“We get messed up because we don’t have a clear image . . . and thereby give ourselves too many conflicting messages about how to play.” -Eloise Ristad, A Soprano on Her Head, p. 116-117 The first stages of working on a piece set the foundation upon...
“Deep practice integrates all that you are – your body, mind, and spirit.” The Musician’s Way, p. 20 Expert musicians possess numerous abilities that are apparent on stage – rich tone, fluent execution, dramatic interpretation, secure memory, and so forth....
“I suppose that when I play in public it looks easy, but before I ever came on the concert stage I worked very hard. And I do yet – but always putting the two things together, mental work and physical work.” -Jascha Heifetz, violinist (1901-1987) The Musician’s...
“I took lessons as a kid, but it was mostly just practicing scales, and it seemed more like homework… I gave piano lessons three attempts – the first time when I was a kid… Then, when I was sixteen… but it was still the same scales…...
“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 or sung out of context...
