The Musician's Way Blog

“The job of the artist is always to deepen the mystery.”
–Francis Bacon, painter

We musicians have much to master along the road to acquiring expertise. And the demands of practice can sometimes be daunting.

But as we build up our skills, we need to remember that, in the process of assembling technical know-how, we also must grow our powers as creative artists.

How do we do that? How do we ‘deepen the mystery’ when practicing the likes of scales, etudes, ensemble parts, and orchestral excerpts? Continue Reading

“The details are not the details. They make the design.”
–Charles Eames, designer

For musicians and designers alike, our approach to detail largely determines whether our work soars or flops.

Compare, for instance, these two performers:

• Musician 1 performs with passion along with polished rhythm, tone, and intonation.
• Musician 2 is no less fervent, but heedlessly lets her timing drift and her accuracy falter.

Who would you rather listen to? Continue Reading

Branford Marsalis

“We have something that is unique. We have our craft. We have our art. We have our desire.”
–Branford Marsalis, saxophonist

Craft, art, desire. Add persistent hard work, and what do you get? Artistic and professional success.

Why is it, then, that some students who are passionate about making music and have opportunities to refine their skills will practice intently yet others won’t?

There can be many reasons, but Carol Dweck, Professor of Psychology at Stanford University and author of Mindset: The New Psychology of Success, offers one compelling explanation.  Continue Reading

Ella Fitzgerald

“Just don’t give up trying to do what you really want to do. Where there is love and inspiration, I don’t think you can go wrong.”
–Ella Fitzgerald, singer

When we marvel at the feats of eminent musicians like Ella Fitzgerald, it’s easy for us to overlook the hurdles they’ve surmounted.

But the route to artistic and career success rarely proceeds along a smooth track, even for those who reach the top.

How can we stay the course through the many challenges of a life in music? Continue Reading

I just finished watching President Obama’s State of the Union speech. Regarding education, the President said, “Instead of funding the status quo, we only invest in reform – reform that raises student achievement, inspires students to excel in math and science, and turns around failing schools.”

Do you see a problem with that statement? I do. Continue Reading

My book The Musician’s Way emphasizes that, to build our abilities as performers, we have to develop personally effective ways to practice, collaborate, present concerts, relate to our communities, and stay in top form.

That is, we must assemble bundles of artistic, professional, and self-care skills.

To gather the know-how we need, we can and should learn from authorities, tap research, and observe and listen to other musicians.

But, in the end, we can’t become capable musicians by gathering information alone. Continue Reading