“When you project a centered presence from the stage, your audience becomes attentive and relaxed.” –The Musician’s Way, p. 180 To make our best music, we performers need to be mentally, physically, and emotionally in sync. In a word: centered. Then, assuming...
“We have something that is unique. We have our craft. We have our art. We have our desire.”* –Branford Marsalis, saxophonist Craft, art, desire. Add persistent hard work, and what do you get? Artistic and professional success. Why is it, then, that some students who...
“Masterful performers exhibit ease in all that they do on stage.” –The Musician’s Way, p. 21 There’s no better way for us musicians to make our audiences receptive than to project ease and enjoyment from the stage. What’s more, by embodying ease, we facilitate...
“To rely on muscular habit, which so many do in technique, is indeed fatal. A little nervousness, a muscle bewildered and unable to direct itself, and where are you? For technique is truly a matter of the brain.” –Fritz Kreisler, violinist (quoted in, Kato...
“Confident performance isn’t an elusive feat but involves knowledge and skills that any musician can learn.” –The Musician’s Way, p. 133 When I talk to musicians who wrestle with stage nerves, I find that many hold a common belief. They think that they lack a trait...