The Musicians Way Blog
by Gerald Klickstein. Become a Successful Musician
The Four Stages of Memorization
“I’m very mistrustful of tactile memory. I think it’s the first thing that goes.” –André Watts
Self-Evaluation: The Key to Artful Practice
“The single most important goal for performing artists is to see how they are doing.” –Itzhak Perlman
The Big Bag of Experience
“Don’t give up trying to do what you really want to do.” –Ella Fitzgerald
Clear Goals, Clear Process
Music practice strategies that produce rapid improvement!
Countering Perfectionism
“You must play for the love of music. Perfect technique is not as important as making music from the heart.” –Mstislav Rostropovich
Heeding the Signs of Injury
“I ignored all my body’s warning signals in the name of ‘dedication’ to what I was doing.” –Christine Harrison, violinist
The Beauty in Basics
“Even the greatest virtuosos practice the fundamentals, because they are the basis of all playing.” –Wynton Marsalis
2-to-1 Breathing
2-to-1 breathing restores calmness, quells nervousness, and kindles creativity.
Let’s Hear it for Applause
“We should welcome applause whenever it comes.” –Emanuel Ax, pianist
The Total Warm-Up
“Like sensuous opening ceremonies, warm-ups prepare the body, mind, and spirit for making music.”