The Musician Toolkit with David Lane: Recent Episodes
David Lane
To be a great musician is to be able to sight-read, play by ear, compose or improvise, understand the art of practice, and be versatile in many other ways. The Musician Toolkit explores these tools, how to improve them, and how to apply them to a variety of gigs and musical careers. Join us on a quest to improve your musicianship and to make you the most well-rounded musician you can be!
The label "professional" is misunderstood across many levels, including music. While the average professional will be more accomplished than the average amateur, the label isn't about skill itself. The term "amateur" can apply to musicians who are just getting started as well as those who have been at it for a while but for whom music is more of something to dabble in as time permits. Then there are the dedicated amateurs, who don't have all the advantages of professionals but do have some advantages of their own, and can have similar musicianship goals. This episode looks at the pros and cons of each approach and what's actually possible for the dedicated amateur.
Book a free trial lesson with me online for piano, music composition, or music theory.
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
I've discussed Dr. William Schirmer no less than 4 times on this podcast before. He was my music composition professor for 4 years as well as an extremely prolific composer in his own right. He sadly passed away very recently, and this episode is a chance to tell the world more about this bonafide musical genius as well as the lessons he taught me and my friends that still influence how we see the world of music today. Every great musician needs a great mentor, and this is the experience I had with mine!
Book a free trial lesson with me online for piano, music composition, or music theory.
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
When you get your first gigs for things like weddings, musical theatre, recording sessions, or even film scores and other opportunities, how do you make such a good impression that you rise to the top of the call list and stay there?
As someone who has worked to be top of mind in this area for many such gigs, and as a music director who has hired more than 100 musicians, it's understood that your musical skills need to be good enough for the gig. You don't have to play better than what's required, but you must be able to do that. However, those are minimum requirements. What gets you called back has nothing to do with your musical skill. In this episode, I share my 11 observations for what puts a musician top of mind when I'm looking to hire.
Book a free trial lesson with me online for piano, music composition, or music theory.
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
What do I wish I had done differently as a piano student? As I look back on my time studying music before I officially began my professional journey, there are several things I wish I had either done better or not avoided the way I did. I hope this video will help inspire you to maximize as well as enjoy the time you have as you study music.
Book a free trial lesson with me online for piano, music composition, or music theory.
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
What's one thing you can do to get better at playing music sooner? Most students wish they could progress faster, but don't feel the sense of urgency that they should to learn all of their technique, in every key, played as accurately and as fast as possible. Technique is treated as some bit of trivia that might come in handy sometime, when actually...it's EVERYTHING. Give me 20 minutes, and I'll do my best to persuade you why this needs to be your top priority as a music student, how to approach technique, and will use the piano as a means to demonstrate how you can progress through scales.
Book a free trial lesson with me online for piano, music composition, or music theory.
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
At some point in your music goals, you may want a private teacher. With so many teachers to choose from, how do you find the RIGHT one for you and your needs? In this video, I offer the idea of a menu that you can customize for yourself and use in the interview process of choosing the right teacher. Hopefully I make it clear that I myself am not the right teacher for everyone, but I am for some.
Book a free trial lesson with me online for piano, music composition, or music theory.
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
Practicing an instrument does NOT require you to spend days or weeks practicing the same music with little to show for it. You can and should change how you structure your practice to always see progress. Practice should be fun, and always seeing progress is how you make sure it's fun. This episode will share how I make sure that I never go any longer than 5 minutes without a LOT of progress.
Book a free trial lesson with me online for piano, music composition, or music theory.
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
Why is practicing music hard? Why aren't you making more progress than you think you should? There's a mindset skill that is essential to understand and embrace before any other tips or approaches will have any effect on you getting better and better at music.
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
No talk on musicianship skills this week. Instead, I wanted to chat with listeners about some recent changes to the podcast that you may have noticed, changes going forward, and why these changes. Looking forward to returning next week with another music lesson.
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
No matter what instrument you play, singing will make you a better musician! Basic vocal skills will enhance your musicianship in a profound way that never quite gets developed without them. This episode will talk about the unique qualities of musicianship that only singing can offer, some basics of good singing, as well as a plan for how you can guide yourself to improve your vocal skills. This is the 2nd of a 2-part series. Last week's episode talked about the basic piano skills that every musician should learn. Pair that with vocal skills, and you cover more about music than any other 2 instruments can possibly do.
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
Regardless of your principal instrument, if you want to be a well-rounded musician, it's essential to have some basic intermediate piano skills. In this episode, I talk about why it's considered essential by most conservatories, what types of skills you should know, and how you can guide your self-education.
This episode may best be appreciated as a video on YouTube where every technique that is mentioned is also shown.
