Hi, I’m Ashley—
A musician, educator, writer, and entrepreneur dedicated to helping you lead and teach with creativity and confidence. Here, I share creative teaching ideas and practical resources to help you build a successful career as a musician and teacher.
Looking for a specific topic? Start here:
Grab a cup of coffee & see what’s new
The Latest Articles On the Blog
Here we are, five weeks into the New Year.
Maybe you're settled back into your routine or maybe you're still adjusting to the changes this year brought. Maybe you've abandoned your New Year's resolutions (studies indicate that 80% of people have by now) or maybe you're using February as an opportunity to restart.
Wherever you find yourself, here are three things I've been thinking about recently that may inspire or encourage you in this season:
Happy New Year! I’m excited to share my book list for 2024.
I like to vary my reading material throughout the year by choosing books from several different categories. Here’s what’s on this year’s list:
Happy New Year's Eve!
It’s my tradition here on the blog to share a year-in-review post on December 31—a look back on the highlights and the things we learned, made, and experienced during the year.
2023 was a challenging year in a lot of ways, but also a year of personal and professional growth. We are grateful for all that we have, all that we learned, and all that we carry with us into 2024.
Here's a look back on our year:
It’s been my tradition here on the blog to write a brief review of what I read during the year and share my favorites.
If you’re new here, you should know that I tend to alternate between business and entrepreneurship books and novels, with a few memoirs and non-fiction selections added in. This year, I read 29 books (not counting the few I started but didn’t finish).
Here’s the book list I made at the beginning of the year.
Looking for a few new books to read in 2024? In this post, I’m sharing what I read this year, plus the seven best books I read in 2023.
Happy reading!
A few weeks ago, we spent a few days in NYC (our first visit in years!).
The holiday decorations were going up, Central Park was a dreamy late-fall landscape with a distinctly European feel, and I loved noting all the Art Deco details throughout the city (the doors, the signs, the tree grates).
The Holiday Market was in full swing in Bryant Park (side note: have you seen Something From Tiffany's? A great feel-good holiday movie set in NYC) and we saw at least three ice skating rinks and too many hot chocolate stands to count.
There's something magical about New York at Christmas and I found myself caught up in the sights and sounds, the wonder of it all (a little like Buddy and Jovie's date in NYC from my favorite holiday movie Elf).
This month marks the 50th anniversary of the classic TV special A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving.
Synopsis: Peppermint Patty invites herself and a few friends to Charlie Brown's house for Thanksgiving dinner. The only problem is Charlie Brown can't cook. Still wanting to be a good host, Linus and Snoopy step in to help and together, they serve an unconventional feast of jelly beans, popcorn, pretzels, and toast and learn that maybe Thanksgiving is not about the turkey and mashed potatoes after all.
Maybe you grew up reading the Peanuts in the newspaper or watching the animated shows on TV. Maybe you had a favorite character (Snoopy!) or learned Vince Guaraldi's "O Tannenbaum" on the piano to entertain guests at holiday parties.
“If you're just tuning in, you might be surprised by the score,” the announcer said as the players jogged off the field at Sanford Stadium at halftime.
He was right. 14-3, University of South Carolina vs. No. 1 University of Georgia.
Those of us watching, in person or at home, were surely thinking the same thing: What's happening? Can Georgia turn this around in the second half?
Lately, I’ve been thinking about what it means to be rooted in community.
There are the neighborly hellos on our morning walk: Lucy weeding in the garden, Amy walking Peter to school, Tony tending to his dahlias, and Darren walking Buster, the 11-year-old Golden Retriever.
But it’s those moments when you stop to talk—to ask how someone is doing, how you can help—that the roots of community grow a little deeper.
It was a late-summer afternoon in Georgia and we were buckled in the backseat of our red Astro van on our way to piano lessons.
As we pulled out of the driveway, my mother announced that today, I would navigate us to the piano teacher's house, turn by turn.
I felt my cheeks flush as panic set in. "But I don't know how to get there!" I said, my tone escalating. "We're going to be late!" (Yes, this was me, even at the age of eight.)
Reader Favorites
Top Articles for Music Teachers
Prefer to listen?
Check Out the Podcast
Welcome to another episode of the Field Notes on Music Teaching & Learning podcast. Today’s episode is part 3 of a series I’ve been working on this spring all about how to plan and organize a musical informance.
I first mentioned the idea of a musical informance in Ep. 068. An informance is basically an informal performance or an informational performance where you share insight into the music and the learning process with the audience. In Ep. 068, I shared a few examples of musicians who exemplified this model of education and engagement in the past, talked about what separates an informance from a performance and how you could structure this in your studio, and shared how my students and I were preparing for this event.
In Ep. 069, I talked more specifically about the theme of our informances this spring—music to celebrate the Total Solar Eclipse happening here in Rochester. I shared my repertoire list, the questions I asked my students as they prepared, how I built in opportunities for student creativity and input, and how I organized the event with parents and families.
Today, I’m sharing how it all went including three things I learned, what went well, and what I would do differently next time.
The birds are chirping, the first Spring flowers are popping up in the front yard, and Rory, my dog, insists on laying in the middle of the daffodil bed whenever the sun is out.
These are my seasonal cues that it's time to start planning for our annual end-of-year studio recital. To give you a little context, I think I've mentioned before that I teach at a private school. It's nursery through 12th grade and I teach in the after-school program. Most of my students attend this school, so having our recital on-site is easy and convenient for everyone (and it gives us an opportunity to practice on the piano in the space during our lessons a few weeks ahead of time, which is helpful).
I did a poll on Instagram recently to see if any of my music teacher friends had ever hosted a musical informance. A few said "yes," a few said "no," but a surprising number of respondents chose the third option: "What's an informance?"
An informance is basically an informal performance or as Eastman professor Dave Headlam describes, "A performance for the information age." (source: Oxford Handbook of Public Music Theory)
It's an opportunity to share musical works in progress or perform in a laid-back environment while inviting the audience into the process. There's a teaching component and a performing component, and depending on how you structure it, a conversational or interactive component.
This year, Rochester, NY is in the path of the total solar eclipse. There are lots of special events happening in town—the orchestra is performing a special concert, the science museum is hosting a festival, and the schools are giving everyone the day off to experience this historical event.
As I looked ahead at this year, I thought it might be fun to plan a special event of our own to mark this occasion in the studio. Maybe special repertoire? An incentive program?
Then I thought about the informances the performing ensembles at my school put on early in the year: an informal demonstration for parents of what they're learning and what they're working on.
What if we did something like this in the studio? I thought.
Today, I'm taking you behind the scenes in real-time as I research, plan, and organize my first informance for my students. I'll share a few historical examples of musicians who exemplified this model of education and engagement, talk about ways you could structure this, outline the necessary components that separate an informance from a performance, and share how my students and I are preparing for this event.
I watched an online symposium recently about musical creativity and AI and… I have thoughts.
In one sense, it's incredible how fast the technology is developing, its current capabilities, and its potential in the future.
It's also disconcerting.
There's no denying the powerful capabilities of Generative AI and its potential to support and enable our work as musicians, teachers, thinkers, writers, and creators. But I think it's important for us to consider: Is it helpful or hurtful?