Powerhouse Topics and Self-Indulgence

So back in February, I read the "Why YOU Need a Powerhouse Topic" post at The Savvy Musician and it put into words things I've been developing for some years (if not decades) now.  Outside of the light (though not as light now that the school year has begun) teaching load and the semi-heavy gigging, …

Wednesday Teaching Reflections

As I mentioned in my previous post I spend most of the afternoon and early evening giving private cello lessons.  Wednesdays are much the same though I do start and end a bit later in the day (roughly 4:30 - 9ish). I first started giving private lessons while I was still in high school.  Occasionally, …

Monday Cello Coaching Reflections

Mondays are usually a cello coaching day for me--at least during the k-12 school year.  Nearly every afternoon I coach the cello section of the Floyd Central High School 7th period Orchestra.  This is a high school group that has gone every year for 21 (or maybe 22 or 23?  I lost count) years in …

The nuturing perfect pitch…

I've been following Diana Deutsch's work for some years and had been really intrigued with her studies done on speakers of tonal languages (e.g. Mandarin, Vietnamese, and my native Thai) and the seemingly higher proportion of individuals with so-called "Perfect Pitch" (long considered to be a genetic rarity). Here's a recent article chronicling her work. …

Cello Repertoire Wiki

This is more for my own sake, and also for the sake of not cluttering up this blog with lists of cello repertoire, but I've set up a Cello Repertoire Wiki so that I can quickly make a note about any repertoire I may come across for my Bibliography Project.

On programming a recital…

It's been years since I've done a recital proper.  I'd been toying with the idea for some time now--the past couple of years to be exact.  What is sad is that I haven't really had the time (still don't) to prepare for one.  I've come to realize that there's just no way that I will …