The Musician's Way Blog

“We first make our habits and then our habits make us.”
–John Dryden, poet (The Musician’s Way, p. 20)

When you practice, are you consistently focused and productive? If not, the reason may lie in chronic habits that undermine your attention and creativity.

Here are 7 ways to replace unwanted practice habits with those that foster deeper learning and higher creativity. Continue Reading

“Throw yourself into life as someone who makes a difference.”
–Benjamin Zander, conductor (The Musician’s Way, p. 305)

One of the most powerful ways that we can make a difference in life is to do creative work.

Still, unless we choose our aims wisely, we can feel overwhelmed or undermotivated, and then we won’t create.

How can we discern goals that impel us to act? Continue Reading

“The purpose of technique is to free the unconscious.”
–David Mamet, author (The Musician’s Way, p. 94)

When we acquire robust technical skills, barriers to musical expression drop away.

We internally ‘hear’ musical gestures, and then we make those gestures ring out with a naturalness that seems effortless.

Yet despite the spiritual nature of technical mastery, I find that aspiring musicians often confuse ‘technique’ with ‘mechanics,’ and, as a result, they don’t develop the technical command that they need. Continue Reading

“The real essence of art turned out to be not something high up and far off – it was right inside my ordinary daily self.”
–Shinichi Suzuki, violinist & teacher (The Musician’s Way, p. 109)

I’m always surprised when I hear people attribute creativity to luck when, in fact, creative energy effervesces within each of us, within our “ordinary daily selves.”

All we have to do is act.

What enables me to create, for instance, is my commitment to working coupled with a bank of creative skills that I’ve acquired – skills that anyone can acquire. Continue Reading

“Creativity requires the courage to let go of certainties.”
–Erich Fromm, psychologist and author

Is there a state of mind more adverse to creativity than rigid certainty? I doubt it.

To create, we have to generate ideas that take us beyond the familiar confines of certitude. Continue Reading

“The route to becoming an accomplished musician is seldom smooth and trouble free.”
–The Musician’s Way, p. 202

We musicians may dream of performing brilliantly at every show, but, in reality, things don’t always go as well as we’d like.

Especially for students, playing or singing in public can bring upsetting surprises: shakiness, memory slips, music wafting off the stand – you name it. Continue Reading

“At each concert, music is created anew,
according to a performer’s imagination.”
–The Musician’s Way, p. 112

Whenever we perform, we aim for that “in-the-moment” feeling. We strive to immerse ourselves and our listeners in the emotion of the music.

Yet although we aspire to be freely creative on stage, we also need to be consistently accurate.

How can we unite spontaneous creativity with technical security? Here are four ways. Continue Reading

“The creative mind plays with the objects it loves.”
–Carl Jung, psychologist (Psychological Types, p. 123)

Can intense practice be both productive and playful?

That is, can we zero in on specific tasks in practice and feel exuberant at the same time?

Absolutely! And I think we’re at our most creative when we do. Continue Reading

“Learning the basics in a rote, unthinking manner
almost ensures mediocrity.”
–Ellen Langer, psychologist (The Power of Mindful Learning, p. 14)

How does mindfulness apply to music making? When we’re mindful, we notice. We attend to our sound, emotions, execution, and coperformers.

We perceive accurately, without judging ourselves. We bring fascination to every note we play or sing. Continue Reading

“As a member of a quartet, you come to realize that you’re responsible for other people’s reputations and livelihoods as well as your own.”
–Michael Tree, violist (The Musician’s Way, p. 115)

Few things in life bring as much joy as collaborative music making. When we create music together, we ascend to loftier planes.

Still, such transcendent artistry grows on foundations of collective culture. Ensembles that sustain healthy cultures are primed to thrive; those that don’t typically crumble.

Here are 10 ways that ensembles can fuel collective success. Continue Reading