frustration Archives

Practicing, Some Practice Advice (Part 2) — by Michael Haber

Frustration and Discouragement, Orchestra Auditions, Some Final Thoughts, a Final Comment FRUSTRATION AND DISCOURAGEMENT: Now is the time to talk about our number one enemy. When I look back over all my teaching, one observation stands out above all others. It has not been a lack of talent or intelligence which stood in the way of progress for most students. It has rather been the fact that many people become both frustrated and discouraged by the amount of work and the unwavering discipline and persistence it usually takes to become an excellent musician. I have something simple to say on this subject: frustration and discouragement have been the common lot of most of the musicians I've known, born of the eternal gap between our dreams of how we want [...]

By Michael Haber|2024-04-10T18:34:38-04:00September 3rd, 2017|Categories: Auditions, In the Practice Room, Orchestra, Playing Healthy, Self Discovery, Videos|Tags: Auditions, Experience, Michael Haber, self, personality, frustration, Coordination, soul|

Reflections from the Bleachers — by Melissa Kraut

I am not cut out to be a swimming mom. Seriously. I am a cellist, an artist that uses classical music to parse the profound issues of humankind. I deal with emotions, both broad and subtle, grand and intimate. I’m on a journey to refine a skill that I will spend my lifetime trying to achieve, and working on finding ways to convey my passion to others, to convey what is in my soul through my instrument. I’m a professor at the Cleveland Institute of Music, how can I possibly take on the role of swimming mom?? My daughter, a freshman in high school, is an avid swimmer, so it came as no surprise when she tried out for the high school swimming team last October. As much as I [...]

By Melissa Kraut|2017-10-22T23:03:30-04:00March 14th, 2013|Categories: Artistic Vision, Beyond the Traditional, In the Practice Room, Self Discovery|Tags: frustration, athlete, pool, passion, bleachers, timing, refine a skill, chamber music, competitions, cello, Reflections fro the bleachers, training, early morning practice, cellobello, sick, discipline, eat well, professor, sleep well, repetition, getting enough sleep, orchestra, stretch, progress, high school orchestra assembly, successful musicians, exercise, increments, swimming mom, swimming, Interlochen Arts Academy, tempo, unhealthy, Cleveland Institute of Music, letter jacket, Wenger chairs, achieve a common goal, Melissa Kraut|

The Tools of Embodied Music® – the Feldenkrais Method for Musicians (Part 1)

Before discussing what the Feldenkrais Method is and how it can help you make better music without injuring yourself, let me start by asking a few questions. Have you ever observed how very young children respond to music – with rhythmic movement, with sounds, with all sorts of other movements? Do you remember how you felt as a child, when you wanted to make music? Do you ever feel something akin to ecstasy when you hear a piece of a performance you really love? Is the sense of ecstasy only a thought or is it a feeling also in your body? Where in yourself do you feel it? Do you feel the rhythm? Can you feel that sometimes music makes you feel light and sometimes heavy, sometimes it is [...]

By Aliza Stewart|2019-03-04T03:03:24-05:00May 18th, 2012|Categories: Performance, Playing Healthy, Self Discovery|Tags: expression, organization, Rhythm, movement, cello, cellobello, workshops, music, master classes, injury, musical imagination, Aliza, phrasing, Dr. Feldenkrais, movement lessons, frustration, spontaneity, Listening, Stewart|

A New Look at Sight-Reading (Part 1) — by Robert Battey

As a teacher who specializes in adult amateurs, and who coaches at chamber music workshops catering to the amateur demographic, I have been struck by the differences of approach between these players and the “serious” conservatory students. By definition, “amateurs” are those who pursue the art form simply because they love it, and without the goal of becoming a professional. Conservatory students pursue the goal of professionalism even when, in a few cases, they don’t actually love the art form that much. But inherent in that pursuit are the thousands of hours slaving away on exercises, scales and etudes, always with an eye on the competition lurking in the next practice room or the impending juries. Amateurs “just want to play.” They have no illusions about ever sounding like the [...]

By Robert Battey|2022-09-19T13:46:18-04:00December 1st, 2011|Categories: In the Practice Room, Self Discovery, Teaching|Tags: cellobello, frustration, music, Development, students, chamber music, goals, coaching, Battey, discipline, art, music-making, Technique, robert, sight-reading, Teaching, conservatory, workshops, cello, ensemble|

Bernard Greenhouse: January 3, 1916-May 13, 2011

Bernard Greenhouse left us May 13, 2011. Please scroll to the bottom of this posting and add your personal recollections and tributes for Bernie in the comment box. Bernard Greenhouse, one of my true cello heros and a man I loved and admired, passed away this morning in the middle of his 96th year. It was a peaceful death, middle of the night, in his sleep. It was not unexpected, yet it is so hard to accept. Thousands of friends, family and colleagues, generations of students will be saddened by this loss, for his music, his teaching, the legendary warmth of both his cello sound and his personality, have truly inspired the love and devotion of untold numbers. I had been eagerly looking forward to an upcoming visit to Bernie’s home on [...]

By Paul Katz|2011-05-13T23:30:38-04:00May 13th, 2011|Categories: Bernard Greenhouse|Tags: Cleveland Quartet, Katz, dynamics, Paul, elegance, imagination, experiments, character, frustration, collaboration, Greenhouse, alignment, perfection, inspiration, Beaux Arts Trio, recording, Teaching, Bernard, singing, weight, vibrato, celebration, cellobello|