Category Archives: Uncategorized

I’m working on a song in a driving 6/8 time. The bass line is based on one of my etudes, but I didn’t want it to sound like a horn player playing the bass part. In order to give it … Continue reading →

Today’s work involved fixing up the Japanese sounding improv I worked on previously and starting a related tune in a different style. I had the idea to use improvised pieces to generate composed pieces, and to order them on the … Continue reading →

I’ve been working away on the CD I’m creating. I have large parts of a funk tune and large parts of a sort of ballad. Plus small parts of five or six other songs. And I’ve learned a lot of … Continue reading →

In the fall, I applied for and received two months of summer salary to record a solo CD. This is incredible: I will get paid to make my recording! Quite unusual in my world. At any rate, here is the … Continue reading →

I spent a few days two weeks ago at the Horn Symposium of the International Horn Society, in Memphis. Sound like a nightmare? Well, I had a great time. Picture 500 horn players (I’m using the word “horn” to refer … Continue reading →

Reporting live from Oaxaca, Mexico: FaceTime and Skype have increased the bearability factor of touring by an untold amount. You wake up in a strange city, where people speak a language you don’t speak, you gird your loins for a … Continue reading →

I’m making a real study of Ableton Live this summer, because I’ll be teaching a class on it in the fall. For those of you who aren’t up on this stuff (namely most of you), this is software that does … Continue reading →

I had a revelation recently about practicing an instrument that I want to post about, in the hopes of opening up a discussion. What do we tell a student who can’t play a fast passage? We say, “Slow down, and … Continue reading →

One reason I wanted an academic job is that I had so many things going on in my former life, and it felt crazy. Now my activities have been centralized under one or two roofs, but they have grown until … Continue reading →

I’m looking at a few songs to arrange for my concert in March with my electronica duo Gretzler. They are: 1. Love Lies, by Captain Beefheart. You don’t know Captain Beefheart? His real name was (he is dead as of … Continue reading →