It's getting cold here in the northern hemisphere, and it reminds me to briefly mention that since our bodies are our instruments, staying healthy is a key concern. As I am fond of doing, however, I'd like to approach this from another angle.

Yes, getting a cold is a nuisance, and recovering from...

I'm like anyone else, in that I sometimes need inspiration. I also like to try to understand why I do what I do, both in teaching, and in making music as art.

I listened to an interview with Rick Rubin, a famous record producer, on the Rich Roll Podcast, and immediately resonated with much of...

'Finish What You Start' can have many meanings for us as musicians, and is scalable. The trick is to identify the appropriate goal for the situation.

If, for example, you are just getting started on a new piece, this may mean learning the notes for a difficult passage well enough to get it...

Hello!

Sorry I've been quiet for awhile! I've been consumed with a few other projects, but I should be offering thoughts and advice more regularly once again!

To start off, I came across this excellent metaphor for what it is to be a musician. It talks of incremental growth and skills sets in the...

Ever try to eat an elephant in one bite? Ridiculous I know. How about lifting a house? A task for a super being, but not us. Okay, let's be reasonable, ever eaten an entire 12" wide apple pie in one bite?

I know, I'm being a bit silly, but here's the thing:

Focusing entirely on your end goals...

I really enjoy talking about clichés as I imagine you've noticed, so here we go:

You miss every shot you don't take

In the end, we only regret the chances we didn't take

Life is inherently risky, there is only one big risk you should avoid at all costs, and that is doing nothing.

Don't...

Habits take time to form. It also isn't enough to experience something once, and expect to be able to repeat it consistently. This is why we practice, and it behooves us to practice with intent.

I had a teacher who told me that the acquisition of new skills took six months. That once you could...

I had a great idea for a newsletter this week. It came to me right while I was editing videos and I thought, 'that's so good, there's no way that I'll forget it.'

Don't worry, I'm not going to bury the lead here. I totally forgot it.

Now, if this was the first time that this happened to me, one...

I've been thinking about this for some days, and struggling a bit to decipher the words from the sentiment. It's easy to fall back on clichés when talking about this. Since I've mentioned that though, here's one of my favorites:

If you're not falling, you're not trying hard enough.

A...

This is another popular cliché, and I admit, I'm not fond of this one either, but what if we thought of it as lifetime learning? Does that make it any better?

The hard part of this, in my opinion, is two-fold. One more insidious than the other.

The first is humility. No matter how far...

The simplest of ideas can be the most profound.

If something isn't working, choose again.

Still singing out of tune?

Then choose again how you approach your appoggio breath management. Choose again how you listen to and evaluate your vowel alignment. Choose again how you have practiced your ear...

I have never been a fan of that saying. It reeks of dishonesty or of being disingenuous; not traits that I wish to embody. Yet it frequently is deployed when discussing how to manage stage fright.

Okay, what about:

Mood follows action

That, I would submit, is what 'Fake it 'til you make it'...