Ever wondered why some people seem to have a gift for music? Have you wished that you could play by ear, sing in tune, improvise and jam? You are in the right place.
Musicality Now is a mix of interviews and teaching, featuring some of the most inspiring and insightful musicians and music educators, talking about how to learn the core inner skills you need to feel like a "natural" in music and enjoy freedom, creativity and confidence.
Topics include: Playing by ear, Singing in tune, Jamming with other musicians, Having a good sense of rhythm, Writing your own music, Writing notation, Improvising a solo, Talking intelligently about music, Understanding Music Theory, Clapping in time, Knowing your instrument inside and out, Tuning your instrument by ear, Reading notation, Sight-reading music, Playing from a lead sheet, Performing live, and Playing multiple instruments.
Musicality Now is brought to you by Musical U (musical-u.com), the leading provider of musicality training online. Learn more and get shownotes at musicalitynow.com.
Site
RSS
Apple
Recent rankings
Latest chart positions across Apple Podcasts and Spotify rankings.
Shared links between episodes and podcasts
Links found in episode descriptions and other podcasts that share them.
306: Where True Musical Creativity Comes From (with David Reed, Improvise For Real)
Episode 306
Tuesday, July 2, 2024 • Duration 16:42
Did you know, you already have 90% of what it takes to become a creative, confident improviser?
That might sound unlikely, especially if improvisation feels way out of reach right now.
But you might be surprised...
What if there was just one missing piece which stood between you and free, creative, instinctive music-making?
And what if that missing piece was ALREADY inside you, just waiting to be brought out?
Join Christopher and David Reed from Improvise for Real for part three of a fascinating conversation where they discuss the role of listening and instinct in learning and playing music.
Today we’re excited to share another Pathways story with you! We are joined by Musical U member Sharilynn Horhota. Before her engineering career and three children, Sharilynn was headed towards becoming a professional flute player. Now she has returned to the flute in a surprising way.
Sharilynn has been sharing her journey on her Musical U Progress Journal. The Progress Journal, or PJ, is a system we use inside the Musical U site for members to share their progress, ask questions, and get feedback and support from the Musical U team and Musical U community. Sharilynn has made fantastic use of her PJ so we had some sense of her interesting backstory and all the cool activities she’s been up to - but as you’ll be hearing, Musical U is just one part of all the resources she’s been drawing on and all the ways she’s been stretching herself since returning to flute.
In this conversation we talk about:
• How studying Alexander Technique in Finland let her feel much freer in her playing and opened up her sound
• The specific resources and exercises that have helped Sharilynn start to improvise, and in a way that feels like she is truly expressing herself, rather than just improv-by-numbers following chord tones.
• And the two clever variants on traditional exercises, scales and long notes, which she now gives her flute students to help them improve faster and enjoy practicing more.
Part of the intention with this Pathways series is to share stories of music learners who are perhaps more relatable than the world-leading experts we’re so fortunate to have the chance to interview here on the show. But we’re not sure Sharilynn quite fits that bill, because as you’ll discover, she is one seriously impressive music learner! You will surely find a lot to relate to in her story - and pick up some handy ideas and pointers that you can apply in your own musical journey.
215: What Music Practice Really Means, with Jonathan Harnum (The Practice Of Practice)
Episode 215
Wednesday, December 11, 2019 • Duration 01:23:22
Today we’re talking with Dr. Jonathan Harnum, whose PhD research was focused on the topic of music practice. Dr. Harnum studied how a wide variety of musicians think about and execute practice to be able to reach such high levels of ability.
The result of Dr. Harnum’s research is a book called The Practice Of Practice, which we strongly recommend checking out. The Practice of Practice is a highly-readable treasure trove of all the latest ideas, understanding, techniques and insights on what makes for effective music practice and how you can learn better and faster.
From a classical upbringing to an exciting 2-year road-trip of discovering improvisation, Jonathan Harnum’s own musical journey is fascinating! We were excited to have the chance to speak with him and share some of the ideas from The Practice of Practice to inspire and accelerate your music learning.
If you heard our recent interview with Gregg Goodhart on the topic of practice then you’ll find this is a beautiful counterpoint. Although the broad topic is the same, this is a very different conversation - but similarly packed with insights and nuggets that can pay off for your own music practice.
