The Musician's Way Blog

“You are the one who will shape yourself
into the artist that you aspire to be.”
–The Musician’s Way, p. 296

The school year is getting underway here in the Northern Hemisphere, and multitudes of music students are resuming lessons.

Are young musicians prepared to make the most of their lessons? Continue Reading

Louis Armstrong

“What we play is life.”
–Louis Armstrong, trumpeter and composer

Would many musicians dispute Louis Armstrong’s words? I doubt it.

With each turn of a phrase, we performers spin out some of the essence of being alive, and we relish every moment.

But we don’t create music for ourselves alone. Music is a social art that peaks in the interaction between performers and listeners.

And through our relationship with the public, we achieve both artistic and financial success. 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

“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

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

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

“In order to be creative
you have to know how to prepare to be creative.”
-Twyla Tharp, choreographer (The Creative Habit, p. 9)

Even though musical expertise results from persistent practice, it can be tough for us musicians to stick to our practice schedules over the span of months and years.

What’s more, when we arrive at the practice studio, it isn’t always easy for us to make inspired music.

Nonetheless, I believe that all of us can be consistently and deeply creative. But the key to our doing so lies in our ability to plan and otherwise prepare our practice sessions. 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

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

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

Whether we plan to create a performance, composition, essay, or mousetrap, we have to launch our project and work on it regularly.

But we all know that creative ventures often fizzle because we, the would-be creators, stall. We convince ourselves that we’re not ready or that no one will care. We procrastinate.

In the end, far too many of us never get started on the things we hope to create and thereby cheat ourselves out of meaningful accomplishment.

Personally, I don’t intend to miss out on forging a meaningful life. I’m committed to doing the creative work that matters to me.

The key to my output is that I live by the following six habits that enable me to get started on my projects every day. Continue Reading