I yelled at the cat. That’s when I knew things had gone too far. It started when I began practicing to sing “Fill the World with Love,” a song from the musical Goodbye Mr. Chips (by Leslie Bricusse). I always get a little choked up when I sing it so I was practicing singing through  Read the Rest…

I’ve been trying to get back to writing for six months. Nothing propels me so much as the need to confess a scorching embarrassment or to shapeshift something painful into something funny. So here goes. My story starts about a month ago when I took my octogenarian friend Kay to what I call the Green  Read the Rest…

On this last day of a moody year, I think it would be a good exercise for me to review all the good things about the spin cycle of the last month, otherwise known as the holiday season. The holidays begin in October when I start the fall quarter of the OK Chorale and All  Read the Rest…

I’ve been feeling a little wassail drunk with music this season. I usually look forward to it and don’t mind the iterations of Hark, the Herald Angel and his pals like Round John Virgin. After all, it’s only for a month out of the year, two and half if you’re a musician. The Chorale started  Read the Rest…

I’m in a better frame of mind about this year’s time change primarily because I am not cursing the Republicans for elongating daylight saving time, which they did during the Bush administration.  It’s been, what ten years, and I still haven’t gotten over it.  These days there are so many things to curse the Republicans  Read the Rest…

The day after the election the pall that settled over Seattle was dreadful.  It was as though someone had died in every home–except for the guy around the corner who has had a big sign in his front window for eight years: No Obamanation.  For a month he had a Trump/Pence sign plastered over that.   Read the Rest…

This post might also be entitled “The Life of an Alfred Piano Course, Lesson Book One,” something only a piano teacher can fully appreciate.  This particular copy has sat on my piano rack off and on for 15 years, thanks to the Seattle Mennonite Church, which has supplied me with a stream of students over  Read the Rest…

I have a seven year old piano student—Alex– who is obsessed with leprechauns. This year she is excited by them. Last year, when she was afraid of them, she asked me if I had ever seen a leprechaun. “Oh yes,” I said. “There was one in the house yesterday morning.” Her eyes bulged. “What did  Read the Rest…

It’s been two weeks since I’ve written.  If you follow my blog, I bet you thought I was reading David Copperfield all this time. Not even close. I haven’t begun to look for my copy of it yet. No, I’ve been Doing Christmas.  I tried making divinity and ended up with vanilla soup.  Only then  Read the Rest…

I have a regressive teaching technique I called The Points.  It’s a way of not just encouraging students to play the piano but a way of helping them to focus on matters of technique that they would otherwise most likely ignore.  That they otherwise do ignore. It costs them nothing to have me sit there  Read the Rest…