14 “Take Off Your Watch” This has to do with our own preparation and practice. Coyle says, “Deep practice is not measured in minutes or hours, but in the […]
Building Skills 9
More from Daniel Coyle: Tip# 13 "Find the Sweet Spot." Once again, I recommend Coyle's book highly. For this tip, Coyle speaks of finding "a place, right on the edge of your ability, where you learn best and fastest. It's called the sweet spot." He then gives hints on finding that "sweet spot" […]
Building Skills 8
More from Daniel Coyle: Tip#11 "Don't Fall for the Prodigy Myth." Coyle makes the point that prodigies (talent expressed at an early age) aren't really predictors of ultimate success. He gives some examples: Many top performers are overlooked early on, then grow quietly into stars. This list includes Michael Jordan (cut from his high […]
Building Skills 7
More from Daniel Coyle: Tip#10 “Honor the Hard Skills" From Coyle: "As you probably recognize, most talents are not exclusively hard skills or soft skills, but rather a combination of the two. For example, think of a violinist's precise finger placement to play a series of notes (a hard skill) and her ability to […]
My Most Meaningful Mentor
This is a difficult choice, since I’ve been lucky to have some wonderful teachers and mentors. For example, Neil Lieurance was an influential teacher—without him I probably wouldn’t have made a career as a conductor. Neil died this past year at the too-young age of 70. I wrote about him here. But beyond his influence […]