Such an endless subject, how to talk about music. But also something we can all make progress on. There are so many things to say about how to do it well. Here's something I wrote to one of my Facebook friends, Ana Cervantes: I think there are four things to emphasize in teaching how to write about music. First, being very clear and honest and personal about what you hear. Second, talking about music -- describing music with speech. Much more direct than writing! Third, reading good writing about music. Which isn't necessarily by music … [Read more...]

The fall moves onward. I've relaunched my blog, my website (need to do a little work on it!), and my book. And today my Juilliard course started. This is a graduate course about music criticism that I've been teaching for many years. You can read the same course overview the students get, and the same class schedule. On which you'll find all the assignments, with links, so you can sample the reading and listening the students will do. I have to say that the response I got to this on Facebook really warmed my heart. Students who took … [Read more...]