While in college, I started teaching piano lessons regularly. I could play piano, compose, and improvise on a standard college level—but teaching was a whole different animal. Thankfully, I had great teachers growing up and could call upon my experiences with them to help the lessons become productive as quickly as possible. The methods were … Read more
After years of training in an area, we accumulate patterns and habits that affect every aspect of our experiences. We acquire information and knowledge that was intended to improve the way we perform or express our abilities. Of course, this makes us better, but this information and knowledge can also hold us back in the … Read more
There have been times when I would feel that my rate of improvement didn’t line up with the large chunks of time I was spending at the instrument practicing. Sometimes practicing a lot isn’t enough. We need other methods to elevate our playing and bring cohesion to all the concepts we are working through. The … Read more
It’s inevitable that playing music leads us to situations where we are judged or critiqued. The venue can be as simple as a single performance, a rehearsal, a festival, an audition, press reviews, social media comments, or countless other platforms. It’s also inevitable that we experience the highs associated with praise and the lows associated … Read more
One of the biggest breakthroughs I had when learning to play music came during a painfully frustrating time. I was trying to work out a lot of Bill Evans material in college, and I just couldn’t make it sound good. I spent a lot of hours that didn’t equate to improvement. I was studying with … Read more
I was excited to be placed in the Miles Davis Ensemble at the beginning of a college semester. Miles was one of my heroes, and our leader said we were going to do original music in the style of the famous quintet with Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter, and Tony Williams. This made me … Read more
Creativity Can Be an Elusive Quality to Develop There are many kids and people who seem inclined to do their own things and do them their own way. As teachers, we often categorize these students as creative and do one of three things: The Shortcomings of Each Approach The shortcoming of the first approach is … Read more
Helping students get ready for performances has become one of my favorite things to do. I believe that deep down each child who wants to take lessons does so because they’ve been inspired by performances – either live performances, recordings or videos. When they realize they can be responsible for these performances themselves and not … Read more
There have been conferences and talks I’ve attended where teachers and parents lament how enamored their kids/students have become with video games and online gaming. There is a common feeling that it takes away from their other activities—whether it be sports, schoolwork, music lessons, or other more traditional pursuits. I’m not sure how true any … Read more
I sensed that something was amiss after a wave of students, teachers, and players came to me over the course of a few years wanting to learn to improvise. Many of them had taken jazz improvisation classes or gone to clinics/camps only to come away uninspired or confused. Several of them had worked out of … Read more
