A few weeks ago, I discussed my children’s business in the basement and I was surprised at how many of you responded positively, asking for more business posts. Others asked for advice on different business matters. So, I think I will do a series on business over the coming months (along with my series on […]
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Three years ago, I sold Vitabase, a nutritional supplement company we had built from the ground up. When I sold, I assumed I was out of the health business for good. However, there were a few websites not associated with that sale that we held on to and we moved that business into the basement and gave it to the kids […]
As we continue our series on texture, I want to give you one of my favorite things today. I would call it one of my secrets but of course, it is not mine at all. I stole it from other people (in particular my jazz friends). I think that we musicians tend to fall into […]
It has been a busy last few weeks for many reasons including music. Last week, I started and finished recording a new piano album in my own studio and today, I am heading to Nashville today to record an album with the Studio Contest winners Niah and Allisha Merrill. I will keep you up to date on […]
In contemporary music, rhythm is very important. In fact, contemporary music relies heavily on rhythm for its sophistication and without doubt, much of that music is very rhythmically sophisticated. I listen to songs on the radio very often that just make me shake my head. They sound easy but I know full well how hard it […]
I am going to do a series over the next several weeks on texture. For those that don’t know, when arrangers and writers refer to the term “texture,” we are referring to ideas of an arrangement outside of melody and harmony decisions. In other words, we are referring to decisions such as how to voice, […]
Note: This blog post is sort of a follow up to one I wrote a few weeks ago and is geared to those interested in the professional side of music, especially publishing. Yesterday, I emailed a book of arrangements to my editor at Lorenz. The book will be published next year and is a Christmas […]
I am going to do something a bit unusual today. I am going to give you an arrangement for free that you normally have to pay for. “He Hideth My Soul” is an arrangement that was released to my Monthly Hymn Arrangement Club members in May. Before you continue reading, you might want to download the arrangement […]
Have you ever stopped to think about the fact that you can be a great musician but never play well in public? It’s true… Here’s why: performance is an entirely different skill than music making. Some musicians are highly skilled in music but just not highly skilled in performance. The opposite is just as true […]
I know posting has been light here recently. Let me give you a quick update on what is going on and then get to the main point of this post. Yesterday, I finished the initial draft of a book for Lorenz (Christmas arrangements). I need to go back through them and wrap up my initial changes over […]
When you first start arranging, very often you are just trying to come up with enough ideas to fill up three minutes. I call that a theme and variations approach and that is the way I arranged through college. I shudder to think about what I wrote back then. Most experienced arrangers eventually come to […]