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.

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“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

Andre Watts

“I’m very mistrustful of tactile memory.
I think it’s the first thing that goes.
–André Watts, pianist (The Musician’s Way, p. 82)

Have you ever been blindsided by a memory lapse? Say, you felt secure in practice, but, at a performance or lesson, you blanked on a passage.

I suspect that every musician has felt the jolt of memory slips.

I also believe that memory glitches could be far less common because secure memorization involves concepts and skills that any musician can learn.

This post summarizes a 4-part framework that helps both singers and instrumentalists become masterful memorizers. 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

“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

“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.

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“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

“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

Joseph Robinson

Joseph Robinson was Principal Oboist with the New York Philharmonic from 1978 until his retirement in 2005.

In this interview with Gerald Klickstein for The Musician’s Way Blog, he speaks about music making, artistic development, and various aspects of living the orchestral musician’s life.

GK: Before your successful audition for the NY Phil, how did you go about refining the skills that enabled you to win that audition? Continue Reading