“Programs are a bit like prix-fixe menus in a restaurant: We can’t serve music à la carte . . . so our menu has to be quite diverse and – tasty.” -Eckart Preu, conductor The Musician’s Way, p. 212 Musicians who can transfix audiences succeed...
“Artistic performers are prepared performers.” -The Musician’s Way, p. 155 Imagine that you’re backstage, minutes before the start of a concert: Are you feeling confident, or are you worried that things could go awry? Unlike less-experienced...
“A concert hall is like a shrine that people turn to for something that they can’t get anywhere else.” –The Musician’s Way, p. 154 If we’re to fill seats in concert halls, we have to present programs and experiences that resonate with audiences. And one way to design...
“Expertise with sight-reading belongs at the top of your list of priorities.” –The Musician’s Way, p. 99 Musicians who sight-read fluently enjoy numerous artistic and professional advantages. Professionally, because they can perform with minimal rehearsal, they’re the...
“Research has shown that people who adopt mastery goals experience the lowest levels of performance anxiety.” –Music Educators Journal, Dec. 2010.* When we step on stage, nothing affects our state of mind more than our goals. Mastery goals inspire us to be artistic...
“Your imagination with programming can make the difference between your becoming either a busy performer with an eager audience or one who performs little.” -The Musician’s Way, p. 216 Why do people attend concerts by rising musicians? Primarily because they feel...
“Ideas are like rabbits. You get a couple and learn how to handle them, and pretty soon you have a dozen.” –John Steinbeck* If you’re a musician who brims with ideas, you’ve probably learned piles of repertoire that you’d like to maintain. Still,...
“People who are unable to motivate themselves must be content with mediocrity, no matter how impressive their other talents.” –Andrew Carnegie The Musician’s Way, p. 105 Persistent practice coupled with ongoing professional development is the recipe for musical...
“Only accessible material enables students to acquire the habits of mastery that beget secure, artistic performances.” Time and again, when I hear students audition, some will attempt to perform music that’s beyond their capacities. “This’ll be...
