In the last post, I presented the first part of my seven step checklist for those of you who are “Waiting to Hit It Big.” That doesn’t necessarily mean you’re waiting to be discovered by Hollywood music producers. This is for any musician who is someplace between the graduation parties and a paycheck. You may be ready to start your music career, whatever that looks like for you, but the world ma...

It’s not the first time I’ve done this, and it probably won’t be the last, but it caught me by surprise again.

I have been slacking off lately when it comes to exercising. I’m too busy or my day is too hectic or I can’t get up early enough. And the exercise strategy I’ve been using for years just wasn’t motivating me to get up and get it done.

But getting into shape and making exercise a regular...

Note reading is one of the basic skills that we musicians all seek to develop. It helps us learn more music faster and helps us sightread. The problem is that for many of us, we quit developing it after our first year of music lessons.

Do you remember when you first started music lessons? Your teacher gave you special books with big notes that helped you learn the names of the lines and the space...

Philadelphia, PA, USA – June 5, 2011; The front of the peloton of female professional cyclist participating in the 27th edition of the Philly Cycling Classic are seen attacking the steep ‘Manayunk Wall’ in the NorthWest section of Philadelphia, PA. (photo by Bastiaan Slabbers)

“Give it everything you’ve got!

” But how can you be sure that “everything you’ve got” will be enough?

There’s only o...

I remember when I was young playing the game “Red Light, Green Light.” It’s a simple game; other people call it “Statues.” Everyone is allowed to move around however they want, until the leader calls, “Red light!” Then they have to freeze and not move until the leader calls, “Green light!” The leader tries to time the calls to confuse the others so that they move when they’re not supposed to, and ...

I wish it had come like a flash of lightning. Or maybe an earth tremor or even a giant light bulb. But really, there was no one moment when I realized what was wrong with the way I was practicing. Just all of a sudden, I knew the real point of practice, and it changed the way I learned music and the way I taught it.

What I had learned wasn’t a new discovery, just an important one.

So much of our...

Music lessons aren’t cheap. Preparing for the lessons isn’t easy. And sometimes the lessons themselves are challenging.

So do you know WHY you are taking lessons?

If your only answer is “because I want to improve,” you probably need to get a little more focused in order to get the most out of your lessons.

Obviously, the essential point of music lessons is to help you learn to play an instrumen...

Are you practicing the big picture, or do you get stuck in “the dots?”

Music is an art, a joint creation by composer and performer, designed to communicate to a listener. As a performing medium, music is also an art “of the moment.” When we hear live music, we hear something that will never exist again. That note is over, that crescendo is gone, that sublimely beautiful moment has evaporated into...

We musicians hear the word “dynamics” and automatically think soft, loud or in-between. But the root of the word dynamic means power, and that’s what our dynamics should be bringing to our music: expression with the power to move a listener.

Musical dynamics bring the same energy to a piece of music that an engine brings to a car or motorcycle.At times we might choose dynamics that resemble the a...

You are a good student. You practice regularly; you don’t try to cram at the last minute for your recital. So you are prepared in good time, and now you have the oddly  task of keeping your repertoire fresh until the recital.

The paradox is that the more prepared ahead of time you are, the more comfortable and confident your performance will be UNLESS you get so bored with your music that you can...