The Musician's Way Blog

“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

“I ignored all my body’s warning signals in the name of ‘dedication’ to what I was doing. I had absolutely no idea that this little problem would in fact threaten my career.”
–Christine Harrison, violinist (The Musician’s Way, p. 238)

We may not like to admit it, but we all have physical limits. And given that music making is so physical, we musicians sometimes exceed our limits, much as dancers and athletes do.

Still, we can prevent minor hurts from escalating into dire injuries, if we’re able to recognize and respond to our body’s warning signs. 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

“The better you use yourself, the better you will play.”
–Pedro de Alcantara, cellist, author, and Alexander technique teacher (The Musician’s Way, p. 257)

Music making may be the most integrated of all human activities. It’s no exaggeration to say that singing or playing requires us to coordinate everything that we are – our bodies, minds, and spirits.

Often, however, the rigors of practice and performance cause us to use ourselves in ways that are less than optimal. 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

Have you ever experienced pain or discomfort as a result of your music making?

If you answered yes, you’re not alone. Continue Reading

True story: A percussion professor was concerned about the sound levels at his music school, so he purchased a sound meter and sampled the levels in various rooms. He took readings during ensemble rehearsals, private lessons, and practice sessions.

In one of the teaching studios, he asked a horn professor to play an excerpt, and the reading rocketed to 100 decibels.

The percussionist knew that, at 100 dB, a person’s maximum safe exposure would total 15 minutes. Yet the horn teacher often taught and rehearsed in that room all day.

Alarmed, the percussionist asked, “Do you ever have trouble with your hearing?” To which the hornist replied, “What?”

Continue Reading