“Performing from memory can be a beautiful thing.” –The Musician’s Way, p. 82 As someone who has performed countless solos, I know the upsides and downsides of playing with and without a score. We musicians often debate whether to memorize or not, so...
“I’m very mistrustful of tactile memory. I think it’s the first thing that goes.” –André Watts, pianist The Musician’s Way, p. 82 Have you ever been blindsided by a memory lapse? Maybe you felt secure in practice, but, during a performance, you blanked on a...
The October 2009 issue of the UK monthly The Strad featured an article I wrote about memorization titled “Memories are Made of This.” I was invited to contribute to the magazine by its editor, Ariane Todes, after she attended a lecture I gave on the subject of...
Why write about music and musical expertise? Is it as abstruse as that old saw – “Writing about music is like dancing about architecture” – would lead us to believe? In the Preface to The Musician’s Way, I wrote, “Words are destined to fall short when it comes to...
In The Musician’s Way, I encourage the singing of solfège syllables, scale-degree numbers, counting syllables, and letter names as part of the process of learning, memorizing, and interpreting music. In my own teaching and playing, I employ the fixed-do solfège...
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