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The Musician's Way: A Guide to Practice, Performance, and Wellness 1st Edition

by
Gerald Klickstein (Author)
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Gerald Klickstein (Author)
4.7 out of 5 stars 105 customer reviews
ISBN-13: 978-0195343137
ISBN-10: 0195343131
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Product Details

  • Paperback: 360 pages
  • Publisher: Oxford University Press; 1 edition (September 3, 2009)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0195343131
  • ISBN-13: 978-0195343137
  • Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 0.7 x 6.1 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (105 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #34,227 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Top Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 starsPractice, Performance, and Wellness
By Christopher A. Davis on February 4, 2010
Format: Paperback Verified Purchase
The subtitle of the book is an outline of what you'll find inside. Part one deals with, "practicing deeply." It begins with the necessary, but mundane, subjects of organizing practice time and creating a supportive practice environment. Klickstein divides practice into five zone: new, developing, and performance material along with technique and musicianship. Some of these are self-explanatory, others explore ares few people venture. How much of your practice includes sight reading and ear training?

The following chapters look at how to work with material in each practice zone, and cover things such as mental practice, selecting repertoire, memorization, interpretative issues, and taking breaks in practice. The material is necessarily general. A book could not contain specific practice suggestions for every major piece in every instrument's repertoire. I consider the generality of this advice a strength. The practice concepts in The Musician's Way could be easily integrated with whatever your private instructor is giving you.

I have always thought that there needed to be a good, lengthy book on practicing, but I'd never found one I liked. It had gotten to the point where I thought of writing something myself. Now I don't have to. The The Musician's Way fills that gap.

Part two deals with performance issues. It begins by discussing anxiety's effects on our bodies, and continues with, "five facets of preparation," and issues of backstage and pre-performance routines.

What I like most about the section on performance is its practicality. In short, Mr. Klickstein is not afraid to discuss what most people consider trivial issues. Are your clothes prepared? Do you have the music? How do you start and end a piece? How do you walk out on stage?Read more ›
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5.0 out of 5 starsThe most solid book out there on music practice
By Sol Ut Press on April 23, 2010
Format: Paperback
The Buddhas do but tell of the way; it is up to you to swelter at the task. ~Gautama Siddharta (c. 563-483 BCE)
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I've read (and re-read in many cases) most books out there on practice and this is one of the best, hands down. Klickstein is a classical guitarist who performs throughout the U.S. and internationally and is a professor at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts.

My favorite 2 aspects of the book are the well-chosen quotations sprinkled throughout, and the use of solid research to inform and back up what Klickstein puts forth. The bibliography is solid and well-chosen. The book is fairly comprehensive, covers the nitty gritty of practice, and includes concrete things to actually do, which mostly means strategies for excellent practice, but there are other worthy tidbits, too. The second section of the book is all about performance and the strategies you can use to include performance as another aspect of your practice. Klickstein also covers aspects of the body that are important to good practice: physical warm-ups, injury prevention, resting. The final part of the book covers injury prevention and valuable advice for the student. More specifics on each section are below.

Part I: Artful Practice (6 Chapters, 124 pages)

This section is organized to reflect Klickstein's method of organizing practice. There is basic introductory stuff like definitions, creating a great practice environment, planning and scheduling and Klickstein sets up his method, the "Five Practice Zones" (new material, developing material, performance material, technique, musicianship). Each following chapter is something of an elaboration of these zones.Read more ›
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5.0 out of 5 starsConcise and thorough
By Ellen Leitner on February 1, 2010
Format: Paperback Verified Purchase
The Musician's Way is an immensely useful book. Gerald Klickstein covers just about every aspect of musicianship imaginable in a concise and thorough way, very much in the holistic manner of his guitar teaching. The book is geared particularly toward young musicians in music school, but can be useful for anyone who wants to improve as a musician. There are specific instructions and suggestions that make the challenges of being a musician much easier to conquer because there's a clear plan. If you have any questions about the book or something not covered in the book, you can go to the website. Kudos and thanks to Mr. K for his dedication and enthusiasm!
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4.0 out of 5 starsA must for anybody serious about music
By Rome is Home on November 18, 2010
Format: Paperback Verified Purchase
The Musician's Way is definitely the book that any young (or older) musician should read. Extremely informative, full of suggestions and practical advices in all the aspects of music making. I teach a program in Performance Skills and Perspectives at the Music Dep. of the University of Malta (Europe) and I use this book as one of the resources for the course.
Personally, I would have preferred a bit warmer style of writing. At times it feels like you are reading an essay on brain surgery more than an inspirational book on creativity, but this does not take anything away from the its value.

Thank you Mr. Klickstein! I look forward to your next book. :-)
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5.0 out of 5 starsMake Practice Perfect
By P. Barrett Coleman on January 10, 2012
Format: Paperback Verified Purchase
A couple weeks ago, I was discussing with my teacher Malcolm Gladwell's Outliers: The Story of Success and his belief in 10,000 hours of practice with something is the magic number to hit for mastery in proficiency. This lead to the observation that we both know people who have practiced a lot, but still, to put it in simplest terms, still suck.

She suggested that I read Musician's Way, and I cannot be more ecstatic by how this book helped me understand practice. I'm an intermediate level violist who has returned to playing after a hiatus. I had no idea about practice and just went in auto-pilot: no major thought, no concentration, and no plan.

This book really points out what practice is suppose to accomplish and how to go about doing that. After reading it, I realized that I wasn't thinking big picture a lot of the time while practicing, I was just trying to get it done - errors and all. A big example of this was the section on how to work on "New Music." It showed the concepts of mapping out songs, working on getting to know it deeply without picking up an instrument, and most of all, avoiding errors that become ingrained.

Since I've incorporated suggestions from this book, my practices have been more satisfying, I've shown better improvement and I have a better idea of what I'm trying to accomplish.

I would not hesitate to suggest this book to other intermediate players of any instrument. This book hit me at the right time; my old practice techniques weren't working on harder material, but I had grown use to practicing every day. It might be too much for a beginner to start out with and probably too boring for an advanced player.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

One of the most powerful books for musicians, everyone should read it!

Published 1 month ago by Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 starsExcellent

Excellent

Published 2 months ago by Virgil F. Thomas, Jr.
5.0 out of 5 starsThe Musician's Way: A Guide to Practice,...

This book describes a clear path to effective practice. He provides tools and techniques that, if used consistently, will stand the performer and student of music in good stead... Read more

Published 2 months ago by David
4.0 out of 5 starsThere's a lot of good information but geared towards classical concert...

There's a lot of good information but geared towards classical concert performance. This being said, there is still information about practice planning and setting goals for... Read more

Published 4 months ago by John Gladman
5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

Great investment for anyone who needs guidance on how to practice effectively, whether is singing or playing their instrument.

Published 5 months ago by Music'sOxygen2Me
5.0 out of 5 starsSweet music

This was a gift. My daughter loved it.

Published 6 months ago by Lorrett
5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

Exactly as described and on time.

Published 6 months ago by D. S. S.
5.0 out of 5 starsI recommend it highly

The Musician's Way is packed with information and inspiration for everyone who is serious about making music. Additionally, the Web links inside are quite remarkable. Read more

Published 6 months ago by Dana T.
5.0 out of 5 starsThis is simply an excellent book in every respect

This is simply an excellent book in every respect. I have referenced it in other reviews, for it's advice on practice as well as it's reliance on scientific studies about the... Read more

Published 8 months ago by Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

Very valuable information.

Published 8 months ago by John G.

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