November 30, 2015
Prepare to deeply understand what you want to hear when you write. [Does hearing begin when you forget the name of what you hear?—paraphrasing poet Paul Valéry (1871-1945)].
November 23, 2015
To be adequately simple, one must be fully aware, thinking and feeling everything experienced and imagined insofar as one is capable.
November 11, 2015
Development is overrated.
From a note to a student who asked about graduate school:
I think I understand where you’re coming from on the grad school thoughts. But keep in mind that even if you don’t like the styles your teachers write in, they may still have plenty of insight that can be helpful to you. Or not. Depends on who, of course.
Studying privately with someone you are sure to learn from a great deal is also a very good avenue–maybe the best when it comes to really zeroing in on your own motivations, cares, concerns, needs.
You are young and can take plenty of time to develop your musical personality. You need to be sure that whatever path you choose next will afford you opportunities to move forward; you can’t stagnate. But no need to rush. Working on craft can happen in many ways–you just have to find what is right and suitably inspirational for you.
Looking inward for what you really want is better than aligning with any school of thought–better but harder.
***
I’m interested in capturing ideas within short forms/spans so that they loom larger in the memory than perhaps they did at first physical hearing. Distilling an essence, seizing a moment. I fancy that I do this by writing as clearly and concisely as I can. [shaped phrases, clearcut contrasts, strong rhythmic profiles]
