Nils Lofgren Plays CMAS, December 8th, 2011

I am late in posting this because I am still trying to wrap my head around the fact that one of my musical heroes  was willing to try my students, and me for that matter to produce a performance of his.  There needs to be a stronger word than "surreal" for this kind of thing.

First off, if you are reading this and do not yet have a copy of Nil's newest CD "Old SChool" you need to stop reading right now, and go pick up a copy via his website (www.nilslofgren.com) or iTunes or however you purchase new music.  Then come back and finish reading my prattling on here.  I'll wait a few moments for you to get back here...

Interestingly, it is now, a couple of days later, pretty easy for me to give you a sense of what the evening was like for CMAS (www.tinyurl.com/ArcadiaCMAS): imagine the greatest thing ever and then multiply it by about a billion.  No joke.  On every level Nils gave of himself in a manner that I cannot fully express.

The most obvious would be that one of the world's greatest musician played that night.  It was watching a true artist do something amazing.  It was sublime, inspiring, and just beautiful.  Nils plays with a kind of awareness to the larger musical line that most of us can only wish for.  Heck, I'm grateful I am even aware of it, forget that I will likely never attain that kind of musical bliss/wholeness/oneness myself.

But he is, after all, Nils Lofgren, so, to be fair, the notion that he was indescribably good, I know, is hardly a shock.  What ultimately made the entire experience stand out, and granted I have a severe bias here, is that he did something to push music education forward in a manner that I have never seen before.

I have talked in other posts about the project overall, so I will leave those details for you to review if you like, but I feel I must point out the realities of what Thursday night meant in terms of the educational value.

The truth is that I run a program that as great of a concept as it is, until someone like Nils was willing to come in and give my students real control over the end result of his performance, everything we have done has been fantastic, but, in truth, somewhat only theoretical.  Nils made it real.  He made it real like nothing has before.  There cannot be anymore discussions about weather or not the kind of music education CMAS offers is valid.  None. Nils ended that.  He, perhaps without realizing it, took a huge stand regarding music education - and education in general.  By allowing CMAS students to produce his performance he told the world that those students are doing something that really matters.  Matters enough that someone of hist stature wants to be a part of it.  He did not control the night - nor has he controlled any of the other aspects of this bigger project - he genuinely collaborated with CMAS.  To say this was a huge development does not even come close.

I does not matter that I have been pushing CMAS students forward for all these years.  I am quite proud of my role in all this, but as Nils and I have talked, I am a not even a has-been, I am a never-was, so my pushing only goes so far.  But Nils is a master.  A true living legend.  What he did created a true watershed moment.  He was already a musical hero of mine, now he has surpassed that.

I should mention that there will be several videos coming in the next couple of weeks/months stemming from this unprecedented collaboration between Nils and CMAS, but for now here are at least some photos from the night.

I will write more on all this soon.  Frankly, I am still in shock over the entire thing.  THANK YOU, NILS!!  YOU ARE THE BEST!!

The Nils Lofgren Project

Talk about lucky!  About a year and a half ago we were very lucky in CMAS to have Nils Lofgren (the E Street Band, Neil Young) come in and speak to CMAS about his career and his music, the industry - pretty much all the things that he has ever done professionally as a musician. He was scheduled originally to come in for, I think, about an hour and he wound up staying for just shy of three. Needless to say it was pretty amazing. Nils is an incredibly gifted musician - pretty much everyone knows that. It's evident in all the work he does. It's evident in the people he works with. But more than that, he's just a really gracious person. Nils is one of the kindest most gentlest souls I've ever met and very much willing to share anything that he can with others.

Certainly that session with CMAS was extremely successful. It was extremely inspiring - not just for the students, but also for me; as well as any number of other faculty from the school that attended. In the wake of that, I was blessed in that Nils wanted to stay in touch, and about 10 months ago, back in February of this year, kind of out of the blue, I got a phone call and he wanted to know a) if I'm still teaching at the school and had the CMAS program and b) if I would be interested in having CMAS work with him as part of his upcoming album that at the time he was still putting together.

Obviously the answer was yes. It is a rare gift when an artist of his stature and skill offers to work with your students. Something that we simply could not pass up. Basically, the project is rooted in Nils feeling that he's aware of all the new technology and is aware of the need to involve and reach out to a younger generation (more specifically people that are the age of my students) but he's not quite sure how to do it. So his idea was basically to turn my students into a kind of record labels of sorts. Not having the kids on the phones pushing the CD or anything like that, but just having them help him work through what I might or might not work. 

