The Art of Practicing: A Guide to Making Music from the Heart

I'm just staring learning piano. I'm 53. Did play a couple instruments in school band. I'm extremely impressed with this book. Even though she is highly trained. Knows much. Works with many highly trained musicians and singers. The book is very straight forward. Unpretentious. Loads of info. This book is so good. It motivated me to give up on teaching myself, and go find a really good teacher. Some might not like talk of yoga, and meditation. Why do you think so many people run marathons? It's the meditation. There is nothing wrong with meditation. Yoga is the fountain of youth. Things like this are not any kind of mysticism. It is good common horse sense. It's what good observant minds have put together to make life better. She has a good understanding of physiology. Uses that to explain to you why incorrect technique is bad. Also how correct technique results in you playing better. I'm impressed with this book. Highly suggested to anyone who performs.

This book is written to help you improve your ideas and mental outlook toward daily practice.. Ms. Bruser goes into the importance of technical correctness, including posture and movement, but she really inspires us to approach practice with a different attitude. I play the tuba as an amateur. After reading her book, I began to practice more, but I actually may spend less time playing notes. Musicianship implies technical expertise, but this book is really written to help you improve your artistic musicality and learn to make music with passion, intelligence and sensitivity. To do this, you must approach each practice much like a performance, or a master class with you as your own clinician. Practice is not just face time with your instrument..

It's a marvelous book that teaches us how to prepare and address musical practice in a very enriching and comprehensive way. I've put into practice some of her suggestions and noticed a great chance in my practice. It also helped me understand some of my worries and helped me feel free and compassionate about my relationship towards music and music perdormance. I highly recommed it for any music player.

If you're a pianist you will find this book to be extremely helpful,however for a musician that isn't so piano driven,you might find some parts to be of very little use.Still,Loved the message and philosophy around creating and author is amazing at expressing the depth of being a crafter and taking your practice sessions to the next level.

This is very easy going, easy flowing book that gives practical advice on how to make your practice sessions more effective. It gives suggestions for warming up involving whole body movements. I recommend it for anyone that wants to improve their piano practicing. It also qives answers to commonly asked questions involving mistakes pianists make and want to correct.

I think "The art of practicing" should be every musicians bible, it suggests lots of practical and psychological advice for musicians, its profound and wisely written, i usually read books and forget about them very soon, i bought this book because i expected it would be useful, and already (on the chapter 3) i can tell that it totally haunted me, i should at least try to follow author's 10 step advice to improve my music making, highly recommend it !

This was recommended by my piano teacher. To be honest, it's kind of weird. It combines information about technique with psuedo-buddhist philosphy - stretching, meditation, "following your intention and practice what you like..."

This book helped me get become less frustrated with my piano practice, and more enthused about why I loved the piano in the first place which made me want to play and reconnect with my love of music.