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
If you want to build a successful career in music, this is not the 1990s, nor is it even the 2010s, when the path was much different. A few things never go out of style, such as practicing well and networking, but nearly everything else is different from when I began my journey nearly 30 years ago. My definition of a successful career is modest: I've been able to pay all of my bills and have enough money left over for moderate enjoyment without doing even a single job that didn't involve my music studies over the past 26 years. There's so much different now, and this requires new tactics to succeed.
Musicianship Mastery is formerly known as The Musician Toolkit.
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
Why is it that you stop practicing on a piece or a technique, and most of it is gone within a year if not a few months? That's been true for me too. However, there are plenty of exceptions - pieces I could ignore for over a year and sit down to play from memory like I'd practiced it yesterday. In this episode, I talk about what the pieces that stick all have in common versus the ones that just disappear, and what you can do to make sure you never again lose any music you've spent time learning that you want to keep.
Musicianship Mastery is formerly known as The Musician Toolkit.
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 music teachers with smooth, automated assistance such as securing timely automatic payments and scheduling. Click here for more information or to begin your free trial.
The art of being an accompanist is applicable to all sorts of situations, including playing in an ensemble with other musicians without a conductor. I've accompanied hundreds of musicians for at least 35 years, and these are my thoughts on how to do it well.
Musicianship Mastery is formerly known as The Musician Toolkit.
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 music teachers with smooth, automated assistance such as securing timely automatic payments and scheduling. Click here for more information or to begin your free trial.
Even if conducting isn't a major goal, every good musician should know what to do if presented with an opportunity to lead an ensemble in rehearsal or a performance. This episode will introduce you to the basics of preparing for a rehearsal, how to lead the rehearsal, how to lead a performance, and the basics of baton technique and other hand instructions.
Musicianship Mastery is formerly known as The Musician Toolkit.
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 music teachers with smooth, automated assistance such as securing timely automatic payments and scheduling. Click here for more information or to begin your free trial.
This is the third and final episode of sharing my notes on Molly Gebrian's fantastic book, "Learn Faster, Perform Better", a book about how the brain scientifically responds to learning music and how we can approach practice to maximize what the brain does best. In this episode, we talk about how to get truly ready for performance and how to make sure your memory of all your repertoire is reliable.
Musicianship Mastery is formerly known as The Musician Toolkit.
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 music teachers with smooth, automated assistance such as securing timely automatic payments and scheduling. Click here for more information or to begin your free trial.
This is the 2nd of 3 episodes where I share my notes on one of the best books I've read recently: Molly Gebrian's "Learn Faster, Perform Better", a book about how the brain scientifically responds to learning music and how we can approach practice to maximize what the brain does best. In this second episode, we talk about how you can improve your sense of internal rhythm and techniques you can use to get your music up to tempo.
Musicianship Mastery is formerly known as The Musician Toolkit.
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 music teachers with smooth, automated assistance such as securing timely automatic payments and scheduling. Click here for more information or to begin your free trial.
One of the best books I've read recently was Molly Gebrian's "Learn Faster, Perform Better", a book about how the brain scientifically responds to learning music and how we can approach practice to maximize what the brain does best. This is the first of 3 episodes where I share my notes. In this first episode, we talk about the basics of music and neurology when it comes to learning, how to schedule your practice effectively, how to fix bad habits, and quite a bit more when it comes to effective practice basics.
Musicianship Mastery is formerly known as The Musician Toolkit.
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 music teachers with smooth, automated assistance such as securing timely automatic payments and scheduling. Click here for more information or to begin your free trial.
You've heard of composing and improvising, but there are 3 other ways you can choose to create music. This episode goes over each, and a summary of what you need to do to get better at each one.
Musicianship Mastery is formerly known as The Musician Toolkit.
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 music teachers with smooth, automated assistance such as securing timely automatic payments and scheduling. Click here for more information or to begin your free trial.
Have you ever heard that classical musicians only like classical music, or that composers are free spirits who are guided by the muse, or that they all love to stay up late at night and get up late in the morning? Stereotypes are fun because each one is true for SOME musicians, but not for all and often not for most. Sometimes musicians themselves may fit a stereotype and not realize that many other musicians aren't the same. After you listen to these 10 stereotypes, let me know what you think I missed.
Musicianship Mastery is formerly known as The Musician Toolkit.
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 music teachers 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 or someone you know is looking ahead to college and thinking about possibly majoring in music, this is a very important episode to check out! Let's talk about the 4 reasons why you shouldn't along with 4 reasons why you should. You can also hear what to expect going forward if you decide to major in music. Finally, I give my candid feedback as a music major with 2 degrees how I feel about my past decisions.
Musicianship Mastery is formerly known as The Musician Toolkit.
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 music teachers with smooth, automated assistance such as securing timely automatic payments and scheduling. Click here for more information or to begin your free trial.
