The Art of Practicing - Reading Together - The Spark of Inquisitiveness

Here, Bruser highlights how to keep the spontaneity alive in your practicing.

"You can cultivate spontaneity by paying attention to what you want to practice and by working in a way that interests you." (loc: 1702)

"The continuity of practicing lies not in playing a piece through from beginning to end but in staying with our mind, being true to our own intelligence, from the beginning to the end of a practice session." (loc: 1719)

"But when you lose touch with the delight of it and get caught up in trying to imitate a machine, then you’re working against yourself." (loc: 1827)

"When a student feels respected for her opinions and is encouraged to express herself, she opens up and makes music more easily. As she uses her own mind more and more, she learns to practice on her own with more intelligence." (loc: 1873)


note: I'm reading this book from through my Kindle app, so quotations are shown by the location in the Kindle document.

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The Art of Practicing - Reading Together - Basic Mechanics

In this chapter, Bruser focuses on the physical mechanics of playing an instrument. Quite a few of her comments stood out to me.

"Fine motor control is impossible when muscles are tense." (loc: 905)

"Do not go faster than you can, and do not force your body to do anything. Your practice time is yours alone. It is a time to let go of pressures and to let your body relax, open up, and make music." (loc: 952)

"Posture is dynamic, not static." (loc: 1122)

"In transferring arm weight from one finger to another (the “walking” movements described earlier for pianists and cellists), we use gravity to move efficiently over the keyboard or fingerboard." (loc: 1602)

"Instead of pushing the strings or keys, you use gravity to make them play, with just enough muscular effort to hold the arm at the most effective angle and control the force of the drop." (loc: 1606)

"Musicians often confuse being emotionally intense with being physically tense." (loc: 1682)


note: I'm reading this book from through my Kindle app, so quotations are shown by the location in the Kindle document.

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The Art of Practicing - Reading Together - Tuning into Your Heart

"We are connecting to the heart and mind of a great composer, and to the extent that we are able to do that, we connect with and nourish ourselves." (loc: 730)

Isn't this the main reason that most of us - if not all of us - decided that we wanted to learn to play an instrument? We had heard a piece of music and it stirred something in us. And so, we seek to master the music so that we can make it ours and connect with it. Many of our students come from that same place. So, as they are working on learning the nuts and bolts of making music, let us help them to remember why they are learning music. And, let us help them revel in the music that they are producing - even if it is not concert-worthy yet.

note: I'm reading this book from through my Kindle app, so quotations are shown by the location in the Kindle document.

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The Art of Practicing - Reading Together - Settling In

In this chapter, Bruser spends time discussing how to settle into your time of practice.

"In practicing, it means being at ease in your surroundings and being aware of each movement and each sound that you make." (loc: 584)

To help you develop an ear for listening to music - and the music you produce - check out these resources.
- Becoming a Better Musician Through Listening to Music
- Deep Listening
- Piano Practice (specifically the section on listening)
- Ear Training or Listening Practice

note: I'm reading this book from through my Kindle app, so quotations are shown by the location in the Kindle document.

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The Art of Practicing - Reading Together - Stretching

Practicing - for any instrument - can be greatly enhanced when you begin with stretching.

Here is one thing to keep in mind: "Stretching is best done when the body is warmed up from a hot bath or shower, or from light exercise, such as a three-minute walk. If you stretch with cold, stiff muscles, you can strain them instead of loosening them up." (loc: 483)

If you'd like to incorporate this into your practice, here are some resources on stretches for musicians.
- Arm and Hand Stretches for Musicians
- Build Finger Muscles
- Finger Control Exercises

note: I'm reading this book from through my Kindle app, so quotations are shown by the location in the Kindle document.

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