I’ve been performing most of my life, and my body still does it — even now. The signs start early, too. Not in the wings — days out. A little hum under the skin when I think about the date. The heart doing a small extra something during the last run-throughs. The difference between meContinueContinue reading “Stage Fright Is Normal: A Young Performer’s Guide to Nerves, Mistakes, and Actually Enjoying It”
Category Archives: Music
How to Choose Your Child’s First Instrument (Without Overthinking It)
Here’s the thing nobody tells you about choosing your child’s first instrument: the stakes are lower than you think, and higher than you think, at the same time. Lower, because the first instrument isn’t a marriage. Kids switch. Guitar kids discover drums. Piano kids find their voice — sometimes literally. Almost everything transfers: rhythm, listening,ContinueContinue reading “How to Choose Your Child’s First Instrument (Without Overthinking It)”
The Science of Practice: How Musicians Actually Build Skill
“Did you practice this week?” I’ve asked that question. I’ve been asked that question. And somewhere along the way — after years of teaching, and watching hundreds of students walk into my studio either proud or braced for a lecture — I realized I’d stopped believing in it. Because hiding inside that question is anContinueContinue reading “The Science of Practice: How Musicians Actually Build Skill”
Making Practice Work at Home: A Parent’s Guide
You don’t have to read music to be good at this part. I mean it — and I say it a lot, because I watch parents shrink at the studio door. I can’t help her practice, I don’t know anything about music. Here’s what I know after years of teaching, and after raising two kidsContinueContinue reading “Making Practice Work at Home: A Parent’s Guide”
What Music Students Actually Evolve Into (And Why the Cycle Never Ends)
The seventh and final letter of the ADVANCE method is Evolve — where the cycle begins again, and the student decides what they’re becoming next.