The Perfect Wrong Note: Learning to Trust Your Musical Self.(Book Review)

The Perfect Wrong Note: Learning to Trust Your Musical Self, by William Westney. Amadeus Press, LLC (512 Newark Pompton Turnpike, Pompton Plains, NJ 07444), 2003. 227 pp. $24.95.

William Westney thinks "out of the box" in his new book, which makes a case for allowing "juicy mistakes" in order to make music freely. Westney's passionate writing describes how accepting honest mistakes in practice and performance can lead to increased comfort and physical freedom in the eventual control of a performance. An acclaimed artist-teacher, lie dedicates the book to one of his former teachers, Eloise Ristad, author of A Soprano on Her Head. His background of early study in Dalcroze Eurhythmics permeates his approach to teaching.

Titles of the eleven chapters illuminate the contents of the book: "Music, Magic and Childhood," "Vitality," "Juicy Mistakes," "Step by Step: A Guide to Healthy Practicing," "Breakthroughs," "Is It Good to Be a Good Student?", "Out of Control: The Drama of Performing," "Lessons and Un-Lessons," "The Un-Master Class: Rethinking a Tradition," "Adventurous Amateurs," "Beyond the Music Room," plus a postscript: "A Word to Health Professionals" and a bibliography.

Professionals and amateurs will be grateful to Westney for sharing his life's work. The book will be useful to all music makers, as well as parents. Westney offers useful tips for developing fruitful teacher-student relationships. He challenges teachers to rethink their approach and accuses music lessons of quashing the joy and vitality ...