You Are Your Instrument: the Definitive Musician's Guide to Practice and Performance

by Julie Lyonn Lieberman

(Instructional). This unique guide helps all open new avenues of expression through a pain-free, healthy, fluid approach to music-making; overcome performance anxiety, general tension, and muscular injury; and increase learning skills to facilitate more effective motor coordination. The first music medicine book in the world with 11,000 sold, this book is a must for all musicians. "This is a highly recommended book to read for the musician who needs information about maximizing one's full potential as an artist. This book is practical in that it covers all aspects of musicianship, ranging from the mental preparations involved in performance to the actual bodily care needed to prevent long-term injuries." BOOK REVIEW "This is a concise, intelligently written book of ambitious scope, which seeks to address the needs of the growing number of musicians who find themselves struggling with physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual injuries and limitations." - STRINGS MAGAZINE "Julie Lyonn Lieberman has put together a handsome, clear guide with a variety of tips and suggestions...The book is well designed and cleverly illustrated...This is a useful resource guide for today'S performing musicians, and a beneficial tool for teachers to utilize in assisting students to develop healthy habits." -AMERICAN MUSIC TEACHER

Genres: Music

152 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1991

Reviews

[Lenny Husen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book took almost 2 months to read--wasn't the smoothest, kind of like a textbook of how to care for your body properly as a musician, covering attitudes that are conducive to avoiding injury.
As a musician (lower case) and a Physician, I can say this is a great book.
The drawings by Butchart are quirky and charming. Swartz the male model who illustrates the physical exercise (many of them are variations of yoga) is super hot and cute making the photos enjoyable.
Lieberman has much good advice, quotes that spark discussion or thought, and good techniques, visualization, mental postures that would be likely to add to the abilities of anyone aspiring to learn to play a musical instrument whether an amateur or a professional.
Very good reference book for musicians, doctors or other health professionals (physical therapists) who treat musicians, and there is quite a bit for music lovers who practice mindfulness-based stress reduction also.
I especially appreciated the chapters Breathing (which approached breathing from a different perspective than you might think) and The Music Lesson (which explained perfectly why I am so afraid of music teachers or rather, afraid of taking lessons).

[Semi-Academic Eric · Rating 5 out of 5]

An exploration of alternative approaches to healing and music-making, I am finding this book intriguing. The author started her journey as a student of the Alexander Technique. This helped her recover from a "hearing problem" (as she put it) that apparently developed due to "extreme muscular tension in [her] neck from playing the violin."

[Tawnya]

A wonderful book for those who have difficulty memorizing, performance anxiety, and for self healing ideas. Loved it! Will definitely re-read

[Carolyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good resource for all sorts of musicians. A nice holistic approach to making music.