Barry Green (1) (1945–)

Though this book is short, I had a very hard time finishing it. Much of it is geared to orchestral players and I play a solo instrument, although I could see how some of it would apply to anyone. I couldn't get into doing any of the exercises, but his points about eliminating the interference from critical, judgy "Self 1" are well taken. Should probably have just skimmed it instead to extract the few nuggets.

Let's clarify something: despite its name, this book is not written by the same guy who wrote "The Inner Game of Golf." I'd heard great things about that book, and decided to pick up this one instead, since I care more about music than golf.

Huge mistake.

Green spends most this book paraphrasing Gallwey, but doing it in a way that comes off as sanctimonious and without adding anything of his own. As a result, TIGoM is like twice as long as TIGoG but somehow still manages to say nothing.

I'll show more save you some time with what this inner game stuff is all about:
1) do it for fun,
2) be aware of your performance,
3) the first step to fixing problems is to identify exactly what the problem is,
4) don't overthink it.

Good advice, but not good enough to warrant trudging through 242 pages of shit. show less

I picked up this book, began reading about George Plimpton and Leonard Bernstein (poor George), and never stopped reading. Green's interviews with various musicians to determine if one can achieve mastery of music are wonderful. I have learned much from this book, and my musicianship has improved greatly. I enjoy making music now more than ever.

The Mastery of Music contains many charming and thought-provoking anecdotes, but the work as a whole is weighed down by an excess of platitudes, pseudoscience, and self-promotion.