We started this process very recently. He's coming in frequently to CMAS and he's talked with students now quite a bit about what he has in mind.  He's played a good bit for them and has relayed some great stories to them.  He's basically giving them open access to Nils Lofgren the legendary guitarist, songwriter, singer, producer, and it's been just wonderful.

Right now we are focusing on helping him create two videos for two songs that are on his new album "Old School." The album by the way is unbelievable and if you get a chance to pick it up you absolutely should. It's on iTunes and it is also available at his website and any number of other places www.NilsLofgren.com.

Anyway, CMAS is not really a video production program. CMAS is about music. It's about writing it. It's about performing it. It's about producing it. Both live and in the studio. But we are not a video production class. However, several of the my students in CMAS are also very accomplished students in our Media Communications program at the school where they do work very specifically on video production, so we are tapping lots and lots of resources for this. 

One of the videos is basically going to be a more standardized kind of storyboarded video for the song "Miss You Ray."  The other one is going to be a kind of "making of" documentary for the song "Dream Big." We're hoping that after those we can move on into more detailed production and songwriting skills with Nils. He and I have even discussed the possibility of doing a live show  - one of our songwriter nights as it were - but featuring him. We're still not quite sure how that will work or if we can even manage to make that happen, but to even be talking about it is pretty amazing.  

Both Nils and I are hopeful that this will be a lasting partnership.  Something that the CMAS program does with him not necessarily every year, but that the students have this resource of an artist such as Nils.  It's a remarkable opportunity and it is a tremendous honor and I cannot ever fully thank or express how grateful I am to Nils for giving my students - and honestly me - the opportunity to work with him like this.

Much more coming soon...

Lemons, Lemonade, and CMAS

Lets be honest, nothings ever 100% perfect 100% of the time; and as much as what CMAS students are capable of, and as much as they've accomplished in the past, sometimes mistakes are going to happen.  That's part of learning, but that's also part of the real world.  You put yourself in a big high profile gig and sometimes during that performance there may be problems.  And last week that's what happened.  

It wasn't anybody's fault.  Nobody intentionally messed up.  The truth is that even the most "simple" CMAS show is pretty complex, by any standards: three totally independent Mix desks (FOH, Monitors, Pro Tools recording), some serious PA wattage (excess of 40,000 watts for some shows) etc., etc.; but that is no excuse.  We had a problem and the show suffered.  The performers did great, the crew worked really hard, but we made some errors on the production side of things and it was a problem.  So we were thrilled when we were going get to play one more show (at least) because the varsity football team was in playoffs and we were hosting last night which meant another Super Bowl style halftime show for us.

It might have been a bit nerve-racking as the students were feeling, all week, a good bit of pressure and where a bit worried could they pull it off?  Could they redeem themselves from last week and do it in such a way so that they would still feel good about everything that they've done in the past as well?

The answer turned out to be yes.  The students went back last week and completely reevaluated their process - voluntarily I might add.  They came to me after the problems from last week's show and said, "We don't want to do it like that again.  Ever."  It was a important learning lesson for the entire CMAS program.   A somewhat brutal one in front of a couple thousand people - not exactly my first choice - but an important one none the less.  Details matter.  Plain and simple.  Your best show in the past only matters if your next one is at least as good, ideally better, and certainly not worse.  More importantly, the audience simply does not care.  For them the equation is very simple: it's good or it's bad.  The reasons why, on either end of the spectrum, simply do not matter to the audience. Some tough lessons at any age, but certainly for a group of high-schoolers.

But they were flawless last night. It was amazing, and what's more, they were calm about it.  I was nervous a bit on their behalf.  Not that they cannot handle the job, far from it; but I wondered, leading into last night's performance, if they would be overly anxious.  Would they not have a good work ethic or attitude towards each other?

But this was the calmest most well-prepared easy-going show they've ever produced.  And it was certainly the highest pressure they've ever had because they know that if they make a mistake once they may be forgiven for it, but if they go out the next week in front the same crowd - huge crowds, by the way, we're talking several thousand people now at these games - and they make a mistake again, even if the crowd loves the CMAS program as a concept, the crowd may start to wonder can they really pull this off?

But CMAS did pull it off.  They did an amazing job last night.  Even managed to avoid the rain. It started to come down just as we were getting all the gear back in. Fortunately that's why they make road cases.