Planning everything or having nothing but constraints without creative freedom is stifling and lifeless. Creative freedom without regimen is chaos. Great music and great musicians have always had both elements in their life. This episode offers a few examples as to how you can present both elements in your practice.
Musicianship Mastery is formerly known as The Musician Toolkit.
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 music teachers with smooth, automated assistance such as securing timely automatic payments and scheduling. Click here for more information or to begin your free trial.
Videos, books, and podcasts are all examples of ways to LEARN ABOUT music. However, none of those will allow you to LEARN music. Music isn't about what you know in your head. It's about what you know with your hands or your voice or whatever touches your instrument. Whether you're a performer or a composer, it's crucial that you understand this and practice your craft accordingly.
Referenced YouTube video about learning key signatures: https://youtu.be/58So6A22KJk
Musicianship Mastery is formerly known as The Musician Toolkit.
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 music teachers with smooth, automated assistance such as securing timely automatic payments and scheduling. Click here for more information or to begin your free trial.
Today's episode talks about two challenges that musicians face. The first is how to learn brand new music, not as in "new to me" but NEW...freshly composed just for you, with no precedent and no reference recording. Secondly, we talk about the process of building a repertoire necessary to do a full-length recital.
My guest is Dr. Annie Jeng, an associate professor at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, as well as an international performer and educator, and a champion of new music.
Learn more about Annie at https://www.anniejeng.com/
Musicianship Mastery is formerly known as The Musician Toolkit.
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 music teachers with smooth, automated assistance such as securing timely automatic payments and scheduling. Click here for more information or to begin your free trial.
Have you ever said or thought any of the following statements in your lesson? "I usually play better at home." "I don't know why I get so nervous in here". "I swear I practiced this better than this." This is a very common problem, performance anxiety in your lessons. However, it's not hard to fix.
This episode offers 5 simple suggestions that you can apply right away to gradually get more comfortable in your lessons and play in a way that truly resembles how you have been practicing.
Related Video: How To Play Confidently In Public (with Michelle Wachter)
Musicianship Mastery is formerly known as The Musician Toolkit.
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 music teachers with smooth, automated assistance such as securing timely automatic payments and scheduling. Click here for more information or to begin your free trial.
This episode contains hard truth. Most of you are probably not practicing enough to reach any goals of advanced repertoire, and there's a chance that you're going to be stuck on elementary music for a long time. In this episode, let's look at what kind of results you get when you average as little as 15 minutes per day a few times per week all the way up to 4 hours per day everyday. As you listen, take the time to evaluate how much time you really could put into practicing, and make sure your goals are aligning with the time and work you are able to do.
Musicianship Mastery is formerly known as The Musician Toolkit.
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 music teachers with smooth, automated assistance such as securing timely automatic payments and scheduling. Click here for more information or to begin your free trial.
For anyone who wants to become truly great in any field, Robert Greene's book "Mastery", shows a process that has been used by some of the most successful people in history from art to science to literature to sports and, of course, in music. This episode summarizes the book in a way that musicians can apply partially to become better or wholly to become elite.
Musicianship Mastery is formerly known as The Musician Toolkit.
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 music teachers with smooth, automated assistance such as securing timely automatic payments and scheduling. Click here for more information or to begin your free trial.
This is the final episode of a 5-part series going over all the concepts every musician should know about music theory. This episode covers the trends that have developed in what we call classical music since 1900 from chords based on intervals other than 3rds, a wider variety of scales, atonal music, minimalism. and more.
Previous Episodes in the Series:
Music Theory Overview
Music Theory I: Basics and Fundamentals
Music Theory II: Harmonic Function and Analysis
Music Theory III: Harmonic Construction and Larger Structures
Inquire about private lessons on music theory by setting up a free first lesson here
For more on bi-tonality and a visual introduction to Hanson Analysis: watch this video here.
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 music teachers with smooth, automated assistance such as securing timely automatic payments and scheduling. Click here for more information or to begin your free trial.
This is the 4th of a 5-part series going over all the concepts every musician should know about music theory. This episode covers the guidelines for smooth voice leading when constructing notes in 4-parts. It also talks about the structure of larger forms such as Theme and Variations, Sonata Allegro, and more.
Previous Episodes in the Series:
Music Theory Overview
Music Theory I: Basics and Fundamentals
Music Theory II: Harmonic Function and Analysis
Inquire about private lessons on music theory by setting up a free first lesson here
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 music teachers with smooth, automated assistance such as securing timely automatic payments and scheduling. Click here for more information or to begin your free trial.
This is the 3rd of a 5-part series going over all the concepts every musician should know about music theory. This episode covers the basics of roman numeral analysis, diatonic triads, how to classify non-chord tones, and a way to categorize nearly every time signature.