In this conversation you’ll hear about:
• A simple way to reframe how you think about difficult things which can immediately transform frustration and helplessness into empowered eagerness.
• The neurological research which proves that watching live music can be a highly valuable form of practice too.
214: Mind Before Fingers, with Marilyn White Lowe (Music Moves For Piano)
Episode 214
Wednesday, December 4, 2019 • Duration 57:36
Today we’re joined by one of the leading Gordon-trained music educators and author of Music Moves for Piano, Marilyn White Lowe. Music Moves is an innovative approach to teaching piano, which from the very beginning incorporates all of the “inner skills” we focus on here at Musical U, such as improvising, playing by ear, composing your own music and collaborating with other musicians.
Music Moves uses Dr. Edwin Gordon’s Music Learning Theory, which codifies how the human brain learns music, as the basis for designing how musicianship can most effectively be taught. “Music Learning Theory” has previously been featured on Musicality Now, most notably in our interview with Professor Cynthia Crump-Taggart, President of the Gordon Institute for Music Learning. We’ve discussed several times on past episodes the idea of audiation, which is a word Edwin Gordon originally coined. Audiation has detail and depth that goes far beyond simply “imagining music in your head”. Marilyn brings a wonderful new perspective to audiation for us, as educators applying it directly in the context of teaching an instrument.
Drawing on ideas from Orff, Suzuki, Dalcroze, and Kodály, The Music Moves For Piano method incorporates listening, singing, movement, audiation, and notation, on top of the pure piano technique skills - and as you’ll hear in this conversation it develops the student into a fully-fledged and well-rounded musician - not just a piano player.
In this conversation we talk about:
213: How to Learn Like a Genius, with Gregg Goodhart
Episode 213
Wednesday, November 27, 2019 • Duration 01:40:58
Today’s guest, Gregg Goodhart, specializes in taking all the latest research and understanding of how the human brain can most effectively practice, and actually putting it to practical use, in music lessons and classrooms. Through his innovative Practiclass project he’s able to prove by on-the-spot demonstration with real students, just how effective these techniques can be for breaking past longstanding plateaus and reaching new heights of instrumental ability.
Gregg’s YouTube channel and project is called Learn Like A Genius, and with good reason. When you see the virtuoso instrumentalist, the person who seems like a musical genius, and wonder how they got so good, the chances are that they either consciously or unconsciously have been using some of the learning techniques that Gregg shares today.
We talk about:
• The two disastrous ways that the idea of “talent” sabotages music learners and can hold you back from reaching your true potential.
• Gregg’s simple three-word summary of the powerful idea of “deliberate practice”, and how it can be the key to fast progress.
• The counter-intuitive but foolproof way to break past plateaus where you just can’t seem to play a certain passage correctly at full speed.
You’re going to come away from this episode seriously inspired about what could be possible from your music practice in the future - and to make sure you’re able to really follow through on that, we’ve got a couple of fantastic ways for you to dive into using these ideas in a practical way.
212: From The Notes On the Page To Artistry And Mastery, with Dennis Alexander (Premier Piano Course)
Episode 212
Wednesday, November 20, 2019 • Duration 01:11:14
Today we have the honour of talking with one of the top authors of piano books over the last nearly 35 years: Dennis Alexander.
With over 400 publications and recordings on Alfred Music, including Alfred’s flagship piano method Premier Piano Course, Dennis is one of the world’s most prolific and popular composers of educational piano music for students at all levels. In 2015 he was awarded a “Lifetime Achievement Award” by the National Conference on Keyboard Pedagogy in recognition of his extraordinary service to the music teaching profession.
Mr. Alexander provides a rich learning experience for his students by bringing awareness to the importance of musicality. Often dull topics like music theory and reading notation are brought to life with a creativity and a consciousness of musical expression.
In this conversation we talk about:
• How Dennis’ background in playing by ear and improvising feeds into how he approaches composing.
• The main difference between children and adult learners and one great way to make learning more enjoyable and improvisation less intimidating if you’re an adult learner.
• And the specific aspects which you should have in mind to bring a rendition from a strictly-correct but unmoving one through to a compelling, musical performance.
Enjoy this glimpse into what makes one of the top piano methods much more than just “playing the right notes at the right time”. Even if you’re not a piano player you don’t want to miss all of the deep musical insight in this interview!
