The Art of Practicing website

ITG member Stephen Burns writes with news of Madeline Bruser’s Meditation for Musicians workshop (June 4-11) and book The Art of Practicing.

Burns, who helped develop Bruser’s book (see below), writes: “This spring we have a unique opportunity to enrich our practice and teaching. Madeline Bruser, piano pedagogue and meditation instructor will lead a one week retreat in the idyllic setting of Karme Choling in Barnet, Vermont. Reconnect with the original experience that inspired you to make music and discover new ways to relate with your technique, teaching, performing, and inspiration.
Find out more at http://www.artofpracticing.com/upcomingseminars.html or from Madeline directly on (212) 678-9215. (International: +1 212 678-9215.)

"The "Art of Practicing" course is designed for all musicians (trumpet players included) though the teacher, Madeline Bruser, is a pianist. Her approach is very organic and is geared to developing mind/body awareness and alignment as well as a very natural approach to making music from the heart and working on technical problems. I was a consultant on her book by the same title (The Art of Practicing: A Guide to Making Music from the Heart), so she is quite aware of the major problems trumpeters face.

"An alternative approach to studying any instrument and music, this course addresses peace of mind, clarity of intention, and a host of other psychological issues including stage fright, teacher/student relations, and the pressures of school and career. The course is being held at an exquisite mountain meditation retreat center which was one of the first Tibetan Buddhist meditation centers in North America. This course is perfect for any teacher or student who would like to relax, recharge, and renew his/her passion for music, playing and practice. It is the best gift you could possibly give yourself."

Background

This retreat will take place June 4 - 11 2004 at a meditation center on 540 acres of wooded country with a lake nearby, and will explore meditation as an enhancement to musical performance. An authorized instructor of mindfulness meditation, Ms. Bruser will conduct meditation workshops as well as music workshops that include meditative techniques for working with sound and sensation. Professional and advanced amateur musicians of all instruments may perform in the music workshops. Non-performing participants may be musicians at any level of expertise. Visit the website (www.artofpracticing.com) to download the application for performing participants.

Program fees:

• Performing participants $550
• Other participants $310
• Rooms $210 to $280 for the week; lower cost accommodations also available
  Karme-Choling Meditation Center, Barnet, VT, (802) 633-2384 (International: +1 802 633-2384).

In addition to the weekly rates for the program, people can register by the day. The daily rates are:

• performing participants $60 per day, plus $100 for each day of performing in workshops
  (each performing participant may play in a maximum of three workshops)
• $60 for non-performing participants
• opening talk fee $27, for people who are not taking the whole program
  
  
These rates include meals.

In her own words

In response to an enquiry about the suitability for trumpet players of the course, Madeline Bruser writes: "I actually gave a lesson to a trumpet player, Peter Knight, a couple of months ago. He happened to be in town from Melbourne, Australia, and was writing a thesis on methods of practice and performance. The session was illuminating to both of us. As I remember, I helped him with posture and its relationship to the instrument, which gave him a feeling of more groundedness and resulted in a better tone. We also worked with grouping notes to create a sense of pulse and rhythmic vitality. Peter's playing improved quite noticeably on the spot with both of these teachings. I also learned about how tonguing can used to create the note grouping to achieve the effect of increased vitality in the performance.

"Listening techniques and sensory awareness apply to all instruments as well, and you would find them in Chapters 10 and 12 of my book. I once helped a trombone player achieve greater lip control by using these techniques, and I helped a flutist as well. Primarily, the approach I teach helps musicians become more receptive to the music they're playing, and to experience the vibrant aliveness that comes with discovering the ideal balance between activity (movement) and receptivity (stillness and relaxation). They become more engaged with sound and sensation, which directly engages their listeners more as a result.

"Meditation practice, which will be a large part of the program in Vermont, has profound, far-reaching effects on practice and performance. Even two minutes of meditation practice can radically transform someone's performance. This simple discipline settles the body and mind, resulting in deepened relaxation and receptiveness to sound and sensation, helping the player to focus, to feel lighter and freer, and to become a spontaneous open channel for the music. Chapter 4 of The Art of Practicing discusses this process in detail.

"The Art of Practicing book includes photos of Stephen Burns with his trumpet to show effective and ineffective posture and hand positions. It also includes similar information on several other instruments, all of which are not included on the website. In the book Stephen also comments on a number of different physical issues with the trumpet, which have helped me work with some of the playing difficulties I have seen."

General information about Bruser, her teaching, and her book, is available at the website - please see below.

Websites:
The Art of Practicing - upcoming seminars
The Art of Practicing - general site