We also had the pleasure of recording the Peoria High School marching band up in CMAS Studio B. What a great group. They were so kind and receptive and appreciative of the opportunity to be recorded by our students.  To get a professional level recording in our studio.  They were just thrilled.  They were really gracious and it really showed the benefits of this kind of musical camaraderie across genres, and more than anything that was really nice to see and it's something that I would like to foster more of and bring in even more schools to do the same.

In the end it was really an exciting night for CMAS and I could not have been more proud.  Last week was tough for the students, and they really were upset; but it turned out they might've done themselves a favor.  They redid their process and that is now going to make every event they do even better.  And if you've ever been to some of their previous events it's hard to imagine how they could improve them.  It was just incredible and I'm so proud of all of them and I just can't wait to get back to it on Monday and see how much further we can push this thing we call music education: CMAS.

Fine. I'll write the (insert expletive) book!

It's been a good while since I have posted anything here.  Trust me, the irony has not been lost on me.  Given my proclivity (oooh, that's a good word) to ramble on generally, I have clearly been, it would seem, holding back.

In truth lots has been going on and I really cannot account for why I have not taken the time to write more here.  So for some odd reason, late at night, tonight, when I should well be asleep, I have decided that it's time to remedy that.

The family is great and I am as ever the luckiest man in the world.

As for projects, that has been quite a ride lately.  For a good bit now the main thrust of my "free time" has been to deal with the perfecting the EARS™ concept and the unreal amount of work that goes along with the related intellectual property issues.  On the whole it is going very well, but wow, lots of work.  EARS™ has taken on a level of legitimacy that I cannot fully express.  It is a unique feeling to know, with 100% certainty that something works as it should.  Wonderful, but unique.  At least for me.

 I have also, after what seems like far too long, really gotten a sense of my next musical project. It's called "With One Voice" and it will very much feature my lovely Michele.  I don't wanna give too much away just yet, but I have been quite captivated by a band from my past called Jellyfish - you should check them out - and when combined with my love of the Beatles, Queen and a few others, it got me thinking...and then my friends George and Nils (seriously, how lucky am I?) both gave me, without likely realizing it, some great ideas for how to go about creating the music.  Very very VERY excited.  Anyway, more on that later....

Right now my other push is a book about CMAS.  Or maybe more accurately, my sense of what I have learned from creating and facilitating CMAS.  I am not kidding. A book feels like a good idea right now. Even if only as a kind of cathartic exercise, it might prove useful.

I already have some of the chapters/major topics worked out:
(in no particular order at this time)
1.  The Music Eduction World is NOT Changing.  It's Already Changed.
2.  Seriously?  You're saying I should do my job less effectively to keep you from having to do yours as well?
3. Money isn't everything, but you cannot expect to run most music programs on very much these days
4. There are only two kinds of music: good and bad.
5. Arrogance is the enemy.
6. Education decisions should always be made based on what;s best for kids, not adults.
7. Yeah.  You heard me right.  It's not just a music program, it's a legitimate record label.  Get over it.

There are surely to be more, but that's what I have so far.  My real issue is the book's title.  I suppose I will eventually stumble upon it but for some reason I feel like until I have it I cannot truly write. As of now, I am leaning towards:

"I've Come to Kill Your Music Program"

but I am open to other ideas if you have any.

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A Self-Evaluation CMAS Style

So I am required to do a year end self evaluation for my "day job" with CMAS, and for some reason, despite it being a bit unconventional to do so, I felt like posting it.  I figure some day I may look back at it and be glad I have the record of it.  Or at least have a good laugh.  Which is fine too.

Note: If you read this and wonder how in the world I can possibly stay employed, rest assured I often have the same question.  On the other hand, while teaching doesn't pay that well I have the best "day job" there is.  regardless of compensation.  Period.  I am very, VERY lucky.  Ok.  Here ya' go...

Year End Self Evaluation:

I am, generally, very pleased with this past year.  I find it very difficult to discuss my own work objectively, but I do feel that things went well this year and I was grateful to learn that I am considered “above and beyond” in several of the evaluation rubric’s categories. 

