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

“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

“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

“By taking the appropriate steps, you can acquire the ability to get up in front of people and unleash your musical soul.”
-The Musician’s Way, p. 153

I’m pleased to announce the debut of the MusiciansWay.com page on Facebook. 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

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

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

“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.

Continue Reading

“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

Michael Giacchino

“If you want to be creative, get out there and do it.”
–Michael Giacchino, composer

Almost all of the ambitious music students I meet share two common concerns.

They wonder, “Do I have what it takes?” And, ”Will I be able to earn a living in music?”

I propose that, for the students I encounter, the answer to both questions is yes. 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

Luciano Pavarotti

“People think I am disciplined. It is not discipline, it is devotion. There is a great difference.”
–Luciano Pavarotti, singer

What empowers some musicians to keep growing while others fizzle? I’m convinced that, above all, it’s self-motivation.

Self-motivated musicians overflow with enthusiasm. Whether they attain international status or just perform locally, they’re devoted to their art and their listeners. They perpetually work on projects that excite them.

I believe that we all have the potential to spur ourselves to ever-greater heights of creativity. But, to do so, we need an arsenal of self-motivating strategies. 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

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