Benjamin Coy

Trombonist

Grading art

May 28, 2017 at 11:45 pm

It’s the end of the semester. Teachers are frantically trying to get grades in on time, and students are checking their grades hoping for a high GPA. In some disciplines, grades are well understood: either you solved the equation correctly, or you didn’t. Either you did your homework, or you didn’t. These objective criteria are […]

12 recordings of Christmas

December 24, 2016 at 8:30 pm

There’s a lot of really fantastic content available online. Sometimes I spend hours just following links, unearthing amazing recordings that I had no idea existed. In an effort to help us share our discoveries, I have devised a little game. For each of the 12 days of Christmas, choose a striking YouTube recording of the appropriate number […]

Tackling “the difficult stuff”

December 22, 2016 at 9:00 am

Let’s face it: playing an instrument is really, really difficult. Even the “basics” that most people cover in their first year or so are a substantial challenge. Think about it: you have to master a new set of physical skills, including precise control of muscles you might not have even known were voluntary. You have to become […]