Previous Episodes in the Series:
Music Theory Overview
Music Theory Basics and Fundamentals
Inquire about private lessons on music theory by setting up a free first lesson here
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 music teachers with smooth, automated assistance such as securing timely automatic payments and scheduling. Click here for more information or to begin your free trial.
This is the 2nd of a 5-part series going over all the concepts every musician should know about music theory. This episode is for beginners or those who want a true refresher. It's a lot crammed into just under 40 minutes, but take some notes and check out all the things you should know about theory before you can get into more intermediate and advanced understanding of how music works.
FOR MONDAY, JANUARY 12 ONLY: Register for Music Theory Basics online workshop TONIGHT 7pm Eastern!
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 music teachers with smooth, automated assistance such as securing timely automatic payments and scheduling. Click here for more information or to begin your free trial.
What actually is music theory, and why should you learn it? This episode explores the branches of music theory, and is a prelude to the next 4 episodes where we'll explore what you can study and how to improve level by level.
Register for Music Theory Basics online workshop for Monday, January 12 - 7pm Eastern
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 music teachers with smooth, automated assistance such as securing timely automatic payments and scheduling. Click here for more information or to begin your free trial.
My students often ask: How do I organize my practice in a way to cover everything each week?
This is a great question, and an important one to answer. If you don't organize your practice and just leave everything up to your mood, you're going to be neglecting something important. In this episode, you can hear about the 7 components of practice (including the 3 core components) and how to plan them into your practice.
Musicianship Mastery is formerly known as The Musician Toolkit.
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 music teachers with smooth, automated assistance such as securing timely automatic payments and scheduling. Click here for more information or to begin your free trial.
Every musician knows that daily practice is essential to progress. But what if you're not practicing often enough because you've never developed the habit of practicing daily? This episode will help you develop this most important habit for any musician!
Musicianship Mastery is formerly known as The Musician Toolkit.
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 music teachers with smooth, automated assistance such as securing timely automatic payments and scheduling. Click here for more information or to begin your free trial.
Showing up regularly and putting in the work is important, but your "reps" aren't enough on their own. Listen to this episode to help you evaluate and improve the quality of your practice.
Musicianship Mastery is formerly known as The Musician Toolkit.
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 music teachers with smooth, automated assistance such as securing timely automatic payments and scheduling. Click here for more information or to begin your free trial.
Igor Stravinsky regularly gets mentioned among the 20th century's greatest composers. Anatoly Lyadov requires some digging to find much of his music. The story that links the composers Lyadov and Stravinsky is one of several great examples of opportunity, and how you can either be ready for it or not. This episode explores their story along with a few others to learn how to be prepared for when your opportunity strikes.
Musicianship Mastery is formerly known as The Musician Toolkit.
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 music teachers with smooth, automated assistance such as securing timely automatic payments and scheduling. Click here for more information or to begin your free trial.
This episode focuses on pianists but applies to all instrumentalists. We explore what technique actually is and isn't, and a practical way to get better at it. My guest, Dr. Christopher Madden, is co-author along with Jani Parsons of "Technique Through Repertoire" vol. 1 and 2 for intermediate pianists.
Musicianship Mastery is formerly known as The Musician Toolkit.
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 music teachers with smooth, automated assistance such as securing timely automatic payments and scheduling. Click here for more information or to begin your free trial.
A very handy skill for any musician to develop is the ability to look at written sheet music and "hear" what it sounds like in your head. It's a skill that takes time, but this episode will outline all the steps you can take to develop this ability.
Musicianship Mastery is formerly known as The Musician Toolkit.
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 music teachers with smooth, automated assistance such as securing timely automatic payments and scheduling. Click here for more information or to begin your free trial.
One of the biggest things that musicians do in all levels, but especially professionals, is say "yes" way too much. There's a time to say "yes" a lot, and I describe that in this episode. However, being strategic and limited with your "yes" while saying "no" to everything else is what allows for growth and focus. In this episode, you can learn of 8 things that happen when you say "no".
Musicianship Mastery is formerly known as The Musician Toolkit.
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 music teachers 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 a professional musician, it can be hard to separate the idea that there's this part of your schedule where you make music just for YOU. It might be music you're composing, or an ambitious piece you're learning to play. You might make your income as a musician and you might have a career that has nothing to do with music. Regardless, you can and should take time to explore music without any regard to its commercial benefit.
Jennifer Rosenfeld is a business coach who has worked with musicians, as well as a pianist and composer. You can find out more about her and her work at https://www.jenniferrosenfeld.com/
Musicianship Mastery is formerly known as The Musician Toolkit.
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 music teachers with smooth, automated assistance such as securing timely automatic payments and scheduling. Click here for more information or to begin your free trial.
Analytical Listening is one of the most important skills for any musician. Take it to the next level by implementing any 1 of these 5 advanced projects while listening to just one piece of music.
