Latest Blog Posts
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 […]
Communicating with Living Composers
A guest blog from an not-yet-dead and anonymous composer: How to Communicate with Not-Yet-Dead Composers Most composers never expect to become rich and famous. (Do we wish we could become rich and famous? Oh, sure!) The vast majority of us have day jobs that pay the bills (even Rachmaninoff had to give piano lessons […]
Conducting Study 11
Singers sometimes have difficulty connecting the idea of gentleness with the idea of strength. My common analogy is the difference between picking up a bag of suigar versus picking up a newborn. While there’s not much difference in the weight, there most certainly IS a difference in the way in which we use our muscles […]
Make a Joyful Noise
Spotted this on Twitter – it is a book about a love entanglement within a choir as they prepare for a perfomance. Someone read it and let us know if it is any good! About the book: Tristan is a choral conductor, twice married and determined not to be caught again. Lucy is […]