The truth is that I am always looking at how I can improve the CMAS experience for my students.  On some levels it’s because I am not convinced that we are doing everything as well as we can, so I like to think that the program can continue to evolve as I look to further improve the implementation of the curriculum. However, if I am to be totally honest, a great deal of my interest in evolving the program is because I believe that there is no such thing as “status quo.”  It’s either getting better or worse – there are no other options.  To that end, staying the same is, to me at least, just a variation on getting worse.  Plus, I get bored easily.  Which I figure means my students do too so that has to be accounted for.  I also believe very strongly that education is always evolving.  It must, I would say, by definition.  In fact, for all we have changed by creating CMAS I fully predict that some day there will be something that will come along and make CMAS seem as outmoded as many traditional programs do now.  This is a completely different issue than what I am to be covering here, but it is important, I feel, in order to put my comments below in to full perspective.  So…

As proud as I am of this past year, I am not at all convinced that I have found the correct balance between guiding the students  in pursuit of their goals and allowing them the space to explore the possibilities of their musical instincts free from my influence.  It is very easy to talk about “guided independent study,” but it is not so easy to implement with a content area that is as creative and subjective as it is technically and academically demanding.

To be fair, this year I feel I greatly improved the execution of the workshops we do at the end of each project cycle.  I felt that this year was far more productive in allowing the students more effective feedback from both myself and their peers than in the past.  But at some point this year, I began to notice that my original concerns, that date back many years, to the start of what would eventually become CMAS, that if I was too “hands on” in their process the students would simply create material that sounded less like themselves and too much like an extension of me.  Something, I assure you, I would loath as I find that notion very, if I can be so cliché, unmusical.

But something new has come to light in the wake of the evolution of the way the curriculum is being implemented: In numerous, unsolicited conversations, with students across the entire spectrum of the CMAS program, they are apparently looking to me as more of a producer rather than just a teacher.  I have always been hesitant to get too involved in their creative side, beyond giving them the necessary tools, but it appears that they are looking to me to guide them more directly.  Not so much in the idea stage, but once they have the foundation of the material.  It’s a huge complement that I am not certain they themselves fully appreciate, but it none-the-less creates an interesting opportunity to yet again change the paradigm a bit.

I have to admit that the notion of approaching CMAS more as a producer is very appealing – certainly to my ego – but I want to be very careful that it does not lead to a nonproductive (nonmusical – there’s that cliché again. Sorry.) arrogance.  There is a sign when you first walk in to CMAS that says, “Arrogance is the enemy.”  I put it there to remind myself as much as to remind the students.  I have to take some time this summer to completely work out how to fully become an effective producer in the context of CMAS, and likely, like all things CMAS, it will be an evolutionary process; but it seems logical at this point to move forward and see what’s viable.  If it turns out I am wrong (it would not be the first time) in this, then we can take another look at a later date.

I’ll close by stating that as I reread what I have written here, I am not entirely certain this is what was asked for as a year end self reflection, but as I think back on the last year, and all we accomplished in CMAS, this is the one thing that keeps coming to my mind as needing to be addressed for next year more than anything else in terms of my role in it all.  Happy Sumer break!

A Self-Evaluation CMAS Style

So I am required to do a year end self evaluation for my "day job" with CMAS, and for some reason, despite it being a bit unconventional to do so, I felt like posting it.  I figure some day I may look back at it and be glad I have the record of it.  Or at least have a good laugh.  Which is fine too.

Note: If you read this and wonder how in the world I can possibly stay employed, rest assured I often have the same question.  On the other hand, while teaching doesn't pay that well I have the best "day job" there is.  regardless of compensation.  Period.  I am very, VERY lucky.  Ok.  Here ya' go...

Year End Self Evaluation:

I am, generally, very pleased with this past year.  I find it very difficult to discuss my own work objectively, but I do feel that things went well this year and I was grateful to learn that I am considered “above and beyond” in several of the evaluation rubric’s categories. 

The truth is that I am always looking at how I can improve the CMAS experience for my students.  On some levels it’s because I am not convinced that we are doing everything as well as we can, so I like to think that the program can continue to evolve as I look to further improve the implementation of the curriculum. However, if I am to be totally honest, a great deal of my interest in evolving the program is because I believe that there is no such thing as “status quo.”  It’s either getting better or worse – there are no other options.  To that end, staying the same is, to me at least, just a variation on getting worse.  Plus, I get bored easily.  Which I figure means my students do too so that has to be accounted for.  I also believe very strongly that education is always evolving.  It must, I would say, by definition.  In fact, for all we have changed by creating CMAS I fully predict that some day there will be something that will come along and make CMAS seem as outmoded as many traditional programs do now.  This is a completely different issue than what I am to be covering here, but it is important, I feel, in order to put my comments below in to full perspective.  So…

As proud as I am of this past year, I am not at all convinced that I have found the correct balance between guiding the students  in pursuit of their goals and allowing them the space to explore the possibilities of their musical instincts free from my influence.  It is very easy to talk about “guided independent study,” but it is not so easy to implement with a content area that is as creative and subjective as it is technically and academically demanding.

