“I continued to play with a sore arm with the rationalization that I could play through the pain and that the discomfort would just miraculously go away as I got into better shape as a cellist. But the pain didn’t go away. It got worse.” –Janet Horvath, cellist The...
“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 my previous post, “The 3 Roots of Performance...
“Begin slowly and increase gradually any unaccustomed use of the hands.” –Michael Charness, MD The Musician’s Way, p. 237 Guitarists Billy McLaughlin and Liona Boyd, pianists Leon Fleischer and Gary Graffman – all are musicians whose careers were upended by the...
“Breaks are as vital to musicians as they are to athletes.” –The Musician’s Way, p. 75 If you’re like me, you typically become absorbed during practice sessions, so much so that it often doesn’t seem that breaks would be necessary. But even when we feel mentally...
“Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world.” –Albert Einstein* Is there anything that we creative types prize more than imagination? I expect not. One way that we can support our imaginativeness is to preserve...
“The simplest things are the ones that count.” –Pablo Casals, cellist Casals and the Art of Interpretation, p. vi Have you ever dealt with discomfort caused by sitting? Most of us sit for hours each day as we practice, study, and use computers. I’ve observed, though,...
“Ultimately, your musical progress will depend more on your skillfulness with the creative process than on any talent.” –The Musician’s Way, p. 313 We dedicated musicians invest heavily in growing our abilities because we know that the personal and professional...
“Positive emotions open our hearts and minds, making us more receptive and more creative.” –Barbara Fredrickson, Ph.D. Positivity, p. 21 We musicians intuitively understand the power of positive emotions. Whether we’re practicing or performing, we know that feelings...
“You must play for the love of music. Perfect technique is not as important as making music from the heart.” –Mstislav Rostropovich, cellist/conductor The Musician’s Way, p. 133 To practice music is to pursue perfection – or so we often hear. What nonsense. Rather, we...
