Dear Lara
This piece originated as an assignment that sort of went rogue and proceeded to take over my life. It’s taken a long time—too long—to get it out into the world, but that’s a story for another day. Today, I want…
Category teaching and learning
the unexpected Alysa Liu tie in
SERIOUSLY have you ever seen someone skate like her? Ever? I’ve been enchanted by skating ever since I was a kid, practicing taking off from different edges of my feet on the patio whenever the Olympic coverage would go to…
Range, part 2: asking better questions
Hey friends! As promised, here’s the next installment of my examination of David Epstein’s Range, specifically relating it to what we’re trying to do as musicians. I’m dividing it up by chapter to keep things clear. Before I get underway,…
know thyself: the dreaded dissapearing practice
I’ve talked about this before, usually in the context of structuring your practice. Since I’ve done a ton of that, I thought devoting some time to describing the issue itself in some detail might be helpful, so that wherever you…
mini post: an outrageous Popper 29
One of the things I love about working with advanced students (my studio is about 2/3 semi pros) is that they keep me in touch with the gnarliest parts of the repertoire. Just today, I’m getting to revisit Beethoven 6,…
process: what it really takes
I’ve been in conversation with a few of my more advanced students lately. They’ve adopted many elements of the Practice Modes I’m building a book around, and while they certainly clear the terrain in terms of not allowing gaps in…
mini post: park your brain somewhere new with tv practice
If you’re trying to make physical changes in your playing, I highly recommend the following, with the caveat that different brains find different scenarios pleasurable. If playing with your attention split causes calamity, it’s not a problem with you. This…
Anything but Crumb-y
The end of the year always makes my fingers itch for something new, or something old to make new again. A few years ago, I was inspired by Josh Roman’s Instagram post where he was being adjusted by an Alexander…
COMING fall 2025: Wednesday-themed intro to cello intensive
Already know you’re interested? Go to the bottom of the post and let me know! It’s been so much fun to see interest in the cello and playing pop/contemporary styles since Netflix’s Wednesday crashed into our hearts and minds in…
POSTPONED: Summer School 2: practice lab
This course has been postponed, please do not purchase it unless you are happy to have a credit for when it actually does run! Thank you for understanding ♥️ Summer School 1 was a real-time look at the way I…