“I can’t understand why people are frightened by new ideas. I’m frightened by the old ones.” –John Cage, composer When I go to classical music concerts here in the U.S., I mostly find older listeners in attendance, even when the performers are college age. But the...
“People think I am disciplined. It is not discipline, it is devotion. There is a great difference.” –Luciano Pavarotti, singer The Musician’s Way, p. 106 What empowers some musicians to keep growing while others fizzle? I’m convinced that, above all, it’s...
“The single most important goal for performing artists is to see how they are doing.” –Itzhak Perlman 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...
“Just don’t give up trying to do what you really want to do. Where there is love and inspiration, I don’t think you can go wrong.” –Ella Fitzgerald, singer When we marvel at the feats of musicians like Ella Fitzgerald, it’s easy for us to overlook the hurdles they...
“In order to be creative you have to know how to prepare to be creative.” -Twyla Tharp, choreographer (The Creative Habit, p. 9) Even though musical expertise results from persistent practice, it can be tough for us musicians to stick to our practice schedules...
I just finished watching President Obama’s State of the Union speech. Regarding education, the President said, “Instead of funding the status quo, we only invest in reform – reform that raises student achievement, inspires students to excel in math and science, and...
“Only accessible material enables students to acquire the habits of mastery that beget secure, artistic performances.” Time and again, when I hear students audition, some will attempt to perform music that’s beyond their capacities. “This’ll be...
Do you ever dodge your creative work? Say, your practice or writing time arrives, and you race off to do some chore. It might be a chore that you detest, but now it calls to you. Then, instead of refining your music, you start cleaning the house or doing whatever. If...
“Take the action and the insight will follow.” -Anne Lamott, author The Musician’s Way, p. 107 Whether we plan to create a performance, composition, essay, or mousetrap, we have to launch our project and work on it regularly. But we all know that creative ventures...
