I was at an event lately and there was a panel discussion with the fabulous Robin Spielberg in which she was talking about her music career as a concert pianist and promoter. Robin is a no-nonsense, hard-working business person that has been successful in a tough career for 35 years now, largely because of her […]
Category Archives: Music Philosophy
I really think that if I ever quit doing what I do, I would want to do something in the field of history. I love history. I am also a fan of Dan Carlin, the online history podcast guy (Hardcore History). I just finished listening to his 25-hour podcast series on WWI and I found […]
I am well into my first semester at Berklee and it has been a great experience so far. I have learned more in five weeks than I may have learned in the last three years. I have also gotten a wakeup call as to what I don’t know. The class I am taking is focused […]
As of next week, I am going to be a college student again. I signed up for one class (an advanced harmony class) at Berklee College of Music. I don’t know where it will lead but I chose to take it for credit so if I decide to pursue a degree, it will be a start down […]
I spent this week at the Composers Symposium at Pine Lake Music in Atlanta, an event where church music publishers and writers learn from each other, present songs to each other, network, and in general, laugh a lot. If you know much about me, you know that I have never been published. There are good reasons for […]
I often find myself stuck between the past and the present. There are people in the present who want to throw out all the music from the past as if they came up with their music on their own without help from the past. Then there are those who want to throw out all of the music […]
One of the lessons that I have to understand as a recording artist and concert pianist is this: I can’t play all kinds of music. That is a humbling thing. It is a hard thing to accept. I have struggled with it. In fact, if you listen to the music on my projects, you will […]
One of the things I like to do here is try to get you inside of the production of professional music. I think it is incredibly interesting. Some of you will agree with me but even if you are not into that scene at all, there is still a lot to learn from the people in […]
I came across an interesting quote the other day that I posted on my Facebook page. “I practice my saxophone three hours a day. I’m not saying I’m particularly special, but if you do something three hours a day for forty years, you get pretty good at it.” ~Kenny G. The takeaway here is obvious. […]
I am usually considered to be a conservative Christian musician because most of the music I perform and record is traditional and conservative. I like big orchestras more than bands. I like working with established older songs more than the CCLI top 20. That being said, I do not consider myself part of the conservative […]
Much ink is spilled about the tension between progressives and conservatives in the world of church music. I have written more than my share on that topic but today I want to talk about another uneasy tension that exists in church music: the tension between trying to hold high standards and giving anyone a chance […]