by Gerald Klickstein | Oct 14, 2017 | creative process, music practice
“To get to authenticity, you really keep going down to the bone, to the honesty and the inevitability of something.” –Meredith Monk, singer & composer The Musician’s Way, p. 19 Although we musicians practice in personalized ways, there are three fundamental...
by Gerald Klickstein | Oct 18, 2016 | music practice, The Musician's Way
“Practicing is not forced labor; it is a refined art that partakes of intuition, of inspiration, patience, elegance, clarity, balance, and, above all, the search for ever greater joy in movement and expression.” —Yehudi Menuhin, violinist The Musician’s Way, p....
by Gerald Klickstein | Mar 20, 2016 | creative process, music practice, The Musician's Way
“Repetition inevitably begets habits.” –The Musician’s Way, p. 52 Over the course of our lives, we musicians do a lot of repeating. There’s standard repertoire that we perform for years, and we revisit exercises to keep our technical abilities strong. On top of...
by Gerald Klickstein | Sep 14, 2015 | music performance, music practice, performance anxiety
“The habits that enable you to perform expressively in public can only be instilled through practice.” –The Musician’s Way, p. 149 When you’re onstage, do you feel secure and creative? If not, the reasons probably stem from the habits you reinforce in practice....
by Gerald Klickstein | Sep 21, 2014 | creative process, creativity, music practice
“Making the simple complicated is commonplace; making the complicated simple, awesomely simple, that’s creativity.” -Charles Mingus, bassist The Musician’s Way, p. 55 Musical problem-solving requires creative thinking, yet the style of thinking that’s commonly...
by Gerald Klickstein | Mar 25, 2014 | motivation, music performance, music practice
“With a commitment on your calendar, your practice becomes targeted toward an exhilarating purpose.” -The Musician’s Way, p. 108 Some musicians relish daily practice; others struggle to work consistently. Whatever our relationship with practice might be,...
by Gerald Klickstein | Feb 12, 2014 | creative process, motivation, music practice
“One must approach music with a serious rigor and, at the same time, with a great, affectionate joy.” –Nadia Boulanger The Musician’s Way, p. 292 How we sound in performance is a direct result of how we practice. So even though practice entails focused work, it’s...
by Gerald Klickstein | Feb 3, 2014 | creative process, music practice, The Musician's Way
“Your artistic evolution is best served by steady, judicious practice.” -The Musician’s Way, p. 11 Consistent practice empowers us to become the artists we aspire to be. But skillful practice doesn’t just happen – we have to learn how to...
