Latest Blog Posts
Stick Time: It’s a G-Major, 4/4 World
Some days it seems as though we live in a G-Major, 4/4 world. When tuning systems changed in the Baroque era, one doubts that the composers of the day intended for modality to disappear completely in favor of the then-revolutionary major/minor constructs. As we all know, though, that is more or less what happened. […]
GUEST BLOG: “Starting Fresh” by Tim Sharp
STARTING FRESH by Tim Sharp Waking up on the first day of a new year always presents a great opportunity and challenge. I love the thought on January 1 of being able to say, “I have worked out every day this year, “ or, “I have eaten right every day this year”, or, “I […]
Stick Time: The Myth of Specialization
“My singers can’t do that.” One is always astonished when a colleague assigns perceived limitations to their singers. Now, of course, we’re not talking about elementary singers performing a Verdi Requiem. The “my singers can’t do that” line usually issues from the mouth of a colleague on the high school or collegiate level, and […]
What we can learn from John Wooden XII
One of the most interesting chapters for me in Gallimore and Nater's You Haven't Taught Until They Have Learned is the third chapter, "It's What You Learn After You Know It All That Counts the Most." Given Wooden's great skill and knowledge, it was fascinating to read that right after taking the UCLA job […]
What we can learn from John Wooden XI
Early in his career (mostly in place with a few later adjustments by 1932), John Wooden developed his "Pyramid of Success" This was meant to be a guide to how one builds success–a road map, if you will, including not only short-term goals along the way, but character traits important to success. Remember Wooden's definition: […]
ChoralNet Founder James Feiszli is Professor of the Year – South Dakota
James Feiszli, Director of Music at the South Dakota School of Mines & Technology, has been named 2013 U.S. Professor of the Year for the state of South Dakota by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the Council for Advancement and Support of Education. For those of you who don't know […]
Beyond GarageBand: iOS Recording
Last week, we talked about some microphone options and ways to get audio into an iPad. There are a wide range of setups, from a simple single microphone to a full digital audio workstation, that let you record the audio that you want to work with and share. The next question is what apps to […]
What we can learn from John Wooden X
The next chapter of Gallimore and Nater's book is about success and is titled, "The Motivation to Learn Comes from Focusing on Reaching Your Own Potential." I'll deal with it in two parts, the second on Wooden's "Pyramid of Success." But this post speaks to how we measure success, something incredibly important to us […]