“I finished my DMA in piano from a top program a couple of years ago and have two MM degrees from one of the best conservatories in the world. . . . I have always felt that with my many abilities and terrific recommendation letters, a full-time job was just around...
“How in good conscience can we continue to graduate thousands of students a year who have no hope of getting a job in the field they were trained for?” –Michael Drapkin, clarinetist BusinessWeek.com, March 28, 2007 Amid the tumult in the music industry,...
“All the inspiration I ever needed was a phone call from a producer.” –Cole Porter, composer The Musician’s Way, p. 108 Many musicians mistakenly deem career-building tasks to be anti-creative. For them, career development equates with writing newsletters, updating...
“How you shape your practice schedule will in many ways determine the course of your creative life.” -The Musician’s Way, p. 11 The February/March edition of The Musician’s Way Newsletter has landed in subscribers’ inboxes and is being forwarded widely. As...
“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...
“Whatever you value most in music, pursue it.” –The Musician’s Way, p. 312 The rising musicians who’ll thrive in today’s economy will often do so owing to a combination of their musical and entrepreneurial skills. What do we mean when we describe musicians as...
“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...
“Your most fertile source of creative energy is a compelling artistic vision.” –The Musician’s Way, p. 310 Among the many factors that lead to artistic achievement, the most decisive one may be the least visible. Yet it’s the reason we veteran musicians practice,...
“What we play is life.” –Louis Armstrong, trumpeter and composer Would many musicians dispute Louis Armstrong’s words? I doubt it. With each turn of a phrase, we performers spin out some of the essence of being alive, and we relish every moment. But we don’t create...
