Musicianship Mastery with David Lane – Details, episodes & analysis

If you want to succeed in music, how important is talent?  I shared a strong opinion on this way back on Episode 3 of this podcast.  I've thought about it a lot since then, and have since changed my mind about some of it but still feel strongly on other points.  With the 2024 Summer Olympics being a recent event that featured a lot of developed talent, I thought this would be a great time to revisit the topic.  Talent is a real trait that has a real say in what opportunities there are for you in music, but how much?  Also, listen to why using "You're so talented" as a compliment to young performers is potentially harmful.

Let me know your thoughts on this episode as a voice message to possibly share on a future episode at https://www.speakpipe.com/MusicianToolkit 

If you enjoyed this, please give it a rating and review on the podcast app of your choice.  You can find all episodes of this podcast at https://www.davidlanemusic.com/toolkit

You can follow David Lane AND the Musician Toolkit podcast on Facebook @DavidMLaneMusic, on Instagram and TikTok @DavidLaneMusic, and on YouTube @davidlanemusic1

This episode is sponsored by Fons, an online platform that helps private teachers of all types (music, yoga, martial arts, academic tutoring, coaches, etc) with smooth, automated assistance such as securing timely automatic payments and scheduling.  Click here for more information or to begin your free trial.

The final core performance skill to explore is the ability to improvise.  This is a skill that is very natural to some musicians (and even non-musicians) and very mysterious and perhaps even scary to others.  And yet, it's the oldest of all the skills, the earliest way to create music.  It's also essential for every genre other than classical (and there was a time it was expected there as well).  Finally, it's the most pure way of learning how music works by disassembling it and putting it back together based on your own experience and understanding.  As with the previous episodes in this series, there are 10 exercises to get you started with improvisation.

This is the 5th of a 5-part series.  If you missed it, check out the previous episodes in this series:

The Four Core Skills Part 1: An Overview of the Skills

The Four Core Skills Part 2: Sight Reading

The Four Core Skills Part 3: Playing by Ear

The Four Core Skills Part 4: Transposing

ALSO MENTIONED:

Composing Your Own Practice Etudes | Ep37

Piano Improvisation Live in Concert

Let me know your thoughts on this episode as a voice message to possibly share on a future episode at https://www.speakpipe.com/MusicianToolkit 

If you enjoyed this, please give it a rating and review on the podcast app of your choice.  You can find all episodes of this podcast at https://www.davidlanemusic.com/toolkit

You can follow David Lane AND the Musician Toolkit podcast on Facebook @DavidMLaneMusic, on Instagram and TikTok @DavidLaneMusic, and on YouTube @davidlanemusic1

This episode is sponsored by Fons, an online platform that helps private teachers of all types (music, yoga, martial arts, academic tutoring, coaches, etc) with smooth, automated assistance such as securing timely automatic payments and scheduling.  Click here for more information or to begin your free trial.

As David Lane shares, an attempt to create a true master calendar, accounting for all 168 hours in a week, is a sobering lesson.  Chances are that you, like he, have too many interests, too many obligations, and/or too many goals.  It's also easy to crowd out the main thing that drives you as a musician - whether that be playing your instrument, conducting, or composing - because it might not be a significant source of income.  If you want fulfillment as an artist of any kind, it's important for you to make time for the main way you define yourself as a musician.

Let me know your thoughts on this episode as a voice message to possibly share on a future episode at https://www.speakpipe.com/MusicianToolkit 

You can find this episode and links to this show on all podcast apps from https://musiciantoolkit.podbean.com/.

If you enjoyed this, please give it a rating and review on the podcast app of your choice.  You can also find the podcast at https://www.davidlanemusic.com/toolkit

You can follow David Lane AND the Musician Toolkit podcast on Facebook @DavidMLaneMusic, on Instagram and TikTok @DavidLaneMusic, and on YouTube @davidlanemusic1

This episode is sponsored by Fons, an online platform that helps private teachers of all types (music, yoga, martial arts, academic tutoring, coaches, etc) with smooth, automated assistance such as securing timely automatic payments and scheduling.  Click here for more information or to begin your free trial.

Paul Baron is an active performer on the trumpet.  He is currently touring on the Broadway National Tour of Disney's Frozen.  He has also appeared on many albums by world-famous pop and rock artists such as Aerosmith, David Lee Roth (from whom he learned an important musical lesson), Michael Buble, INXS, and many more.  In this episode, we talk about what it's like to be a session musician and also recap a conversation from the Life in the Pit podcast where we focused on Paul's extensive work in the musical theatre, and talked about one of his books.

Links (YouTube audience, please go to source link at top of description for full links):

Interview from Life in the Pit

Paul's books

Paul's website

Trumpet Diagnostics FB Group

Let me know your thoughts on this episode as a voice message to possibly share on a future episode at https://www.speakpipe.com/MusicianToolkit 

You can find this episode and links to this show on all podcast apps from https://musiciantoolkit.podbean.com/.

