The keyboard has long been an important tool in my musical life, both as a performer and as a teacher. For singers in particular, keyboard skills are often misunderstood. They are sometimes seen as a secondary or optional ability, or as something that requires a level...
It shapes how we listen, how we respond, how we rehearse, and how we perform. Strong musicianship is often invisible when it is present, but its absence is immediately felt. It allows music to function with clarity and coherence, particularly in improvised and...
Singing is often approached as something separate from instrumental music, as if it were primarily a matter of expression rather than musicianship. In jazz and improvised music, this distinction is unhelpful. Singing requires the same engagement with rhythm, harmony,...
People often ask how to improvise as if it were a single skill that can be acquired quickly. In practice, improvisation develops through a combination of listening, preparation, and experience. It is not something that appears suddenly, nor something that can be...
Improvisation is often described as spontaneity, but this description is misleading. To improvise is not to act without preparation, nor to abandon structure. Improvisation takes place within musical languages that have been learned, absorbed, and practised over time....
