Are You Procrastinating?
“If you had started doing anything two weeks ago, by today you would have been two weeks better at it.” ― John Mayer Stop procrastinating. Face whatever it is that you fear about your playing and make...
View ArticlePracticing Summed Up in 6 Sentences by Doug Yeo
This quote is from Doug Yeo, the former bass trombonist for the Boston Symphony. My wife Tiffany is a band director in Alexandria, Virginia and it came from her band room wall. This sums up...
View ArticleMonday YouTube Fix: Derek Sivers –“Why You Need to Fail”
Every once in a while you stumble on a video that makes you reevaluate something you do on a daily basis. This video by Derek Sivers did just that for me. In a departure from the norm around here,...
View ArticleSome Advice on Practicing from Abe Lincoln
“You cannot escape the responsibility of tomorrow by evading it today.” - Abe Lincoln President Lincoln uttered these words at a master class he gave at The Juilliard School shortly before he took...
View ArticleQuotes from Marty Hackleman Master Class at George Mason University (Repost)
Two years ago this week I posted the following quotes from a Marty Hackleman class at Mason. I still use many of these quotes in my every day teaching and thought they were worth reposting. I hope...
View ArticleAmazing Piece on Practicing
Every once in a while you stumble on a post online that just nails it. My friend Eric Berlin, trumpet professor at UMass and one heck of a player, wrote a blog post on the subject of practicing last...
View ArticleExcellence is a Habit
You are what you repeatedly do. Excellence then, is not an act but a habit. -Aristotle Becoming a great band director or an accomplished performer is not an accident. If you require your students to...
View ArticleTime to Get Honest Up in Here
You’ve got to start thinking outside the box. When you have a problem (with your playing), really admit it and address it. You have to be honest about it. You are only as strong as the weakest link in...
View ArticleStart Small
“Overwhelmed? Stop. Assess. Tackle one small thing. One step in the right direction. Rinse & repeat.” - One of Lance LaDuke’s daily practice tips on Twitter If you are anything like me, when faced...
View ArticleFinding Time vs. Making Time
I taught a young guy from New York City who plays the bass, Ray Cetta, a lesson on tuba today. He’s started to get a lot of calls to play Sousaphone on gigs and wanted to take his first ever lesson on...
View ArticleJJ Johnson: Monday YouTube Fix
This interview clip is only 90 seconds long, but the very end of this interview with JJ Johnson gets right to the heart of the matter: “I wish that somebody, someday, would find a shortcut and I wish...
View ArticleCasals on Perfect Technique
“The most perfect technique is that which is not noticed at all.” -Pablo Casals This should be the ultimate goal of any performer and one that takes years of discipline to achieve.
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