“Our object is to minimize the contrast between studio practice and public performance.” –Philip Farkas, hornist The Art of Musicianship, p. 48 When you start practicing an unfamiliar piece, does your learning process go smoothly and then culminate in secure,...
“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...
“The job of the artist is always to deepen the mystery.” –Francis Bacon, painter* We musicians have much to master along the road to acquiring expertise. And the demands of practice can sometimes be daunting. But as we build up our skills, we need to remember that, in...
“What we play is life.” –Louis Armstrong, trumpeter and composer Would many musicians dispute Louis Armstrong’s words? I doubt it. With each turn of a phrase, we performers spin out some of the essence of being alive, and we relish every moment. But we don’t create...
“Amassing the know-how of a professional musician takes time and diligence, but the personal investments you make will bring rewards beyond measure.” –The Musician’s Way, p. 314 This week marks the one-year anniversary of the launch of MusiciansWay.com and The...
“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...
“The single most important goal for performing artists is to see how they are doing.” –Itzhak Perlman The Musician’s Way, p. 202 Suppose that you’re practicing a new piece. How do you know that one portion is learned securely enough for you to tackle another? Later...
“You’ve got to think about ‘big things’ while you’re doing small things so that all the small things go in the right direction.” –Alvin Toffler, author When we veteran performers practice, we begin with objectives and learning methods in mind. If we’re preparing a new...
