Believe me, I thought long and hard about how to price my ebook on Amazon. There are books three and four times as long as mine selling for half the price or less. Before I hit the button to set the price at $9.99, the usual questions and worries swarmed in my mind: But [...]
I heard someone on the radio yesterday who sounded a lot like Bob Dylan.* I don't know if this singer consciously intended to sound like him or if it is just one of those accidents of nature, so I'm not casting aspersions. All the same, it got me thinking about imitation and so-called "sure-bet [...]
When it comes to clothes, I must admit I have a flair for the dramatic. I like cloaks and capes and shawls. I like swirling skirts and long hems, embroidery and abalone buttons. I like hats and tall boots. I like lace, velvet, faux fur, silk, leather, and well-sewn linen, and there could never [...]
Dramatic, yes? Perhaps a little bit, at least in the way I've expressed it. But true? Definitely. As soon as there is a whiff of obligation about pretty much any relationship, what happens? The death of freedom, excitement, engagement, and JOY. Think of friendships, family relationships, and work relationships. As soon as one person [...]
Mornings in The Bardic Academy begin with practice - this ancient love affair that never flags. For the last five or six weeks, Bach has been at the heart of the practice. I find myself visiting the piano three, four, five times a day to play through a sequence of fourteen of his short, [...]
I am a baby knitter. No, I'm not knitting babies (though one day - who knows?). I'm a beginner, at the wax-on, wax-off stage of learning. So far, in the space between Christmas and Epiphany, I have knitted three hats. This, in itself, is something of a Christmas miracle. Knitting patterns look a little bit [...]
It happens to everyone - and seriously, I mean everyone: the famous and the not-famous, the seasoned and the fledgling, the confident and the wobbly-kneed. All of us at some time or other freak out IN a performance or ABOUT a performance. It's debilitating. The self-talk tends to be vicious and crippling. Hands shake, voices [...]
I don’t come from a musical family. Sure, they liked music. My mother kept a stack of 45’s, including old hits like “Tom Dooley” and “Davey Crockett.” We had a hi-fi with LPs that included the soundtrack to “Black Beauty” and a wonderful, dark recording of “Peter and the Wolf.” There was a Chickering spinet [...]
I’ve got pretty good all-around intuition, but in one area my spidey-sense is just about 100% accurate. Specifically, I can read your future as a musician. Within about 60 seconds of talking with you, I can predict whether or not music is going to play a joyful and expansive role in your life over the [...]
I've often joked that if I ever made bumper-stickers, this is what they'd say: Show up & be nice. Simple, isn't it? When musicians ask me how to get booked and re-booked for paying gigs, this is my advice. Show up and be nice. Help with the chairs. Be glad to be there. Appreciate the [...]
