Q&A: How to improve your sight-reading

There are other posts on this blog about sight-reading, always a topic of interest. I have been watching tennis again! Nadal and Federer are both at the top of their game. What does watching tennis have to do with sight-reading? Well, I’m happy to say that I learned something from watching tennis that applies to [...]

What does your music say?

Often when we are tired, the music disappears from our playing.

How to switch between hymnals quickly

Anyone who has played for a church service knows the need to change from one hymnal to another quickly during the service. During the past 3 weeks, I have been exploring how best to do that. The church in which I work uses 2 hymnals regularly. The congregation has book-sized versions that sometimes have only [...]

2 ways to involve the congregation

Encouraging the congregation to go past its usual boundaries.

Want something done? Go to the top!

One of my aunts, who held a high-level position in Washington, frequently reminded all of us to go to the top. I thought of her today and said “thank you” in spirit. Background My health insurance was a mess for at least a month.  Every time I talked to a person, I was given a [...]

Must-read links: teaching music to disadvantaged children

In this week’s New York Times, 3 musicians receive the credit they deserve for bringing music to disadvantaged kids and taking them far beyond anything they thought possible:  Francisco J. Núñez, Marin Alsop, and Gustavo Dudamel.  To my mind, this is exactly what needs to happen with classical music in the 21st century. In addition, [...]

Mix It Up!

I’ve been watching tennis again.  The Rogers Cup just finished in Canada, and the Western & Southern Open is in Cincinnati all this week. It looks like the players who ”mix it up” the most come out winning more matches. I’ve been thinking about the value of mixing it up in music, too. We maintain life balance: [...]

When All Systems are NO: Now What?

Sometime in July, I concluded that, without a doubt, something needed to change about the way I book my own concerts.  Nothing was happening! The Problem After considering everything I could think of, including the thought that maybe people don’t like my playing, the reason became clear.  Many venues in which I’ve played are having [...]

E-book available in print, too!

Goal-oriented Practice How to Avoid Traps and Become a Confident Performer by Gretchen Saathoff Welcome! My E-book shows you how to make steady progress starting right now! Eliminate negative self-talk, overwhelming feelings, and practicing with little improvement. Written in plain English, no musical jargon. Shows step-by-step actions you can take. The print version is produced [...]

Emily’s Movie: Take 2

This is the first update about my work for an upcoming film about Emily Dickinson, the 3rd in a series of documentaries. I have been practicing seven of the Mendelssohn “Songs Without Words” and Beethoven’s “Pathétique” Sonata. Background We will be videotaping in order to make a scratch audio track so the producer can organize [...]