Pedagogy

In the simplest of senses, anyone who can push a button can play the piano—but making music at the piano is much more than knowing which of the 88 “buttons” on the instrument to play in which order. Similarly, anyone who can speak aloud and recognize pitch can learn to sing—but true vocal music is much more than words and notes.

With more than three decades of experience as a pianist and singer, David offers his students sound practical wisdom they can use to make music more efficiently and safely. But behind every technical exercise is David’s singular goal as an artist: to communicate well and powerfully through music. David often encourages his students using a philosophy attributed to jazz great Charlie Parker*: “Master your instrument, master the music, and then forget all that and just play.”

Practicing

Of course, the “forget all that” part comes after the mastery of the instrument and the music—fluency in music, as in any other language, is impossible to achieve without frequent use. So students should plan to include a dedicated practice time at least five days out of each week. (David strongly recommends students add these practice times to their personal calendars, rather than trusting themselves to “fit it in sometime.”) Even 10 or 15 minutes of practice, five times in a week, is preferable to a single longer session.

Prospective Students

David is currently accepting new students (all ages and levels of experience) for year-round piano instruction and vocal coaching in Carlisle and Boiling Springs.

• Matriculated Dickinson students interested in working with Prof. Glasgow should visit this page for more information and resources.
• Students not enrolled at Dickinson may visit this page for information and resources.

Current Students

Current students may be assigned a personal web page with links to resources designed to assist their progress. If you are a current student and have forgotten the URL to your personal page, please contact David for a reminder.

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*As with many great quotes, this one appears with slight variations in many different sources. The least “pithy” version, found here, is probably the most accurate, but this version is the one that first caught David’s heart.