“To achieve your musical potential, you have to commit to the creative process, take risks, and follow your heart.” –The Musician’s Way, p. 112 To gain a deeper understanding of something, it often helps to consider its opposite. So, in the interest of helping you...
“Creativity requires the courage to let go of certainties.” –Erich Fromm, psychologist and author Is there a state of mind more adverse to creativity than rigid certainty? I doubt it. To create, we have to generate ideas that take us beyond the familiar confines of...
“Breaks are as vital to musicians as they are to athletes.” –The Musician’s Way, p. 75 If you’re like me, you typically become absorbed during practice sessions, so much so that it often doesn’t seem that breaks would be necessary. But even when we feel mentally...
“Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world.” –Albert Einstein* Is there anything that we creative types prize more than imagination? I expect not. One way that we can support our imaginativeness is to preserve...
“Out of discipline comes freedom.” –Vincent Cichowicz, trumpeter (ITG Journal, 2007) Imagine that you’re about to practice, write, compose, or perform. How do you transition from daily life into creative mode? Specifying goals is crucial but, on its own, may not...
“At each concert, music is created anew, according to a performer’s imagination.” –The Musician’s Way, p. 112 Whenever we perform, we aim for that “in-the-moment” feeling. We strive to immerse ourselves and our listeners in the emotion of the music. Yet although...
“Practicing well is virtually an art in itself – the art of achieving economy of time and means.” –David Soyer, cellist The Musician’s Way, p. 20 When we practice well, we don’t just get great results; we also reach our goals with optimal efficiency. We work...
“I get an audience involved because I’m involved myself. If the song is a lament at the loss of love, I get an ache in my gut. . . . I cry out the loneliness.” –Frank Sinatra The Musician’s Way, p. 188 Some concerts provoke such deep feelings that audiences...
“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...
