Category Archives: Uncategorized

It’s easy to assume that there’s one definition for musical skill, but in fact there are different sets of skills for different musical situations, and each needs to be defined separately. Some people shine in one skill and some in another, and some are adept at more than one. Let’s look at the most generalContinue reading “Building Repertoire and Building Skill”

It’s assumed by most people that only a few can achieve excellence. That’s why the word exists  –  to excel in something means to do significantly better than the norm. But it’s really more complex than that. If we look, for instance, at what was considered really good guitar playing by well-known folksingers in theContinue reading “Excellence is Not the Exception”

This article is a continuation of the one posted last time, which you can find below this one on this page. As a performer, your demeanor signals audiences how to react; it affects how they feel about you, about your music, and about your instrument, and even how they feel about themselves! The audience willContinue reading “Performance Anxiety – Part 2”

“Stage Fright”, as we often call it, is the bane of many a performer, both amateur and professional. Although some won’t admit it, a majority of performing musicians experience some form of it, from mild jitters to debilitating fear. When it’s mild, the feeling of increased adrenalin can actually help us perform well. When it’sContinue reading “A New View of Performance Anxiety – Part 1”

Although there are many things to keep in mind in making a gig successful, we can think of it in two simple foundational aspects: logistics and delivery. Logistics is preparation and set-up. Delivery is the actual performance. They are of equal importance. Logistics: Naturally, adequate practice is ninety percent of a good performance.  If you’reContinue reading “Elements of a Successful Gig”

Ask any number of musicians why they play music, and you’ll get a different answer from each one, ranging from, “My parents made me,” to “I can’t NOT play music  –  it’s my passion!” Assuming we want to play, what is it that drives us to pursue music? The answers are as diverse as areContinue reading “Why Play Music, Anyway?”

Your audience can’t hear what’s in your head. They can only hear what you actually play, and that could be a good thing, or it could be not so good. What is in your head as you play a piece of music? Is it the “soundtrack” of the first time you heard the piece playedContinue reading “We Can’t Hear What’s in Your Head”

In the last twenty years or so it has come to our attention that there is researched proof that music positively affects how our neurology develops. Humans are musical beings and have always used music for entertainment, ritual, and mood enhancement. Now science is beginning to be able to tell us why it is soContinue reading “Music Changes the Brain”

In a typical music lesson scenario, a student arrives, tunes his or her instrument, sits down, opens a book, plays the material assigned from the last lesson; the teacher critiques, offers pointers on technique (or not), and makes the next assignment. There may be instruction in music reading relevant to the material they are workingContinue reading “Are You Teaching Your Students How to Learn?”

According to a dictionary definition, musicianship is “knowledge, skill and artistic sensitivity in performing music”. These three factors are inseparable, and each builds successively upon one before, so we can’t ignore any of them if we want to be true musicians. Knowledge alone does not suffice, since playing music also requires practiced movement to developContinue reading “Are You Sacrificing the Musicianship for the Music?”