“Three qualities are essential in a professional musician… the first is good health and the other two are the same.” Mark Hambourg, pianist -The Musician’s Way, p. 241 Whether we make music as professionals, students or amateurs, we strive to create transcendent...
“You don’t drown by falling in the water; you drown by staying there.” -The Musician’s Way, p. 196 In Chapter 10 of The Musician’s Way, I emphasize that musicians should view errors not as shameful failures but as neutral information. Having such a healthy...
“Advantageous postures have an active quality; they’re always subtly in motion.” -The Musician’s Way, p. 251 In his book, On Piano Playing, Gyorgy Sandor identifies two features of beneficial postures: stability and mobility. That is, they support the weight of...
“It was when I found out I could make mistakes that I knew I was on to something.” -Ornette Coleman, saxophonist & composer The Musician’s Way, p. 190 In the discovery phase of practice, all of us make errors as we try out interpretive and technical...
“Only after I have become familiar with the style and character of the work can I start shaping an interpretation.” Yo-Yo Ma The Musician’s Way, p. 24 On a primary level, musical interpretation conveys fluctuations in emotional intensity. And one of the best ways to...
“When you don’t transmit irritation from mechanical breakdowns, an audience finds them interesting and even amusing.” –The Musician’s Way, p. 195 Thorough preparation underpins every successful performance. But even when we’re fully geared up...
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