If you enjoyed this, please give it a rating and review on the podcast app of your choice.  You can also find the podcast at https://www.davidlanemusic.com/toolkit

You can follow David Lane AND the Musician Toolkit podcast on Facebook @DavidMLaneMusic, on Instagram and TikTok @DavidLaneMusic, and on YouTube @davidlanemusic1

This episode is sponsored by Fons, an online platform that helps private teachers of all types (music, yoga, martial arts, academic tutoring, coaches, etc) with smooth, automated assistance such as securing timely automatic payments and scheduling.  Click here for more information or to begin your free trial.

It's human nature to want to learn all the music, listen to every album, read every book, watch every movie, and visit every city.  However, there's not nearly as much time as we'd like to do even a fraction of any of this.  And since we can't do everything, it's much more powerful to savor than to sample.  Listening again and again to music that inspires you, reviewing music you learned a while back, or re-reading a meaningful book several times is going to be much more enriching than just collecting as many experiences as possible.

Let me know your thoughts on this episode as a voice message to possibly share on a future episode at https://www.speakpipe.com/MusicianToolkit 

You can find this episode and links to this show on all podcast apps from https://musiciantoolkit.podbean.com/.

If you enjoyed this, please give it a rating and review on the podcast app of your choice.  You can also find the podcast at https://www.davidlanemusic.com/toolkit

You can follow David Lane AND the Musician Toolkit podcast on Facebook @DavidMLaneMusic, on Instagram and TikTok @DavidLaneMusic, and on YouTube @davidlanemusic1

This episode is sponsored by Fons, an online platform that helps private teachers of all types (music, yoga, martial arts, academic tutoring, coaches, etc) with smooth, automated assistance such as securing timely automatic payments and scheduling.  Click here for more information or to begin your free trial.

If you're having trouble progressing as much as you'd like when practicing music, you might like this extreme but very focused approach.  Instead of practicing on something for 10 minutes and thinking about how much progress you can make in 10 minutes, consider how much progress you could make minute-by-minute for 10 single minutes.  This episode will help you learn why this strategy can really work for you right away, and how you can apply it.

You can also let me know your thoughts on this episode as a voice message to possibly share on a future episode at https://www.speakpipe.com/MusicianToolkit 

You can find this episode and links to this show on all podcast apps from https://musiciantoolkit.podbean.com/.

If you enjoyed this, please give it a rating and review on the podcast app of your choice.  You can also find the podcast at https://www.davidlanemusic.com/toolkit

You can follow David Lane AND the Musician Toolkit podcast on Facebook @DavidMLaneMusic, on Instagram and TikTok @DavidLaneMusic, and on YouTube @davidlanemusic1

This episode is sponsored by Fons, an online platform that helps private teachers of all types (music, yoga, martial arts, academic tutoring, coaches, etc) with smooth, automated assistance such as securing timely automatic payments and scheduling.  Click here for more information or to begin your free trial.

It's one thing for a musician to state a goal, even a big one, but it's useless until you've given it some legs.  What's the difference between saying you plan to write a musical and getting that musical staged in an official production?  The difference is that the first scenario takes virtually no effort, and the 2nd takes a lot of steps, work, and perseverance.  Every big success starts with an idea but prominently features a series of attainable and actionable steps to get you closer to your goal.  This episode uses writing a musical and landing a chair in a professional orchestra as examples of how you can go from goal to achievement.  Also, you can learn the 9 pillars of an idea in action.

More or fewer episodes like this? Let me know your thoughts at: https://www.davidlanemusic.com/contact

You can also let me know your thoughts on this episode as a voice message to possibly share on a future episode at https://www.speakpipe.com/MusicianToolkit 

You can find this episode and links to this show on all podcast apps from https://musiciantoolkit.podbean.com/.  If you enjoyed this, please give it a rating and review on the podcast app of your choice.  You can also now find the podcast at https://www.davidlanemusic.com/toolkit

You can follow David Lane AND the Musician Toolkit podcast on Facebook @DavidMLaneMusic, on Instagram and TikTok @DavidLaneMusic, and on YouTube @davidlanemusic1

This episode is sponsored by Fons, an online platform that helps private teachers of all types (music, yoga, martial arts, academic tutoring, coaches, etc) with smooth, automated assistance such as securing timely automatic payments and scheduling.  Click here for more information or to begin your free trial.

The skill of observation is a crucial skill for all musicians.  However, it's also a skill that most students have not come close to developing when they're early in their lessons for learning their instrument.  Observation helps you find patterns, to identify structure, to see how one part of the music connects with another, not to mention more basic things to notice such as dynamics and articulation.  In the digital age, paying attention and developing the skill of observation is not only more challenging, but more important than ever.  Check out this episode for ways to improve this important skill.

