One of the great myths in the history of music is the story of bluesman Robert Johnson and his encounter with the Devil. According to the Faustian myth, Johnson traded his soul to the Devil at a Mississippi crossroads in exchange for exceptional musical abilities, allowing Johnson to achieve success. This story was comically portrayed […]
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ACDA Abroad & AVoice4Peace: Join us ~ Support Worldwide Peace
Think for a moment about a time when you felt at peace during a performance. Do you remember the piece? Were you in the audience or were you a part of the performance? Could you begin to feel a weightless energy in the room as you listened? Perhaps you can’t articulate exactly what caused this welling up of […]
The Brain on Music
I’ve taught choral music to public school middle school children since 1989. In the early years, I couldn’t figure out how to teach my young beginners how to take the notes and symbols off of the page and sing with accurate pitch and rhythm. One day at a time… One failure at a time… Deliberately… I […]
What Elephants** Teach Us About Innovation
When circus elephants are very young, they are tethered to a pole in the ground for training purposes. One of the elephant’s back legs has a collar around it, attached to a chain, which leads to a pole that is anchored in the ground. The young elephant walks a little ways, but then comes to […]
Why Won’t My Middle School Choir Sing Part 5
This is the 5th and final posting in the five-part series called “Why Won’t My Middle School Choir Sing?” To start with the first reason, click here! Reason #5: We don’t know how to introduce music. It is possible to turn this age group against a new piece of music in the three minutes of […]
This week on Find Your Forte: Cutting the cheese and Patrick Dupree Quigley
We often seek permission and approval from others in order to live the life we wish to live, both personally and professionally. The problem is that when we do this we give up control of our lives to everyone else but ourselves. Since we love what we do so much, there is a very blurry […]