“To escalate the tempo of newly learned material, you first have to reduce the effort required to play or sing it at your initial tempo.” –The Musician’s Way, p. 73 Some of the thorniest challenges we encounter in practice surround increasing the tempos of newly...
“We first make our habits and then our habits make us.” –John Dryden, poet The Musician’s Way, p. 20 When you practice, are you consistently focused and productive? If not, the reason may be due to chronic habits that undermine your attention and creativity. Here are...
“Throw yourself into life as someone who makes a difference.” –Benjamin Zander, conductor The Musician’s Way, p. 305 One of the most powerful ways that we can make a difference in life is to do creative work. Still, unless we choose our aims wisely, we can...
“The purpose of technique is to free the unconscious.” –David Mamet, playwright & director On Directing Film, p. 6 When we acquire robust technical skills, barriers to musical expression drop away. We internally “hear” musical gestures, and then we...
“The real essence of art turned out to be not something high up and far off – it was right inside my ordinary daily self.” –Shinichi Suzuki, violinist, author & teacher The Musician’s Way, p. 109 I’m always surprised when I hear people attribute creativity to...
