It’s officially official now.

In under twenty-four hours, on 15 May 2009 at 8:30 AM, I have my final defense of my doctoral dissertation. In other words, I must sit in a small room with five professors whilst they attack me from all fronts. Yikes!

No doubt I’ll post back here soon with the outcome, for better or worse.

I have another announcement, but this time, it’s not about a book deal:

In August 2009 I will join the faculty at The University of Texas, Tyler. My duties will include teaching Music Theory, Aural Skills, Composition lessons, and a rotation of upper-level courses including Counterpoint and Arranging.

Believe me, I’m excited to take this job. I visited the campus a couple weeks ago, and it’s lovely. The school itself is small, but growing (about 6,200 students).

On a personal note, I confess that I’m slightly saddened to leave Lawrence, KS. This is my favorite place that I have lived (so far), and I’ve had many great years here that I wouldn’t trade for anything. Still, it’s time to move on, and I look forward to a great life in Tyler, TX!

I’m pleased to announce that I just landed my first book deal. Believe me, it sounds strange to say that.

I wish I could say that I’ve been planning this book for years and that I submitted the idea to an eager publisher, who snapped it right up. Actually, the complete opposite is true.

Here’s the story: I’ve been writing on technology for a few years now, mostly via TipsFor.us, where I serve as Senior Editor. It’s a hobby more than anything else, and I enjoy writing on technology in my spare time, when I’m not writing music, prepping a lecture, grading papers, or furiously running in circles about some random matter.

About a week ago, I checked my e-mail one morning and found an e-mail from a publisher based in England. I read the e-mail in disbelief – it was an invitation to author a book on the WordPress software (free software used to power thousands – or maybe millions – of websites). An acquisition editor found some of my technology writings, liked what she saw, and contacted me. That was it. No begging or pleading on my part – just an offer to author a book. Was I interested? Yes!

I don’t want to reveal too much about the book yet, but it deals with WordPress’ integration with a certain popular plugin. The author of the plugin has already agreed to review the book when it is released. I’ve completed the book outline already, and I estimate that it will be roughly 250 pages. My contract from the publisher just arrived this morning, so it’s an official deal now. It will be a gradual process, but I’ll get rolling on it in the next few weeks. I expect to have a complete draft of the book around August 2009.

The significance of this book deal is beginning to dawn on me… slowly. I mean, this is a book that will likely show up in your local Borders, Books-A-Million, and other popular bookstores, and it will be written by a composer who only writes on technology as a hobby! To think that an offer like this just found its way to me through no active seeking of my own is both exciting and humbling.

If I’m lucky, the book will sell millions of copies, and I can forget about the imploding economy and retire to a Polynesian island. Ha, right. On second thought, maybe I won’t give up my day job.

This week begins my final semester at KU. Believe it or not, KU actually hired me as adjunct faculty to teach music theory.

Believe it or not (again), I’m posting this update from my mobile phone. Amazing, huh?

In what seemed like a blink of an eye, summer came and went. What happened during those few, short months?

The main event was that I studied for (and passed!) my doctoral comprehensive exams. Yay! I still have many tasks left to complete at KU, but this major hurdle is now crossed, and it is a great relief to be done with them. I have some great study guides for musicology now. If anyone would like a copy, please contact me.

Also, I helped my good friend Dan Forrest move into his new house in South Carolina. We definitely miss him already, but he should be back for a visit in October.

Other than that, I took a few road trips, learned a lot of Greek, and generally enjoyed myself (once comps were over).

Now that fall semester is here, I’m teaching Theory III, which is a significant and welcome change from teaching Theory I the past two years. I’ve also written my dissertation proposal, which will be an upcoming post.

On the horizon I have oral exams, a composition recital, and a couple of theory papers to write. Of course, the dissertation is looming as well.

If I’m really lucky, I’ll get it all done by the end of spring. I shudder when I think of how much work that really is. Oh well. How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.

Chomp !

I have been a Graduate Teaching Assistant (GTA) now for four years. My fifth and final year is starting this August, and by the end I will have taught a total of seven different university classes.

Over this time I have learnt a thing or two, and have had such far-ranging experiences as a death threat from a student (which is a felony offense, for the record) to having a student run away from home at the end of a semester (bizarre, but everything turned out ok).

Here are a few pieces of advice for new GTAs. Of course, I cannot comment specifically on particular courses and areas of study, but in general:

• Know Your Subject Area.

Easier said than done, I know. If you have never taught a class before, you will quickly realize that there is a HUGE difference between sitting in a desk taking notes and generating material while standing in front of a class. While you do not have to be the world’s foremost expert on a given topic, you simply must prepare more material than you plan to teach that day.

In other words, don’t wing it, especially not the first time teaching a particular course. I can now easily tell whether or not a professor has prepared a lecture or is flying by the seat of his/her pants, which happens more often than you might think. Don’t get me wrong: there is always an element of improvisation in teaching, but you do not want the bulk of your lecture to be improvised. Continue reading →