To be fair, this year I feel I greatly improved the execution of the workshops we do at the end of each project cycle.  I felt that this year was far more productive in allowing the students more effective feedback from both myself and their peers than in the past.  But at some point this year, I began to notice that my original concerns, that date back many years, to the start of what would eventually become CMAS, that if I was too “hands on” in their process the students the students would simply create material that sounded less like themselves and too much like an extension of me.  Something, I assure you, I would loath as I find that notion very, if I can be so cliché, unmusical.

But something new has come to light in the wake of the evolution of the way the curriculum is being implemented: In numerous, unsolicited conversations, with students across the entire spectrum of the CMAS program, they are apparently looking to me as more of a producer rather than just a teacher.  I have always been hesitant to get too involved in their creative side, beyond giving them to necessary tools, but it appears that they are looking to me to guide them more directly.  Not so much in the idea stage, but once they have the foundation of the material.  It’s a huge complement that I am not certain they themselves fully appreciate, but it none-the-less creates an interesting opportunity to yet again change the paradigm a bit.

I have to admit that the notion of approaching CMAS more as a producer is very appealing – certainly to my ego – but I want to be very careful that it does not lead to a nonproductive (nonmusical – there’s that cliché again. Sorry.) arrogance.  There is a sign when you first walk in to CMAS that says, “Arrogance is the enemy.”  I put it there to remind myself as much as to remind the students.  I have to take some time this summer to completely work out how to fully become an effective producer in the context of CMAS, and likely, like all things CMAS, it will be an evolutionary process; but it seems logical at this point to move forward and see what’s viable.  If it turns out I am wrong (it would not be the first time) in this, then we can take another look at a later date.

I’ll close by stating that as I reread what I have written here, I am not entirely certain this is what was asked for as a year end self reflection, but as I think back on the last year, and all we accomplished in CMAS, this is the one thing that keeps coming to my mind as needing to be addressed for next year more than anything else in terms of my role in it all.  Happy Sumer break!

A Simpler Path

It always amazes me how, no matter my intentions, projects seem to always get more and more involved, time becomes harder to allocate as the complexity increases, and invariably I get to feeling a bit lost in the process.  On a lot of levels the truth is that is not necessarily a bad thing, but in matters of a creative nature (whatever that means) there are so many times that I just wanna be able to get lost in the creation, not the process.

So lately, I've bee taking stock.  We've already done a total revamp the main website, which was surprisingly cathartic; and my pet project for the last several years of seeing how far I can take the notion of making music live, from nothing, with multiple lines/textures all going on simultaneously has started to see some real progress as well.  In fact, the truth is that it was largely my recent progress on that method of music making that kind of got me really thinking of this idea of simplifying.

I plan to write more about the specifics very soon - hopefully to coincide with video of some performances to show it in application - but, if nothing else, the "break through" seems to have occurred when I had finally gotten reasonable hold of the open-source technology elements required (programming pedals to talk to other gear to talk to computers, etc. without any of it being relegated to any of the gears' proprietary or design limitations)

The fact is that this took so long in no small part because it took me quite some time to develop a musical approach let alone conceive of a manner to actually do it to say nothing of execution.  Anyway, as I made all this recent progress at some point I took a step back - something I should do more often - and noticed that while it would all work in theory, in practice I could see it lacked the necessary simplicity (can I say "elegance" instead?) to really work without requiring a counterproductive level of focus.  I saw it as leading to getting far too lost in the process and not the music - not at all my intention.

So once I realized that, it's been a matter a retooling and simplifying.  Once the musical concept was clarified it seemed like a good idea to branch out, so the website was the next logical step.  Obviously there is more to do, and though I am not entirely certain how far I can take this, it has felt very therapeutic in general, so I am highly motivated to continue.

There is a lot more and as I reread this post I am clearly writing even more ambiguously than usual - which is certainly saying something.  It's also very possible that this is all related in some manner to my upcoming birthday causing me to take stock of life in general and this is just the current manifestation.  Or maybe I need a nap.  Or both.

The Triumphant Return of "Guitar Troll!!"

I just came across an report saying that "Guitar Hero" is being pulled from further development.  Apparently the same goes for "Rock Band."  The article (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110209/ap_on_bi_ge/us_earns_activision_blizzard) is interesting in that it points to the fact these games at one point truly revolutionized the gaming industry, but have proven to be consistently unprofitable.

