“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...
“ Confident performance is not a fluke, but the product of imaginative and consistent synthesis of technical and emotional work. ” -Frank R. Wilson The Musician’s Way, p. 146 In a highlight of the 2024 Grammy Awards ceremony, singer-songwriter Tracy Chapman sang her...
“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....
“From 2026 to 2031, the college-age population in the U.S. will drop about 15% due to the reduced birth rate during the Great Recession.” -Gerald Klickstein “Enrollment Growth Amid a Shrinking Student Population,” College Music Symposium, Vol. 63, No. 1,...
“Your central tasks are finding inner peace and strength, on the one hand, and being very well-prepared for your performances, on the other.” -Eric Maisel, author & psychologist The Musician’s Way, p. 146 In The Musician’s Way, I show that stage fright arises due...
“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...
