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

“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

“For you to perform with native inflection, you have to listen and listen until you break through to the soul of a style.”
–The Musician’s Way, p. 98

We all enjoy listening to music. But there’s a level of musical perception that transcends ordinary hearing.

Deep listening, as I call it, pierces the essence of a composition and the way in which it’s performed.

I’ve learned, however, that many aspiring musicians aren’t in the habit of listening deeply, even though keen listening skills are essential to musical development. Continue Reading

“Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere.”
–Albert Einstein, physicist

The May issue of The Musician’s Way Newsletter highlights topics such as creative thinking, self-recording, performing on a cruise ship, the evolution of digital archives, copyright law, and more.

You can view the newsletter online via this link. To subscribe, visit this page on MusiciansWay.com. I maintain a strict Privacy Policy and do not share, sell, or rent subscribers’ information.

The May issue features a new look and is being dispatched by the clever primates at MailChimp.com. Published quarterly, it’s free, and recipients can unsubscribe at any time. Enjoy! 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

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

Zoom H2 Recorder

Imagine that you’re watching an artist paint in her studio: She spreads color on canvas, backs up to appraise her work, and then returns to her easel.

Sometimes she brushes briefly and assesses quickly; other times she paints at length before pausing to reflect.

Correspondingly, when we musicians practice, we proceed through cycles of execution, evaluation, and revision.

But there’s a big difference between our medium and that of visual artists because music exists in time, not space.

After we play or sing a phrase, it’s gone, except for our memory of it. Continue Reading