On Character
Posted in Habits of Mind, Practice on Mar 9th, 2011
The evening after my most recent orchestra concert (and in the middle of a snowstorm!) I unwound by watching a documentary on the great 20th century French music and composition […]
Category Archive for 'Habits of Mind'
Mental Effortfulness
Posted in Conducting, Habits of Mind on Feb 20th, 2011
Zazen is for allowing a clear mind. – Shunyru Suzuki, quoted in Crooked Cucumber by David Chadwick It’s February, which means that everyone in academe (students and professors) is in […]
Piggyback
Posted in Conducting, Habits of Mind, Practice, Trombone on Feb 7th, 2011
When you have a strict practice that doesn’t ignore the weak points of your practice, then eventually you will have good practice. – Shunyru Suzuki, quoted in Crooked Cucumber by […]
Snow Meditation
Posted in Habits of Mind, Random Thoughts on Jan 12th, 2011
I offer a koan for winter – obviously a variation on a classic: What is the sound of snow falling? I came up with this last night, with the thought […]
Beginner’s Mind in Practice
Posted in Habits of Mind, Practice on Jan 6th, 2011
Back from a long trip (sans instrument) over the holidays, I am taking notes while sitting at the piano playing scales for the first time in weeks, and anticipating doing […]
The Principle of Vibration – Intro
Posted in Habits of Mind, Practice on Nov 22nd, 2010
I don’t know the specific biological or neurological mechanisms that would pertain to whether the Vibrational Model is literally accurate or more of a metaphor – but at some level it feels right. Even if only metaphorically, each of us does both transmit and receive vibrations from others; and we are deeply influenced at both cellular and energetic levels both by these vibrations, as well as by the range of vibrations we detect as sounds (music, speech, or ambient sound or noise).
How much practicing?
Posted in Habits of Mind, Practice, Trombone on Nov 10th, 2010
The most basic part of pursuing music at any level is learning what it means to Honor your Craft. Many books address this topic – some of my favorites being […]
Shut up and play
Posted in Habits of Mind, Performance, Trombone on Nov 7th, 2010
There’s a lot of cross-talk in my life between music and sports, which I imagine is true for many musicians. The first Sunday in April is the first local road […]
Zen Mind, Musician’s Mind
Posted in Habits of Mind, Practice on Oct 28th, 2010
The inspiration for this blog is my favorite book, Shunyru Suzuki’s Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind. Every time I pick up the baton or the trombone there is the feeling of […]