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FlowFrame

I made a thing. It’s called FlowFrame. It’s a practice suite.

Prelude: The Line Between Boredom and Overwhelm

“The best moments usually occur when a person’s body or mind is stretched to its limits in a voluntary effort to accomplish something difficult and worthwhile.” — Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

Psychologists map flow on a simple graph: challenge on one axis, skill on the other. When the two rise together you enter the flow channel. Below it lurks boredom, above it anxiety.

Instrumental practice lives on that razor’s edge. Push too hard and the metronome becomes an accusing tyrant; coast too long and you start scrolling instead of shedding. Staying inside the channel demands a frame that grows with you.

Frames, Not Cages

I made FlowFrame to be a tool that enables musical expression, not one that dictates it. In my own practice, I wanted something flexible enough to support exploration—but firm enough to provide structure. Not a cage, but a frame.

A good practice framework does three things:

Clarifies the immediate goal. (“Lock in my rhythm and pitch.”)
Provides real-time feedback. (Was that tuplet really even?)
Scales the next challenge upward the moment mastery appears.

FlowFrame does all of this in a way that puts the user in control. You’re not just following a pre-built track, you’re designing your own terrain. Whether you’re creating click patterns from scratch, linking pitch drones to rhythmic cycles, or building a progressive routine for a student, FlowFrame adapts to your artistic goals.

How It Compares

Tool TypeWhat It OffersWhat It MissesFlowFrame’s Difference
Metronomes (Soundbrenner, Pro Metronome)A basic pulse, subdivisionNo harmony, no piece-length programming, no context
Full-score metronome with programmable clicks, tuplets, modulations, and drones
Tuners
(Tonal Energy, Tunable)
Pitch accuracy, visual feedbackNo rhythmic context, no timing supportReal-time harmonic support aligned to rhythm, not isolated tones
DAWs (Ableton, Logic, Reaper)Total flexibilityHigh setup time, steep learning curve, overkill for basic tasksZero setup browser-based environment for rhythm + pitch + structure
Music-Minus-One apps (Metronaut, Tomplay)Pre-recorded tracks, built-in repertoireFixed repertoire, no customizationFully customizable patterns + public pattern library = personalized, shareable practice content

Where these tools specialize narrowly (timing, pitch, playback) FlowFrame unifies those elements around your musical goals. The frame holds when you need it, and it disappears when you don’t.

Beyond the Widget

• FlowFrame isn’t another “metronome-plus.” It’s a practice ecosystem:
• Timing drones & harmonies anchored to any click pattern for rock-solid pitch.
• Educator linking that turns assignments and feedback into an asynchronous dialogue.
• Growing pattern library that crowdsources solutions to tomorrow’s rhythmic puzzles.
• FreeFlow timers for pieces ruled by seconds instead of bars.

In other words, it’s the scaffolding that lets musicians climb higher without losing their footing.

Epilogue: A Wider Horizon

Flow thrives on balance: challenge and ability, structure and spontaneity. FlowFrame’s job is to hold that balance just long enough for you to tip it again, to move the horizon a measure farther. It is, quite literally, a frame for flow and the better the frame, the more daring the art that can live inside it.

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Celebration for Doc

On May 2, Novus joined Scott HartmanJohn FedchockJeremy MoellerMark LuskJeannie LittleRon BarronLisa Albrecht, the Eastman Trombone Choir and a full audience to celebrate Dr. John Marcellus‘s career at the Eastman School of Music.

It’s beyond words the honor that it was to perform on the concert. So much of what I know and strive to be comes from John Marcellus. For our portion of the event Novus performed two movements from John Orfe’s Parable of the Sower. The original parable talks about the things that keep the farmer’s seeds from growing to their full potential, John’s piece expresses those ideas in musical form. The group thought it fitting to perform a piece with such a direct relation to teaching.

Full program here (not printed: Novus interrupted the first piece with the Eastman Choir/Christmas Sing standard the “Trink Canon.”):

Screen Shot 2014-05-05 at 9.21.05 PM

While I didn’t get many photos from the event itself I did manage (with friend, Mike Ketner’s, help) to get some images from the rehearsal before the performance.

From the program at the event:

Trombonist, conductor, and pedagogue Dr. John Marcellus was appointed Professor and Director of the Eastman Trombone Choir in 1978 after a worldwide search for an heir to the legacy of Eastman’s legendary Professor of the Trombone, Emory Remington (1922-1972), the “Chief.” “Doc” Marcellus is internationally known as a soloist for his performances and recordings as Principal Trombone of the National Symphony Orchestra and as soloist with the United States Navy Band. He is a respected brass pedagogue and international recording artist with a stunning record of former students successfully winning major symphony orchestra auditions and appointments to some of the most prestigious music faculties in the world.

Dr. Marcellus is currently a member of the Eastman Brass, Principal Trombone of the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra, Music Director of the Brighton (NY) Symphony Orchestra, and a performing artist for Courtois Trombones of the Buffet Crampon Company. He is a former member of many fine ensembles, including the National Symphony Orchestra, the National Ballet Orchestra, the American Ballet Orchestra, the Boston Pops Orchestra, the National Symphony Brass Quintet, the Washington Theatre Chamber Players, and the Contemporary Music Forum of Washington. Dr. Marcellus has appeared as guest conductor at Interlochen Center for the Arts (1982); Penfield Symphony; US Naval Academy Band; and the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra (1995, 2005).

Novus’s participation in the event was made possible with generous support by Sheridan Brass:

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