“We get messed up because we don’t have a clear image . . . and therefore give ourselves too many conflicting messages about how to play.” -Eloise Ristad A Soprano On Her Head, p. 116-117 When we set out to learn a new piece, it can resemble a romance, and we’re...
“You adapt yourself to the contents of the paintbox.” —Paul Klee, painter The Musician’s Way, p. 121 Like a painter dipping into a limited palette, a musician practicing an isolated part has to adapt to material that’s incomplete. A part played out of context may seem...
“All musicians can sift through their performance issues and come out the better for it – if they choose to do the work.” The Musician’s Way, p. 146 For music students to excel as performers, they need abundant opportunities to rehearse performance skills. And...
“When I sit in Paris in a café, surrounded by people, I don’t sit casually – I go over a certain sonata in my head and discover new things all the time.” —Arthur Rubinstein, pianist The Musician’s Way, p. 34 Like Arthur Rubinstein, countless expert musicians use...
“Meaning, not originality, is what matters most in your day-to-day practice.” -The Musician’s Way, p. 312 Psychologist and author Eric Maisel writes about three types of meaning that people experience in life. One is received meaning, the kind that’s...
“It’s not about playing well by being comfortable and wiping out nervous energy. It’s about finding the right channel for all that energy” -Don Greene, sports psychologist The Musician’s Way, p. 184 We’ve all felt that adrenaline-fueled...
