Latest Blog Posts
CJ Replay: Gospel Music
(From the Choral Journal article “Black Gospel Music and Its Impact on Traditional Choral Singing,” by James Benjamin Kinchen, Jr.) Black gospel music is becoming an increasingly popular and pervasive part of Black! American culture. Gospel music is accepted more today than ever before; more people are singing it and listening to it. Many […]
Sibelius Software to cease to exist?
Richard Sparks pointed me to this article that exposes the decline at Sibelius Software. It seems the parent company, Avid, has elected to fire the programmers and make a “clean profit” over the next couple of years. By then, they will have made their money and then they will sell off the company: Sibelius is […]
When Music Meets Theologies
(From the interest session “When Music Meets Theology” presented during the 2012 ACDA North Central Division Conference.) A Catholic priest, a Jewish rabbi, and a Serbian Orthodox teen walk into a hotel ballroom, along with a Jewish cantor and a Catholic school choral director . . . But seriously, folks: the 2012 […]
Saturday Respite: What were YOU doing at age 9?
Okay, so these three young men may not be old enough to drive, but wow, can they play!
Dumping pianos
Most used pianos are destined for the dump: The value of used pianos, especially uprights, has plummeted in recent years. So instead of selling them to a neighbor, donating them to a church or just passing them along to a relative, owners are far more likely to discard them, technicians, movers and dealers say. Piano […]
Does all choral music sound the same? Pop does.
A fascinating article from the New York Times – it seems most pop music sounds the same: Comforting news for anyone over the age of 35, scientists have worked out that modern pop music really is louder and does all sound the same. Researchers in Spain used a huge archive known as the Million […]
Stick Time: Nowhere to Hide
Somewhere buried in most choirs is a singer who is not quite sure of the notes. Though well-intentioned, this person may lack reading skills, have a little trouble matching pitch, or have a vocal issue that prevents them from being as accurate as the conductor might hope. What would the impact of that inaccurate […]
Conducting Study 12
The Baton. Some conductors fear it. Some wield it as though they are a samurai warrior. While others of us are somewhere the middle. Today, let’s observe a few seconds of a colleague using a baton. Note initially that the energy in her right hand is at the very tip of the baton, thus […]