Why Your Playing (or Singing) May Become Less Musically Expressive on Stage
Pianist Leon Fleisher once said something along the lines how playing a note is easy – but playing that note musically is much more difficult.
And when you start adding more notes, and more expressive possibilities to the equation, the challenge only increases. Whether it’s elements of phrasing and timing, dynamics, sound and color, articulation, or even one’s physical movements, expressive musical performances require ingredients from many different dimensions indeed!
Do the Best Performers Also Provide the Best Advice?
Subscribe to the weekly podcast via iTunes | Spotify | Google Podcasts | Stitcher Whether in music, sports, fitness, or in business, there’s often a tendency for us to assume that the best performers in any domain have the most valuable advice to offer. Of course, there’s a common counter-narrative which suggests that sometimes the […]
Why Thinking Out Loud Could Help You Become a More Efficient Practicer
Have you ever noticed how some people have a tendency to talk out loud to themselves?
For some, it’s just a whispered mumbling or silent mouthing of words as they assemble their new IKEA bookshelf. For others, it can be a little more overt, and take the form of louder and more colorful language, as they discover they’ve purchased the most inexplicably complex minimalist bookshelf that IKEA has designed yet.
Peter Keller: On Becoming More Skilled Ensemble Musicians with Insights from Cognitive Science
It was my 5th grade year, and the elementary school I attended was having its annual let’s-get-the-kids-outside-and-make-them-compete-at-random-not-real-sporting-events extravaganza. There was tug-of-war, water balloon tosses, running laps while balancing an egg on a spoon, potato sack races, etc.
An “Awkward” Way to Increase Motivation and Make More Progress Towards Your Goals
Have you ever found yourself wanting to improve yourself or your skills in some way, but unable to make meaningful progress? Even though you know exactly what you need to do to improve?
Like maybe you want to be a better sight-reader, and know that you ought to read through more music with friends, but keep making excuses or avoid the uncomfortable situations that would involve sight-reading?
Or maybe you’d like to become more comfortable with public speaking, and know that it would help to participate in a local Toastmasters group, but feel really awkward when attending meetings and participating?
