The Musician's Way Blog

“When you project a centered presence from the stage,
your audience becomes attentive and relaxed.”
–The Musician’s Way, p. 180

To make our best music, we performers need to be mentally, physically, and emotionally in sync. In a word: centered.

Then, assuming that we’ve learned our material deeply and have built up performance skills, we can trust in our preparation and truly connect with our audiences.

In fact, centered musicians often captivate their listeners from the moment they step on stage because their powerful demeanor generates an expectant energy. Continue Reading

“Masterful performers exhibit ease in all that they do on stage.”
–The Musician’s Way, p. 21

There’s no better way for us musicians to make our audiences receptive than to project ease and enjoyment from the stage.

What’s more, by embodying ease, we help dispel any nerves.

To transmit ease, though, we have to not only master our material and be fluent with stage deportment but also draw on the following inner skills.

Continue Reading

“A concentrated mind is not an attentive mind, but a mind that is in the state of awareness can concentrate. Awareness is never exclusive, it includes everything.”
–Bruce Lee, martial artist

One of the most common questions I receive from music students is, ”How can I perform at the consistently high level that I hear from professionals?”

My short answer is that they’ll achieve the results they seek when:

1. They become fluent with practice and performance skills
2. They learn to use their minds like pros

In this post, I look at three aspects of our mental landscape: awareness, focus, and concentration. Continue Reading

“To rely on muscular habit, which so many do in technique, is indeed fatal.
A little nervousness, a muscle bewildered and unable to direct itself, and where are you? For technique is truly a matter of the brain.”
–Fritz Kreisler, violinist

When Kreisler said that technique was ‘of the brain,’ I assume that he was referring to the diverse mental processes through which we musicians direct our execution.

And I think that he wasn’t merely speaking about mechanics but rather pointing to the inclusive artistic and physical aspects of music making. Continue Reading

“Confident performance isn’t an elusive feat but involves knowledge and skills that any musician can learn.”
–The Musician’s Way, p. 133

When I talk to musicians who wrestle with stage nerves, I find that many hold a common belief.

They think that they lack a trait that confident performers possess. So they worry that they might never break free from their anxieties.

Fortunately, their dilemmas don’t stem from a lack of talent but from a correctable deficit of skill. Continue Reading

John Cage

“I can’t understand why people are frightened by new ideas. I’m frightened by the old ones.”
–John Cage, composer

When I go to classical music concerts here in the U.S., I mostly find older listeners in attendance, even when the performers are college age.

But the classical music audience hasn’t always been graying. In the mid 20th century, classical music was hip in America, and young music lovers flocked to concerts.

What happened? And how can young classical musicians put on concerts that their peers will pay to hear? Continue Reading

Mstislav Rostropovich

“You must play for the love of music. Perfect technique is not as important as making music from the heart.”
–Mstislav Rostropovich, cellist/conductor (The Musician’s Way, p. 133)

To practice music is to pursue perfection – or so we often hear.

What nonsense.

Rather, we musicians practice to grow as artists, to achieve excellence, and to share heartfelt music with our listeners.

Sure, public performance obliges us to be accurate. But there’s a big difference between precision and perfection. Continue Reading

“We should welcome applause whenever it comes.”
– Emanuel Ax, pianist

Should audiences at classical concerts only applaud according to strict rules of etiquette?

I’d say no. Listeners should applaud when they feel like it.

Still, countless people are baffled by the applause practices at classical performances to the point where they find concertgoing to be an awkward experience.

Here’s what President Obama had to say about this topic at a 2009 concert at the White House: Continue Reading

“Performance anxiety is the kind of problem that rears its ugly head in both straightforward and subtle ways.”
–Eric Maisel, author and psychologist

If you’re an active performer, then I expect that you or a musician you know has taken a beta-blocker to alleviate stage jitters.

This article probes whether beta-blockers are safe, effective, and appropriate for performers to use.

Continue Reading

“Music and rhythm find their way into the secret places of the soul.”
–Plato

All of us musicians know the restorative power of music.

In this post, I briefly look at ways in which we can bring musical healing to those who need it most: patients in hospitals, nursing homes, and comparable care facilities.

Continue Reading

In the concluding portion of his interview, Joseph Robinson recalls his teacher Marcel Tabuteau, recounts some of the complexities of orchestral work, and offers sage advice to rising musicians. Continue Reading

Later this year, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission will ban the use of wireless microphones and in-ear monitor systems that operate in the 700 MHz spectrum.

This post describes when and why the ban is being implemented, provides access to a list of prohibited equipment, and briefly weighs the ban’s economic impacts. Continue Reading

If you’re a rising musician, you’ll probably have opportunities to perform in competitions.

This post will help you decide whether a particular contest is right for you. Continue Reading

Time and again, when I hear students audition, some will attempt to perform music that’s beyond their capacities.

“This’ll be impressive,” they surmise, as they struggle through one phrase after another.

Such students seldom realize that their misguided choices of repertoire don’t just fail to impress but also hamper their progress:  Continue Reading

When you confront a technical challenge in your music making, does a voice within you ever say, “Try harder”?

I get the impression that many rising musicians believe that trying harder will result in greater precision.

But I advocate a reverse strategy: withdrawing effort. Continue Reading