Other Episodes mentioned:
20 Questions to Help You Get More Out of Listening
Scales, Modes, and How to Use Them
Musicianship Mastery is formerly known as The Musician Toolkit.
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 music teachers 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 think you're practicing well but still not making progress in your musical skill, here are 10 possible reasons and their solutions.
Musicianship Mastery is formerly known as The Musician Toolkit.
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 music teachers with smooth, automated assistance such as securing timely automatic payments and scheduling. Click here for more information or to begin your free trial.
This episode is a broad conversation between friends, but centers around the topics of finding joy in your growth as a musician, time management, practice and mindset, as well as what it means to be a human artist in the digital age. We also have some talk for those getting started with teaching.
Eric Branner is the CEO of Fons, a platform for music teachers I regularly have listed at the bottom of my show notes. Follow the Fons Facebook group here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/fonsfamily
Musicianship Mastery is formerly known as The Musician Toolkit.
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 music teachers with smooth, automated assistance such as securing timely automatic payments and scheduling. Click here for more information or to begin your free trial.
What is musicianship? Specifically, what does it mean when we say someone has "good musicianship"? This episode explores the question while reviewing all of the musicianship tools that inspired this podcast in the first place.
Musicianship Mastery is formerly known as The Musician Toolkit.
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
With so many ways to express yourself as a musician, it can be hard to know how to get started. If you'd like to become a working musician, either part-time or full-time, this episode goes over some of your options and presents a strategy for how to build your musical life.
Musicianship Mastery is formerly known as The Musician Toolkit.
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
Practicing well is hard to do every day just because of the mental focus and discipline it requires. How much more difficult is it when you add a physical challenge like chronic pain or other illness? Jastin Artis was diagnosed with fibromyalgia in 2019, and had to learn how to function before he could eventually thrive. He shares here his tactics and mindset for moving forward despite not having a body that wants to cooperate.
Jastin helps other hip hop, R&B, pop and artists of other genres with the business side of music at A&R In Your Pocket. All of his info can be found here: https://jastinartis.com/
Musicianship Mastery is formerly known as The Musician Toolkit.
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
4 episodes prior to this episode, I talked about creating a 5-year plan as a musician. Although we touched on how to take that backwards into shorter-term goals, this is a follow-up to focus on exactly how to think backwards so that you can build your staircase of musical goals that starts with the very first step: today!
Featured episode mentioned: https://www.davidlanemusic.com/toolkit/episode/757e74ca/whats-your-5-year-plan-as-a-musician
Also mentioned: https://www.davidlanemusic.com/toolkit/episode/7300027b/what-i-got-wrong-about-quarterly-goals
Musicianship Mastery is formerly known as The Musician Toolkit.
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 is a topic that many of my piano teacher colleagues might disagree. Some teachers believe that mastering technique is a prerequisite for playing any level of repertoire. I have a different opinion about the importance or at least the prioritization of technique, and explain why in this episode.
Musicianship Mastery is formerly known as The Musician Toolkit.
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
Composing music is something that you can practice and improve in the same way you can with your instrument. In this episode, Dr. Tony Steve and I chat about music composition as a craft, the idea of compositional templates, the importance of limitations, mastering idioms, counterpoint, and how you can use exercises to improve.
Follow Tony at https://www.facebook.com/tonystevepercussionist
Musicianship Mastery is formerly known as The Musician Toolkit.
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
Good practice isn't aimless, but involves a plan. This episode talks about how you can analyze your music before you begin practicing so that you can be most efficient in your learning.
Musicianship Mastery is formerly known as The Musician Toolkit.
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
We've recently discussed the importance of quarterly goals, but are those goals feeding into a longer term vision? How do you see yourself as a musician in 5 years, and how do you get there from here? This episode offers some prompts to help build your long term musical goals, and how this connects to your shorter term goals.
Episode mentioned: https://www.davidlanemusic.com/toolkit/episode/7300027b/what-i-got-wrong-about-quarterly-goals
Musicianship Mastery is formerly known as The Musician Toolkit.
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
For more than 30 years, Doug Minerd has found a place to use and further develop his skills in composing and arranging, lead rehearsals, and unlike a lot of similar musicians...engage with a wide variety of people in collaboration. He's done this while working up to the executive office at places like Cedar Point, Busch Gardens, Sesame Place, and Sea World. He also has had his compositions performed in Dollywood, Silver Dollar City, Hersey Park, Princess Cruise Lines, and more. He shares both the musical tools and the attitude that led to such a successful career.
Find out more about Doug and listen to his music at: https://www.minerdmusicworks.com/
Musicianship Mastery is formerly known as The Musician Toolkit.
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
As one of many thousands of users of Finale, I was floored by the news last year that they were no longer continuing their legendary notation software. I've chosen to begin learning Dorico. It's slow going, but I wanted to share my experiences so far as a beginner, and what I'd recommend to get the most out of the program.
