“Only after I have become familiar with the style and character of the work can I start shaping an interpretation.” —Yo-Yo Ma, cellist The Musician’s Way, p. 24 Suppose that you’re an actor who has been hired to perform in a play. When you receive the script, what...
“There is no beginning. Start where you arrive.” –Auguste Rodin Cathedrals of France, p. 9 Do you want to do more with your music or otherwise be more creative, but you lack clarity about where to start? Maybe waiting for clarity isn’t the way to go....
“The quality of your tone will probably have a more immediate impact on listeners than any other feature of your execution.” –The Musician’s Way, p. 22 We performers know the power of tone quality. Sweet tones can charm, almost like magic, and harsh sounds quickly put...
“Treat everything you play on your instrument as an important piece of music, even if you are just warming up.” -Wynton Marsalis The Musician’s Way, p. 22 Countless musicians set their instruments aside as their lives unfold, yet their desire to make music remains. If...
It’s not just how good you are. It’s how intriguing. All of us musicians work hard to maintain and improve our skills. Too often, though, young musicians devote years to “getting better” without concurrently growing their distinctiveness, and...
“In any collaborative enterprise, one of your duties is to help your colleagues feel successful.” -The Musician’s Way, p. 117 It’s not easy to succeed in the music world, and we musicians can sometimes compete with rather than support each other....
“Making the simple complicated is commonplace; making the complicated simple, awesomely simple, that’s creativity.” -Charles Mingus, bassist The Musician’s Way, p. 55 Musical problem-solving requires creative thinking, yet the style of thinking that’s commonly...
“The path you take is your path and no one else’s, so welcome it.” -The Musician’s Way, p. 314 Many aspiring musicians worry about their futures, wondering whether they have enough talent to succeed as pros. Thing is, musical talent is but a facet of what enables us...
“It’s your internal motivation that opens the creative spigot.” -The Musician’s Way, p. 105 Those of us who create day after day know that things don’t always go smoothly. Sometimes our work flows; other times difficulties slow us down. But...