The YouTube video that is featured as an audio-only portion of this episode can be watched here:

https://youtu.be/AsNTSP7DxXk?si=CqlRmhNhcVK0mHNW

More or fewer episodes like this? Let me know your thoughts at: https://www.davidlanemusic.com/contact

You can also let me know your thoughts on this episode as a voice message to possibly share on a future episode at https://www.speakpipe.com/MusicianToolkit 

You can find this episode and links to this show on all podcast apps from https://musiciantoolkit.podbean.com/.  If you enjoyed this, please give it a rating and review on the podcast app of your choice.  You can also now find the podcast at https://www.davidlanemusic.com/toolkit

You can follow David Lane AND the Musician Toolkit podcast on Facebook @DavidMLaneMusic, on Instagram and TikTok @DavidLaneMusic, and on YouTube @davidlanemusic1

This episode is sponsored by Fons, an online platform that helps private teachers of all types (music, yoga, martial arts, academic tutoring, coaches, etc) with smooth, automated assistance such as securing timely automatic payments and scheduling.  Click here for more information or to begin your free trial.

Jazz is a genre that serious musicians at least take time to explore.  Whether it's classical musicians, film composers, rock musicians, pop artists, hip hop artists, even country artists like Willie Nelson...it's hard to find accomplished musicians in any genre who are ignorant of the world of jazz.  While this episode won't get into the nuts and bolts of the genre, this is an introduction to 10 albums that will give you an idea of the versatility of the genre.  All of this is from host David Lane, someone who resisted fully exploring jazz until he was nearly 40.

Sound clips from the following albums occur in this order:

Time Out (Dave Brubek Quartet)  (Blue Rondo a la Turk, Take Five, Everybody Jumpin’)

Sketches of Spain (Miles Davis) (Concert do Aranjuez: Adagio, Will o the Wisp, Soleo)

The Modern Jazz Quartet & Orchestra (Divertimento, England’s Carol, First movement)

Getz/Gilberto - Stan Getz and joǎo Gilberto (The Girl from Ipanema, Desafinado)

Far East Suite (Duke Ellington) (Ishafan, Depk, Mount Harissa)

Let My Children Sing (Charles Mingus) (Adagio Ma Non Troppo, Don’t Be Afraid, The Clown’s Afraid Too, Hobo Ho)

Rosetta (Stephan Crump) (Were It a Loss, Rosie, Our Survival)

Chamber Music Society (Esperanza Spalding) (Little Fly, What a Friend, Inútil Paisagem)

The Epic (Kamasi Washington) (Change of the Guard, The Magnificent 7, Clair de Lune)

Finding Gabriel (Brad Mehldau) (Born to Trouble, Striving After Wind, Proverb of Ashes)

Previous Episodes mentioned:

Episode 5 - Two Approaches to Listening to Music

Episode 6 - Jazz Piano 101 (with Federico Pivetta)

More or fewer episodes like this? Let me know your thoughts at: https://www.davidlanemusic.com/contact

You can also let me know your thoughts on this episode as a voice message to possibly share on a future episode at https://www.speakpipe.com/MusicianToolkit 

You can find this episode and links to this show on all podcast apps from https://musiciantoolkit.podbean.com/.  If you enjoyed this, please give it a rating and review on the podcast app of your choice.  You can also now find the podcast at https://www.davidlanemusic.com/toolkit

You can follow David Lane AND the Musician Toolkit podcast on Facebook @DavidMLaneMusic, on Instagram and TikTok @DavidLaneMusic, and on YouTube @davidlanemusic1

This episode is sponsored by Fons, an online platform that helps private teachers of all types (music, yoga, martial arts, academic tutoring, coaches, etc) with smooth, automated assistance such as securing timely automatic payments and scheduling.  Click here for more information or to begin your free trial.

Composing and Improvising are essential tools for every well-rounded musician, but they are different skills.  Quite often, when someone decides to become a composer, they are making up something from their instrument and then writing it down on staff paper.  This is actually more of a transcribed improvisation than it is true composition.  There's nothing wrong with that, but it is an incomplete look at the craft.  Composing a 2-part canon is a simple exercise that will force you to think like a composer and less like an improviser.  In this episode, David Lane composes an easy canon from scratch.  You can download that canon on the link below, and follow along.

Link: Sample Canon from this Episode

More or fewer episodes like this? Let me know your thoughts at: https://www.davidlanemusic.com/contact

You can also let me know your thoughts on this episode as a voice message to possibly share on a future episode at https://www.speakpipe.com/MusicianToolkit 

You can find this episode and links to this show on all podcast apps from https://musiciantoolkit.podbean.com/.  If you enjoyed this, please give it a rating and review on the podcast app of your choice.  You can also now find the podcast at https://www.davidlanemusic.com/toolkit

You can follow David Lane AND the Musician Toolkit podcast on Facebook @DavidMLaneMusic, on Instagram and TikTok @DavidLaneMusic, and on YouTube @davidlanemusic1

This episode is sponsored by Fons, an online platform that helps private teachers of all types (music, yoga, martial arts, academic tutoring, coaches, etc) with smooth, automated assistance such as securing timely automatic payments and scheduling.  Click here for more information or to begin your free trial.