Let me give you the scenario. I was 13 or 14 years old and my friend was on the phone wanting me to go to the movies with her. I was completely resentful of the time I was going to have to spend practicing instead of being able to go to the movies. You might have imagined that I always loved practicing, but my parents usually had to threaten me, even in my early teen years, in order to get me...

Do you memorize your music? You should.

Let me be clear. I don’t believe it’s necessary, or even desirable, to memorize every piece you learn or to play all your repertoire from memory. But I do think it’s a good idea to practice your memorization skills. And the best way to do that is…to memorize.

I have written before that memorization is less about remembering than...

A new piece! There is nothing quite as exciting as that promising and as yet unsullied page.

I have been asked several times lately, “What’s the best way to start a new piece?” And I have given some evasive answers, saying that it depends on the piece and the player. While that is certainly true, I do have some “best practices” (and one you should avoid!) that will...

Creativity is not something we generally associate with music practice.  Our practice is more often about repetition and correction than about exploration and discovery.

Many music students don’t think of themselves as being “creative” in their music. They follow instructions, striving to become more proficient, to improve and to play well.  Creativity is something...

Good posture is the first thing we musicians learn. You may have started playing music so long ago that you have forgotten your very first music lessons, or possibly you remember your teacher’s first words to you: “Now sit up straight…”

The very first technical element in playing any instrument or in singing is good posture. And although there are specific technical...

The Andrews Sisters

"Accentuate the Positive, Eliminate the Negative..."

These motivational words are the opening lyrics of a 1945 song by Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer The song won the Academy Award that year and was a huge hit for Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters.

Negative thinking is one of the hidden dangers in music practice. It can masquerade as perfectionism, striving to be...

Wrong notes! You made another mistake!

What do you do when you make mistakes as you practice? Do you find the same errors happening over and over again, even after you thought you corrected them?

What most of us do when we have made a mistake is to go back to the spot and play it many times, trying to make it not only correct, but also reliable and secure.

That’s a good start, but it is...

Is your tension preventing you from playing the way you want?  Relax!

Playing music isn’t supposed to be so hard. Of course, practicing is hard work, but there should come a time when you can just relax and play, right?

Precisely because practice is such hard work, especially if you do it right, it is essential that you learn to play with relaxation instead of tension. Tension makes...

Autopilot has a comfortable sound to it. The computer can take over, make the tough decisions, free us up to catch up on our reading or our sleep.

I love thinking about getting my first driverless car for similar reasons. Will I be able to take a nap or work on my computer while my car takes me safely where I want to go?

Most of us run parts of our lives on autopilot. There are routine tasks...

Finger troubles?

Our fabulous fingers! We harpists depend on them for every note. We trust them to be dependable and obedient.

But those phenomenal phalanges can sometimes turn into digit divas.

Here are some common (and very sneaky!) finger foibles you should watch out for.  Which ones are your fingers’ favorites?

1. Hiding Behind the Wall.

Your right hand has likely discovered a...