“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...
“The route to becoming an accomplished musician is seldom smooth and trouble free.” -The Musician’s Way, p. 202 We musicians may dream of performing brilliantly at every show or audition, but, in reality, things don’t always go as well as we’d like. Especially for...
“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...
“The creative mind plays with the objects it loves.” –Carl Jung, psychologist Psychological Types, p. 123 Can deliberate practice be both productive and playful? That is, can we zero in on specific tasks in practice, work intensely, and feel exuberant at...
“Learning the basics in a rote, unthinking manner almost ensures mediocrity.” –Ellen Langer, psychologist The Power of Mindful Learning, p. 14 How does mindfulness apply to music making? When we’re mindful, we notice. We attend to our sound, emotions, execution, and...