Also check out the previous episode on music notation programs: Music Notation Apps in a Post-Finale World (with Jason Loffredo)
Musicianship Mastery is formerly known as The Musician Toolkit.
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
After nearly a year, this podcast returns to the four core performance skills. These are the skills that will equip you as a performer for absolutely any situation. This episode shares how you can combine 2 or 3 at once into your practice time.
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
The Four Core Skills, Part 5: Improvisation
Four Core Skills for Beginning Students
Musicianship Mastery is formerly known as The Musician Toolkit.
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
Whether you find the thought of playing in front of people to be paralyzing or if you just get nervous when someone else is listening and don't play as well as you think you should, this episode is for you! Dr. Michelle Wachter, a piano teacher and executive director of the Flagstaff Symphony Orchestra, shares her 3 stage strategy for how to understand your natural performance energy and turn it into an advantage!
Musicianship Mastery is formerly known as The Musician Toolkit.
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
If you're studying music and feeling discouraged, this episode is for you! Here are 10 encouragements to help you accept where you are and keep going in your own way as a musician.
Musicianship Mastery is formerly known as The Musician Toolkit.
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
The ability to listen to music well, analytically, is a crucial skill for any good musician to develop. Analytical listening is quite a bit different than just putting on music in the background. One of the keys to success is simply asking the right questions and taking note of the answers. Here are 20 questions to can ask while listening to a piece of music to help you get the most out of it!
Musicianship Mastery is formerly known as The Musician Toolkit.
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
Being comfortable with singing is a tool that every musician should have, even instrumentalists. It's also worth exploring all the things the voice can do to come up with your own personal sound that doesn't necessarily have to blend with everyone else. Thao Nguyen, voice teacher and actor, helps us understand how to explore this instrument you carry around with you as well as things to maintain vocal health.
Follow Thao at https://www.thaotnguyen.com/
Musicianship Mastery is formerly known as The Musician Toolkit.
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 offers 6 minor musician tools to add to the original 21, some specific things that will make you a more well-rounded and capable musician!
Musicianship Mastery is formerly known as The Musician Toolkit.
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
The hands don't play on their own and the voice doesn't sing on its own. It just seems that way if you've practiced well. The brain is always in control whether you're aware of it or not. To practice well, you need to understand how the brain works, and how to improve it. This episode offers ways to optimize the power of the brain while practicing music in addition to some things you can do to maintain and even improve the health of your brain.
Musicianship Mastery is formerly known as The Musician Toolkit.
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 is an important topic for all musicians that many may not be willing to admit. Whether it's being inside a lot, sitting down a lot, or having imbalances in the body due to performance posture, it's important to take practice time for wellness and mindfulness. In this episode, learn about integrating good habits as practice, the powerful but simple solution of breathing well, mindfulness without necessarily meditating, dealing with pain and stiffness, and the importance of nature.
Lisa Joy Glassman actively coaches musicians and those in the music industry to better health and wellness. Find out more about her and her services at: https://www.activepotential.com/
Musicianship Mastery is formerly known as The Musician Toolkit.
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
Something I teach to all composition students is the idea of a compositional pantry and creating music like a chef. In this episode, I'll share what's in my pantry and how to use it as an example of how you can develop your own voice as a composer and write music that fits you to a tee!
Musicianship Mastery is formerly known as The Musician Toolkit.
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
The fear of missing out (FOMO) comes in 2 forms for a musician. The first is social and live events that you're not able to do because of rehearsal and performance. The other is not using all the skills you practiced because there isn't enough time to achieve a professional goal on all of them. Saying I CAN do this, I'm good at this, and even to a point that I LIKE doing this aren't always good reasons for not putting it aside. This episode tries to address this 2nd version of FOMO, to encourage you that it's okay to not do everything so that you can go all-in on your well-rounded life as a musician!
Musicianship Mastery is formerly known as The Musician Toolkit.
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
Let's talk about making use of apps and other technology to help your growth as a musician. We talk about the explorer's mindset needed to embrace technology rather than fearing it. We then dive into categories such as practice apps, metronome apps, assessment tools, and a few others. The featured guest is Sam Reti, who teaches guitar and also uses his passion for technology to help music teachers with his online lesson platform: https://www.muzie.live/
Musicianship Mastery is formerly known as The Musician Toolkit.
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
Way back on Episode 27, I talked about the power of having quarterly goals. Since then, I've spent over a year in an accountability group centered around quarterly goals, and have gained more clarity on what works and what doesn't. This is a revised look at one of the most powerful ways to keep succeeding at anything.
Previous episode on this topic: https://www.davidlanemusic.com/toolkit/episode/77965d9f/the-power-of-quarterly-goals-or-ep27
Musicianship Mastery is formerly known as The Musician Toolkit.