211: Pathways - Nick Cheetham
Episode 211
Thursday, November 14, 2019 • Duration 01:01:35
In more than 200 episodes, Musicality Now has brought you interviews with the world’s leading experts on musicality as well as teaching segments on crucial topics to your music learning. But while we’ve been inspired by the accomplishments of educators and musicians who seem to “arrived” musically, something very important has been missing.
What is really going on in the day-to-day musical lives of passionate music learners who are still very much on the Pathways to reaching their musical goals?
Well, today we have the first in a new series of episodes in which we’ll be talking with folks just like you, reaching out, inspiring each other, and lending each other a hand in our musical journeys.
Every day inside Musical U we see the power of peer-to-peer learning, and how much we can all gain from being among the right community of music-learners. And so we're going to be inviting the Musicality Now audience as well as our members at Musical U to come on and share their own music-learning journey, and the resources, insights and breakthroughs that have helped them along the way so far.
If you've had a musicality breakthrough - small or large - please get in touch by sending an email to hello@musicalitynow.com - we want to hear your story!
Today we’re joined by Nick Cheetham, a podcast listener who got in touch after our recent "Intimidating - or Inspiring? You Choose" episode to share some of his thoughts on the topic, and he had such interesting things to say we decided to invite him on the show to share his journey so far.
In this conversation you're going to hear about:
210: The Keys to Performance Success, with Dr. Don Greene (Winning On Stage)
Episode 210
Wednesday, November 6, 2019 • Duration 57:09
Today we have the pleasure of talking with Dr. Don Greene, one of the world's leading experts and practitioners of performance psychology. In his 30-year career Dr. Greene has coached more than 1,000 performers, including top-tier symphony musicians and Olympic gold medalists.
Dr. Greene has written eight books, two of which we discuss in this conversation, Performance Success and College Prep for Musicians. He also publishes articles covering all aspects of peak performance psychology for music, sports and all performing disciplines on his website, Winning on Stage.
You may be familiar with some of the ideas in this interview, such as visualisation and positive self-talk. However, If you’re like most music learners, you've probably come across these ideas in vague blog posts or conversation. You're going to find it hugely valuable to hear from a performance psychologist who's worked with world-class performers across several disciplines for many years.
We talk about:
• Why trying to feel relaxed is not actually the route to reliable performance under pressure
• The five areas you can assess yourself on, to know how best to improve your own performance abilities.
• The importance of a so-called "pre-shot routine" that can help you perform at your best even when your heart is pounding
This conversation is going to equip you with some valuable new insights and strategies to apply in your musical life and open your eyes to what might be possible for you!
Have you picked up useful ideas or techniques in your own musical journey so far that you think could inspire or help others on their path of exploring their musicality? Get in touch by dropping an email to hello@musicalitynow.com! We are always looking for new guests for Pathways and would love to share your story next.
• How “guerilla practice” can help you fit in genuinely effective music practice even amid the busiest of lives.
You’re going to really enjoy Dr. Harnum’s insights on improvising, creativity, broadening the idea of what music practice can be, and some of the very specific actionable ideas he shares along the way.
• Why clapping, tapping or walking may not be the best ways to internalise the pulse and the rhythmic patterns of music.
• The specific rhythm and pitch frameworks which give students the "vocabulary" they need to improvise and be creative in music.
• Why the age of 9 is a turning point in music learning, and what that means for adult music learners.
A lot of the concepts we talk about here at Musical U are brought to life in this conversation. If you’ve ever wondered what it would look like to learn an instrument in a way that truly incorporates musicality training, rather than having it be off in its own separate area, this episode will inspire your music learning.
• What caused Nick to pick up the violin for the first time at age 40 despite worrying he might be "tone deaf"
• How Nick's been able to achieve several significant goals over the last 18 months and how that relates to the choice of "intimdating vs. inspiring”
• And how after 10 years of learning Nick made some adjustments and was quickly able to get off the page and into playing by ear, improvising, and playing in groups.
We hope you'll enjoy this new kind of episode - let us know what you think, and maybe we can share your story next.
Discover shows related to Musicality Now, based on actual content similarities. Explore podcasts with similar topics, themes, and formats, backed by real data.