There is some logic to that notion that even I can follow.  The games had a huge rush of initial sales and popularity in the mid-2000s, but the problem is that unlike almost all other games they require multiple and, by industry standards, expensive additional controllers (guitars, drums, etc.) in order to operate.

The initial business model seems to have been based around the idea that the consumer will spend enough additional money purchasing more songs to play on the game to offset the rather high costs of producing them.  I suspect that licensing rights for many of the artists also were costing quite a bit - which certainly would not help things.

I wonder if some of the issue is also due to the fact that for the most part you cannot really learn to play the instruments from playing the game.  A lot of my students - and granted, my students are a unique bunch with regard to this kind of thing - have frequently told me that they find the games interesting and fun to a point, but that ultimately, it feels like a simplistic toy.  They tell me that in the end they'd rather just play the real thing.

Now, to be fair, I have a well deserved reputation for being the "King of the Epic Fail" when it comes to playing these games.  I can no better navigate through the game versions of any number of songs, regardless of the "instrument" I'm playing - which is kinda funny since I can play many of those same songs on many of the real instruments required.

In any case, a while back I wrote how I thought that a better use for all this would be something I called "Guitar Troll." If you wanna read the details from back then they can be found here: http://crossfeedthemix.blogspot.com/search/label/Guitar%20Hero.  Essentially, the concept is to use the games' guitars and other instruments more like battle axes.  (Yes, I know that for a self-proclamed "uber-pacifist" this seems a bit violent, but bear with me, ok?)  Level one you go up against maybe, I don't know, some punk rocker; level two is Kirt Cobain; then on to Heldrix and Townshend - you get the idea.

Anyway, the way  I see it, if "Rock Band" and "Guitar Hero" are ending, unless someone comes up with a way to integrate real instrument technique, I figure there is a huge market for what to do with all those game controllers just kinda sitting around once all the tunes have been played.  Just a thought.

Guitar Troll  FOREVER!!!

CMAS and the Apple Distinguished Educator program

I was recently asked to apply to become an Apple Distinguished Educator. Basically the program, which is facilitated by Apple, is a way to connect nationally, and internationally, with like minded educators each of whom are changing the old educational paradigms for the better.  I have no idea if I will be accepted or not, but I very much love the idea behind the ADE program.  My preference for Macs and related products aside, I think the notion of getting teachers like this together - even just helping to put them into contact with each other - is very cool.

On the other hand, funny as this may sound, while I am incredibly proud of what we've created with CMAS, on so many levels getting selected for the ADE program (should that happen) feels a bit like giving credit to the guy who sold you some paper to write your novel on.  Despite all that can be said, and again, I am very proud of all we've done with CMAS - to say nothing of what I feel we can do with it in the future, at the end of the day - and please forgive the ridiculous cliche that this sounds like - it really is the students making it happen.

I've been teaching a long time.  Far longer than I probably want to admit, but in that time I really have learned many things and one of them is that all I can really do is show them that there are opportunities for them to take advantage of.  I cannot make them take advantage, I can only show them what is possible.  They have to actually do the work.  I don't say any of that lightly.  It's just a reality of the gig.    

All that in mind, I put together the required 2 minute video that Apple asks for as part of the selection process.  The end result feels a bit, as I've said in other forums, self-indulgent for my taste, but I think I covered the main points that Apple wants.  Here's a link to the final two minute submission: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4nxAL_79aDc

In the end, the really cool thing (beyond some really wonderful comments by some incredible supporters of the program - there were so many more than I could include in this version) is that I found I have the foundation for what I think could be a great, and I think insightful, look into CMAS. I'm hoping to get this longer and, less "me centered" version complete shortly and be able to use it when I do presentations about CMAS and as a way for future/interested students to learn more about what it is we do.

I am also really hopeful to be selected as an ADE so that  I can further my own understanding of what sort of possibilities there are to continue to expand all that CMAS has to offer.  Wish me luck!

I learned that in High School

I recently received an email from a former student who is doing very well now studying in Los Angeles, and it struck me as such a kind thought that  wanted to write a bit about it.  There was also an underlying message about the effectiveness of CMAS, and his comment made me feel very proud of what we've created.

Cory wrote: "I was in my studio guitar skills class today and my teacher wanted to teach us about compressors and all i had to say was 'I already learned it in high school.'"


Thank you, Cory.  I cannot express just how good that makes me feel.