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 music teachers with smooth, automated assistance such as securing timely automatic payments and scheduling. Click here for more information or to begin your free trial.
Sight reading is the first time you play through a piece of music, but the "sight reading mode" can last for a long time. The sight reading mode is the stage where you feel like your eyes have to stay glued to the sheet music for nearly every performance second because your mind and body has no real familiarity with the music. It's not that you're trying to play it from memory, but everything is just cautious and not clicking. This episode offers 7 things you can do to take your music to the next stage of learning!
Musicianship Mastery is formerly known as The Musician Toolkit.
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 music teachers with smooth, automated assistance such as securing timely automatic payments and scheduling. Click here for more information or to begin your free trial.
Playing your instrument while following other musicians is an art, and one of the essential tools of musicianship. Dr. Rachel Ehring chats with me in this episode about why this is a good skill to learn, the challenges unique to collaborating, and how this opens the doors to opportunities for both amateurs and professionals.
Links for this Episode
Rachel's Website: https://rachelehring.com/
1:1 Coaching: https://skilled-trailblazer-7766.kit.com/products/private-1-1-coaching
Free Collaborative Rate Calculator: https://skilled-trailblazer-7766.kit.com/b5e06d175a
Free Webinar on Accompanying: https://skilled-trailblazer-7766.ck.page/a77faf8007
Instagram @RachelEhring
Musicianship Mastery is formerly known as The Musician Toolkit.
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 music teachers with smooth, automated assistance such as securing timely automatic payments and scheduling. Click here for more information or to begin your free trial.
Some classical musicians have severe anxiety about playing from memory, and others just want to avoid it, but this episode offers 9 reasons why memorizing everything you ever practice is actually a solution to that and more!
Click here for the episode on HOW to memorize music: https://www.davidlanemusic.com/toolkit/episode/791a00c3/tactics-for-memorizing-music-or-ep47
Musicianship Mastery is formerly known as The Musician Toolkit.
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 music teachers with smooth, automated assistance such as securing timely automatic payments and scheduling. Click here for more information or to begin your free trial.
The most common question I get from students and their parents when they ask about practice is: "how many minutes should I be practicing?". This isn't the first question they should ask. To get the most out of your practice, you need to work on 3 habits in a specific order to set a good foundation. This episode introduces the Practice Pyramid to help make sure you are not just practicing enough minutes, but also to avoid wasting those minutes.
Musicianship Mastery is formerly known as The Musician Toolkit.
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 music teachers with smooth, automated assistance such as securing timely automatic payments and scheduling. Click here for more information or to begin your free trial.
Michael Hall is a Chicago-based violist who is an international soloist, clinician, and artistic director. He has carved a career for himself with a zeal for living composers and new music, as well as his work with musicians around the globe, including as artistic director for the Bandung Philharmonic Orchestra in Indonesia. His passion is infectious, and he provides inspiration for any typically orchestral musician who wants to thrive as a full-time musician without being a full-time member of an orchestra or having a large teaching studio.
Michael's website is: https://michaelhallviola.com/Welcome.html
Musicianship Mastery is formerly known as The Musician Toolkit.
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 music teachers 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 haven't yet graduated from school, you should seize the opportunity THIS SUMMER to go to camp. You'll grow as a musician in ways you probably haven't yet imagined.
After listening, click here to find a summer music camp: https://www.musicalamerica.com/pages/?pagename=camps2025&header
Musicianship Mastery is formerly known as The Musician Toolkit.
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 music teachers 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 or your child is looking ahead to starting middle school, you likely have the opportunity to sign up for band or orchestra, and you absolutely should!! An instrumental ensemble offers many benefits that you cannot get in private lessons, and a different set of benefits from singing in a chorus. And if you're older, even an adult, there are opportunities for you to play as well. Let's talk about why you should play in band or orchestra.
If you're not in school, find a band at https://www.acbands.org/find-a-band-directory2
Musicianship Mastery is formerly known as The Musician Toolkit.
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 music teachers 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 an adult music student, this episode is for you! Reid Harrison is an engineer who decided to take up piano at the age of 48, and was able to apply his engineering skills in a way to help him become a solid intermediate to upper immediate pianist in 4 years. In this episode, you'll learn about the powerful role of a practice journal (or spreadsheet), the importance of technique, and how to measure what actually matters for making progress.
Do you have an adult student success story? Send me a voice message to possibly share on a future episode at https://www.speakpipe.com/MusicianToolkit
Musicianship Mastery is formerly known as The Musician Toolkit.
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 music teachers with smooth, automated assistance such as securing timely automatic payments and scheduling. Click here for more information or to begin your free trial.
This year marks 25 years since I started teaching piano, composition, theory, and (for a while) French horn. There's a lot I've appreciated about being a teacher, but one of the benefits is that it made me a better musician! In this episode, I share what I've learned about being a teacher and how I've benefitted in my own playing and understanding as a musician.
