“Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world.” –Albert Einstein* Is there anything that we creative types prize more than imagination? I expect not. One way that we can support our imaginativeness is to preserve...
“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...
“I get an audience involved because I’m involved myself. If the song is a lament at the loss of love, I get an ache in my gut. . . . I cry out the loneliness.” –Frank Sinatra The Musician’s Way, p. 188 Some concerts provoke such deep feelings that audiences...
“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...
“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...
“All the inspiration I ever needed was a phone call from a producer.” –Cole Porter, composer The Musician’s Way, p. 108 Many musicians mistakenly deem career-building tasks to be anti-creative. For them, career development equates with writing newsletters, updating...
