“It was when I found out I could make mistakes that I knew I was on to something.” -Ornette Coleman, saxophonist & composer The Musician’s Way, p. 190 In the discovery phase of practice, all of us make errors as we try out interpretive and technical...
“Whatever music you play or sing, your aim is to express musical ideas, not spew out notes.” The Musician’s Way, p. 24 Many years ago I had lunch with two veteran music teachers who advocated what I call the “notes first” practice method. In their estimation, students...
“Collaborative music making is one of life’s true joys.” –The Musician’s Way, p. 114 It’s difficult to describe the magical feeling of synchronized music making. Suffice it to say that when we make music together, we ascend to loftier planes. But to reach...
“The Musician’s Way articulates both an artistic approach to attaining mastery of an instrument/voice and a practical approach to achieving professional goals.” -Philosophy of Music Education Review, Vol. 19, no. 1 The Winter 2018 issue of The Musician’s Way...
Visit the Downloads page for free practice sheets, logs, and more. “There can be so much to cover in a practice session that it can seem overwhelming.” –The Musician’s Way, p. 6 Even for professional musicians, it isn’t easy to manage large numbers of practice...
“To get to authenticity, you really keep going down to the bone, to the honesty and the inevitability of something.” –Meredith Monk, singer & composer The Musician’s Way, p. 19 Although we musicians practice in personalized ways, there are three fundamental...
The Musician’s Way is “engaging and well-written and a valuable resource for every performer seeking to develop their craft and maintain career longevity.” -Psychology of Music, July 2011 The Summer 2017 issue of The Musician’s Way Newsletter brings...
“Like visual artists who learn to work safely with toxic paints and chemicals, musicians need the expertise to handle high-intensity sounds.” –The Musician’s Way, p. 283 We musicians fundamentally rely on our hearing, yet music school curricula have scarcely addressed...
“Deep practice entails achieving mastery, integration, and transcendence with everything that you play or sing.” –The Musician’s Way, p. 20 For budding and veteran performers alike, the fundamental source of confidence on stage is thorough preparation. And although...
