by Gerald Klickstein | Dec 1, 2010 | Newsletter
“Deep practice entails achieving mastery, integration, and transcendence with everything that you play or sing.” -The Musician’s Way, p. 20 The December-January issue of The Musician’s Way Newsletter has now arrived in subscribers’ inboxes. With more...
by Gerald Klickstein | Oct 30, 2010 | creative process, motivation, music practice
“People who are unable to motivate themselves must be content with mediocrity, no matter how impressive their other talents.” –Andrew Carnegie The Musician’s Way, p. 105 Persistent practice coupled with ongoing professional development is the recipe for musical...
by Gerald Klickstein | Aug 22, 2010 | creative process, music practice, The Musician's Way
“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...
by Gerald Klickstein | Jul 11, 2010 | creative process, music performance, music practice
“A concentrated mind is not an attentive mind, but a mind that is in the state of awareness can concentrate. Awareness is never exclusive, it includes everything.” –Bruce Lee, martial artist One of the most common questions I receive from music students is, “How...
by Gerald Klickstein | Jul 4, 2010 | creative process, creativity, music performance, music practice, The Musician's Way
“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...
by Gerald Klickstein | Apr 10, 2010 | motivation, music performance, music practice, performance anxiety, wellness
“You must play for the love of music. Perfect technique is not as important as making music from the heart.” –Mstislav Rostropovich, cellist/conductor The Musician’s Way, p. 133 To practice music is to pursue perfection – or so we often hear. What nonsense. Rather, we...
by Gerald Klickstein | Dec 24, 2009 | injury prevention, music careers, music performance
If you’re a rising musician, you’ll probably have opportunities to perform in competitions. This post will help you decide whether a particular contest is right for you. First, by “competitions,” I’m referring to events organized for students, amateurs and...
by Gerald Klickstein | Dec 10, 2009 | creativity, motivation, music education, music performance, music practice, performance anxiety
“Only accessible material enables students to acquire the habits of mastery that beget secure, artistic performances.” Time and again, when I hear students audition, some will attempt to perform music that’s beyond their capacities. “This’ll be...
by Gerald Klickstein | Dec 5, 2009 | creative process, injury prevention, music performance, music practice, The Musician's Way
“When we practice deeply, we can trust ourselves and execute without forcing.” When you confront a technical challenge in your music making, does a voice within you ever say, “Try harder”? I get the impression that many rising musicians believe that trying...
