Three Books that have Improved my Life as a Musician

By Julianna Evans, BM, MM, PMP

As I’ve moved through life, it becomes easier to look back on the years and identify what has been useful and what has been a hinderance to my life pursuing music. Today I’ll be talking about three of the of the life-changing books I’ve read/listened to that have helped me the most over the years from college to present.

1. Clarinet Secrets: 52 Performance Strategies For the Advanced Clarinetist                             by Michele Gingras https://amzn.to/2VYdKQg

Probably the most difficult thing for me to deal with after being out of a learning institution for the last 21 years is that I really miss taking lessons every week. I miss going to class every week and learning insights from all of my teachers, but mostly I miss learning from my clarinet teachers. It’s really amazing how much I have forgotten over the years from my teachers. I’ve heard about Michele Gingras’ Clarinet Secrets book over the years, but I didn’t actually buy a copy until 2018. I was thrilled to relearn a lot of fundamentals that I had forgotten over the years.

2. The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Creative Inner Battles by Steven Pressfield https://amzn.to/2SujvTD

I think everyone who is a musician (or any kind of creative) will suffer from lack of inspiration/motivation over their lifetime. I know for me the hardest thing about practicing is actually sitting down to practice. I like Steven Pressfield’s take on this lack of motivation, but he calls it resistance. He submits that resistance is a living force and will always exist no matter how much you push against your individual desire to improve your art. My one big takeaway from this book is to show up every day and practice, no matter how strong the resistance. I’ve also noticed in life that it’s usually consistency of one’s habits that leads to success. I know plenty of talented people that just haven’t consistently practiced (and when I say consistent practice, I mean sitting there every day even after rejection, heartache, humiliation…all byproducts of being a performer).

3. The Psychology of Achievement: Develop the Top Achiever’s Mindset by Brian Tracey https://amzn.to/35sqKAp

I can remember my mom driving me to and from Richmond, Virginia on breaks to go to college at Virginia Commonwealth University. During that time, my mom had borrowed some self-development books from her workplace by Brian Tracey. I remember at the time I practiced about 3-4 hours a day, but I was always terrified of performing. These tapes really opened my eyes to a new way of thinking, through affirmations and positive thinking. He incorporated multiple, tangible techniques in this program to practice. I had never heard of anything like this at the time (the year was 1996). I remember things in my academic and performing life really improved for me after I implemented Tracy’s techniques. I got straight A’s for the first time in my life and my performances really improved. Even though I was still nervous, I had a different mindset towards confidence and achievement. I highly recommend this set of CDs for anyone who is new to the self-development.

While there are many other books I could include on this small list, I thought this trio was manageable enough to get started for clarinetists and performing enthusiasts alike. This list covers fundamentals of the clarinet, practice discipline and a bit of psychology to round things out. I hope that these tools bring as much advancement to your life as they have contributed to mine! Happy reading!