I'm carrying over the goals from 2019 since they worked really well! Well done 2019 me! Get even more off-book: learn off book, practice off book! Live and breathe off book! I have to "Know my shit" (as Scott says) for the SoundCrowd choir music and that needs…
For Christmas one year, my choir sang Sure On This Shining Night, composed by Morten Lauridsen. It's a beautiful piece of music, and it got me hooked on Lauridsen's other works. O Magnum Mysterium started as a choral piece, but versions for violin and orchestra and violin and piano were…
I've been reading, watching, and finding resources for what to do when in a rut, or when at the early stages of burnout. I recently published my birthday retrospective and I might have sounded a bit blasé or maybe a bit disengaged from my music. While I don't think I'm…
I just had my birthday this past week. Birthdays and new years always makes me think about what's happened this year, and what to look forward to next year. This year, I attended the Old Time Rollick at Ashokan for the second time. It is still my heart and home…
Arriving at the Ashokan Center felt like coming home. Within a minute of parking, I saw Debbie from last year with her fiddle at her side. We hugged and welcomed each other back. I took a bit of time to organize my luggage, shouldered my fiddle, and walked down the…
Inspirations for becoming a faster, stronger, deeper musician…
In 2019 I want to learn this tune Shetland Night from Blazin' Fiddles to a level where I can play along to the recording. This is what we're up to: It's a wonderful tune that I haven't found any tutorials or sheets to, so it'll be learn by ear. The…
2019 is the year to finally: get off-book: everything off book! learn by ear! memorise all the music I love and hold dear. No sheet music! Ever! learn music theory: I tried doing an online course in 2017 but for all of 2018 I avoided the topic. No longer! go…