The Fastest Way to Learn a Musical Instrument Guaranteed

In recent posts, I’ve discussed the usefulness of hand-held digital recorders and digital video recorders for musicians, music students, and music teachers. In another sign of the rising popularity of these devices, Music Inc., a trade magazine for music retailers, included an article in its May 2010 issue on the importance of these products for [...]

The world doesn’t work the way musicians think it does.  Here’s a typical thought process of musicians about their chances of success: If I work hard and get really good on my instrument, there will be plenty of gigs for me.  With this music degree from a prestigious university or conservatory, I’ll get hired to [...]

Music students often set themselves up for feelings of failure when they tackle a new task.  They think the task will be easy, and, when they find out that it’s actually quite challenging, they question their own abilities rather than rationally looking at the difficulty of the task itself. Here’s a perfect example: transcribing.  For anyone unfamiliar [...]

Today’s post is short and to the point: Never miss a music lesson without contacting your music teacher! To be successful in this world, you’ve got to show up.  When you can’t show up, you’ve got to let people know. Music lessons, and all one-on-one coaching situations, are about much more than the specific skills [...]

In addition to listening to the specific pieces and songs you’re learning to play, it’s both important and fun for musicians to listen to music in their chosen genre.  This is especially true when you decide to learn a new style of music.  Immersing yourself in the sounds of famous artists who play this style [...]

In my last blog post, I wrote about the importance of listening to the music you’re learning to play.  Not only is listening enjoyable, but hearing your music also helps you learn more quickly. It’s never been easier to access music to listen to.  There are many free sources online, inexpensive online sources, and software [...]

The importance of listening to the music you’re learning cannot be stressed enough.  Knowing how the music is supposed to sound makes the entire learning process easier–and more fun. While many music teachers insist that their students learn only from sheet music (so students improve their sightreading skills and are not influenced by interpretations by other musicians), current [...]

Do you know what you look like when you perform?  Most musicians are so concerned about their sound that they neglect the visual side of their performances. The truth is that audiences take your appearance very seriously.  This fact is even built into our language.  We say we “saw” a concert, not that we “heard” [...]

The conversations between music teachers and their students during lessons are valuable for the student.  Teachers give guidance, encouragement, specific strategies, and goals.  Students learn what to do to shape their playing and get clarification on how best to reach their goals. Unfortunately, much of this information is lost forever because it is not written [...]

 I’ve seen how one small change in musicians’ thinking can have profound effects on their motivation, ability to achieve goals, and their overall mood.  That change is eliminating the word “should” from thoughts and words.  Sounds simplistic, right?  How can getting rid of one word have such a big effect on musicians’ lives? The word [...]