The
Inner Game of Music
American Music Teacher,
January 1988
Symphony 1990
Niagra Falls
Review
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Articles on
The Inner Game Of Music
The
Inner Game of Music
Tennis professional Timothy Gallwey developed a method
of mental exercises, known as the inner game, as a result
of his observing how the best coaches worked, how his coaching
style sometimes helped or hindered those he taught, and
how his thought processes affected his tennis play. Awareness
of this mental interference led Gallwey to question his
teaching, and he discovered strategies that the best coaches
and tournament players used.
The method of the inner game is based on teaching a
student to do what comes naturally, and how to
avoid references
to specific pitfalls and habits acquired from primary
school and beyond. In this sense the method is
not a new technique,
but follows naturally from what is the best, most natural,
easiest, and most graceful way to play.
Tim Gallwey wrote The Inner Game of Tennis to express
insights, and the success of this first book led to
books on skiing
and golf. While the method is not a technique, it is
a natural approach codified that consists of a number
of
mental exercises and techniques of control that can
improve playing music, golf, or whatever.
As principal bassist of the Cincinnati Symphony for
the past 24 years, university professor, and parent
of young
musicians, I developed this method as the most natural
and effective way for teacher and student, conductor
and ensemble to work together. It suggests a style
of rehearsal
and performance that involves everyone in the ensemble
and allows the conductor and musicians to recreate
a composer's score efficiently and effectively. This
way
no one will
be I plagued by boredom, pressure to achieve results,
intimidation, confusion, or the mechanical reading
of rhythms and notes
the emphasis is entirely on the music.
I have played under conductors who run rehearsals
that are consistent with the approach, but who
have never
heard of the method. These conductors are among
the best in the
business, and we should follow their example because
they have discovered what is most natural and works
best. With
out formulating their discoveries in this particular
way, they too have been using the method. We can
all take greater
advantage of these natural and inherently successful
styles of rehearsal. Using a structured and codified
approach
to fine tune a rehearsal, as if the rehearsal itself
were an instrument, is the secret of playing with
ensembles.
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