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

“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

“Of all my skills, none is more important
than the ability to organize my time.”
–Twyla Tharp, choreographer (The Creative Habit, p. 178)

Whether you’re a mature musician or a rising one, your creative output will hinge on your knack for carving out practice time and using it productively.

Here is a septet of strategies that will help you make the most of your practice. Continue Reading

Itzhak Perlman

“The single most important goal for performing artists
is to see how they are doing.”
–Itzhak Perlman, violinist (The Musician’s Way, p. 202)

Suppose that you’re practicing a new piece. How do you know that one portion is learned securely enough for you to tackle another?

Later on, how do you determine that the music is concert-ready?

Then, following a performance, what enables you to pinpoint the aspects of your execution that need polishing? Continue Reading

“You’ve got to think about ‘big things’ while you’re doing small things
so that all the small things go in the right direction.”
–Alvin Toffler, author

When we veteran musicians practice, we begin with objectives and learning methods in mind.

If we’re preparing a new composition for a concert, let’s say, we first get an overview of the music; then we carve it into sections, identify trouble spots, knit sections together, gradually step up the tempo, and so on. We progressively assemble the composition into concert-ready form.

Are students typically practicing in ways that result in similar steady accomplishment? Continue Reading

Wynton Marsalis

“Even the greatest virtuosos practice the fundamentals,
because they are the basis of all playing.”
–Wynton Marsalis (Marsalis on Music, p. 124)

Scales, arpeggios, exercises . . . boring stuff. Right?

I don’t think so. In fact, I find practicing basics to be endlessly fascinating.

Students, however, often view working on fundamentals as drudgery. What are such students missing? Continue Reading

“Like sensuous opening ceremonies,
warm-ups prepare the body, mind, and spirit for making music.”
- The Musician’s Way, p. 37

I always take pleasure in my daily warm-ups. As I open my guitar case, tune, and play my first notes, I feel inspired and grateful to be able to make music.

Students, however, often lack clarity about how they might warm up. So I’ve developed an adaptable six-part framework that both instrumentalists and singers can employ to fashion warm-up routines that fit them. Continue Reading

Paul Simon

“If you start with something that’s fake,
you’re always covering your tracks.”
–Paul Simon, singer-songwriter

Is there really a fast track to mastering an unfamiliar composition?

I’m convinced that there is. And its use can not only speed up the learning process but also unleash boundless possibilities for artistic growth.

Ready? The ultimate practice shortcut is: Continue Reading

“If excellence is a habit (which it is), then students must consistently play in ways that are fundamentally excellent nearly all the time.”
- Robert A. Duke, music educator & researcher

Whether we’re practicing or performing, all of us musicians are striving for excellence.

But do students really know what excellent musicianship entails? 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

Many dedicated music students believe that if they can get through a piece in practice, they should necessarily be able to perform the piece on stage.

Then, when they become undermined by nervousness at a concert or an audition, they conclude that their performance problems must be caused by psychological issues unrelated to their practice.

Often, however, that’s a questionable conclusion. Continue Reading

Let’s say that you’re about to practice a new piece of music: What’s your typical plan of attack?

Researchers have observed that expert and student musicians display profound differences in their approaches to new material, and those differences lead to huge disparities in performance quality.

Nonetheless, I’ve found that students can employ high-level practice strategies and perform expertly. But those strategies have to be learned. Continue Reading

It’s 10:00 a.m. on a Sunday, and I’ve already practiced for a couple of hours. I practiced yesterday, too, and I’ll practice tomorrow.

In fact, I’ve been practicing almost daily since childhood. Like musicians everywhere, practice is fundamental to the rhythm of my life.

What keeps us musicians practicing? Self-motivation is a big part of it, as described on pages 105-109 of my book The Musician’s Way.

But underlying our devotion to daily work is our intention to achieve specific goals. And the more precise our objectives, the more energy and accomplishment we generate. Continue Reading