“Security in performance doesn’t result from purging all nervous symptoms. It arises from knowing that you can perform well whether you feel jumpy or not.” –The Musician’s Way, p. 150-51 The Winter 2023 issue of The Musician’s Way Newsletter has arrived in...
“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...
“Music has been my oxygen.” John Williams, composer The New York Times, 8 Feb. 2022 The Summer 2022 issue of The Musician’s Way Newsletter has arrived in subscribers’ inboxes and is being shared widely. Its dozens of articles cover topics ranging from...
“Ultimately, your musical progress will depend more on your skillfulness with the creative process than on any talent.” –The Musician’s Way, p. 313 When I teach introductory workshops on The Musician’s Way, I organize concepts using frameworks that musicians can...
“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...
“To perform at a high level, you have to attain a kind of unity with your instrument.” –The Musician’s Way, p. 257 The newly published Winter 2021 issue of The Musician’s Way Newsletter is designed to inspire and inform our musician community as we strive to...
“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...
“Your habits in the practice room make you the musician that you are.” –The Musician’s Way, p. 20 The Fall 2020 issue of The Musician’s Way Newsletter brings together dozens of important resources for musicians, arts administrators, and music lovers....
