“To make the most of a performance, the key is to be open to your experience and to discover new things in both the music and yourself.” The Musician’s Way, p. 208 The April/May edition of The Musician’s Way Newsletter looks into career-building strategies, new...
“Creativity arises out of the tension between spontaneity and limitations.” –Rollo May The Courage to Create, p. 115 I’ll bet that nearly all of us could be more creative than we are. Why don’t we create abundantly? One reason is that we often flee from the...
“Creative activity could be described as a type of learning process where the teacher and pupil are located in the same individual.” –Arthur Koestler, author (Drinkers of Infinity, p. 235) The tricky passage that finally rings true, the ‘aha’ moment, the transcendent...
“The key to harnessing on-stage energy is to use it for music-making purposes” –The Musician’s Way, p. 186 Let’s say that you’re walking on stage to begin a performance. Your heart’s beating somewhat fast and your hands feel cool; maybe your mouth turns dry. Are you...
“The creative mind plays with the objects it loves.” –Carl Jung, psychologist Psychological Types, p. 123 Can deliberate practice be both productive and playful? That is, can we zero in on specific tasks in practice, work intensely, and feel exuberant at...