“We’re smart enough and clever enough to give each other room to live in, to have respect for each other’s personalities.” -John Lewis, pianist, Modern Jazz Quartet The Musician’s Way, p.120 Unlike when we play or sing in conductor-led ensembles,...
“Wise artists seek out critical evaluations.” -The Musician’s Way, p. 297 Musical collaborators come together out of a shared passion for music. And intense feelings about art can stir up ardent criticisms. How can we harmonize the critical give-and-take that’s...
“Whatever music you play or sing, your objective is to express musical ideas, not spew out notes.” -The Musician’s Way, p. 24 Accomplished musicians bring vibrancy to every sound they make – there’s an emotional power to their music that...
“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...
“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...