Musicianship Mastery is formerly known as The Musician Toolkit.
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.
"I thought this would be easier."
"I can't believe how much I had to practice just to learn this!"
"I thought I'd be much further along by now."
If any of these statements describe your learning experience with your instrument, you're not alone. In this episode, I'll offer an explanation for why you're feeling this way and give you 5 steps you can take to stop feeling like you're behind and to thrive once again in your practice!
Musicianship Mastery is formerly known as The Musician Toolkit.
The video on practice that is referred to in this video can be found here: https://youtu.be/cymxVceIgCY?si=8-k-Y1gLgPEuwCHz
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.
There is a generation of students that is, generally speaking, not as equipped for the professional world that follows school as previous generations. In this episode, I chat with Dr. Kinard Douthit, a flutist and professor at Winston-Salem State University, about the obstacles and challenges of today's college students. This is certainly a broader topic than music, but could be clarifying for students, parents, and teachers of this age group.
Musicianship Mastery is formerly known as The Musician Toolkit.
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.
There's a simple solution for making progress as a musician, and it's what's known as "skin in the game". If you don't give yourself stakes, it's hard to expend the energy required to get yourself to the next level. This episode will give you 10 ideas for things you can do to give yourself those stakes to give yourself some real progress!
Musicianship Mastery is formerly known as The Musician Toolkit.
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.
It's a new year, and you probably have goals as a musician, but are you underestimating the time and intensity you need to invest in order to make real progress?
The easiest way to work on music or any skill and "feel" like we're making progress is to consistently dabble in it. A few minutes here, a few minutes there. A little practice is better than none, right? This is an approach to keep you running in place. If you want to really grow as a musician in 2025, it's time to stop dabbling and time to get serious! In this episode, we talk about why and how.
Musicianship Mastery is formerly known as The Musician Toolkit.
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.
For Episode 100, I say thank you to all of you who have listened to even 1 episode, let alone all 100! In this episode, I recap the tools of musicianship, and I celebrate moments like my favorite episodes that didn't have as high of listener numbers that I think you might have missed. I also share announcements like a new name, a new focus, and a new episode frequency. One spoiler in case you miss it: This is the last episode of 2024. This podcast will return early in 2025!
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.
Professional musicians often have to confront obstacles from job changes...to a piece they're practicing that isn't getting better...to possible existential threats such as streaming services and AI. To be a successful musician for a long time requires knowing when and how to pivot. Hopefully this episode will help you answer both questions.
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.
Planning is good, but doing is better! Whether it's composing your next piece, practicing something hard or accomplishing a career goal, it's possible to become a doer and not just a planner even if that hasn't been your natural inclination. In this episode, I share what has worked for me.
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.
Reading for self-improvement is a common habit among successful people in all kinds of fields, and this is definitely true for musicians! However, good reading is more than just staring at words on pages. Besides types of books, it's important to invest time, energy and techniques to get the most out of what you're reading.
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.
On Episode 90, I chatted with Bob Moore about the tools of being a church music director. At the time, I was 20 months removed from being a church music director myself. However, one day after this episode releases, I will be starting a new job as a church music director. In this episode, I share my goals and action lists to help ensure that I get off to a great start. Hopefully this can give you ideas as well if you're looking to do similar work.
Episode mentioned:
The Tools of Church Music Directing (with Bob Moore)
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.
If you're a composer or an arranger, it is invaluable to have plenty of references to help you study and improve your craft. I share 4 types of books that I think every composer should have on their bookshelf, and my personal favorites of each kind.
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.
On August 26, 2024, the long-time popular notation app called Finale announced that it would be permanently discontinuing all of its software, leading to very vocal anxiety and panic among its many veteran users. Professional composers and arrangers, as well as educators all need a good notation app, but Finale is no longer a choice. Jason Loffredo of Conquering Finale returns to chat about what steps Finale users should take to migrate as well as how to navigate the other choices, primarily deciding between Dorico and Sibelius.
Links:
Jason's personal site: https://jasonloffredo.com/
Conquering Finale: https://www.conqueringfinale.com/
Previous episode with Jason
Scoring Notes blog: https://www.scoringnotes.com/
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.
Recently, I spoke for 5 episodes about the four core performance skills, the musical skills that will allow you to play well in any situation for any genre. If you're a beginner or you teach beginners, how early can you get started with these skills? Check out why I think that not only can you start right away, but you actually should. Also listen to find out how you can begin practicing the core skills with no prior musical training.
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.
Whether it involves practicing, composing, or any other creative goals you have, there's a way that I've found that actually works to allow you to accomplish everything you wish. It's called batching, and it satisfies the brain's need to get and maintain a flow state. Check out this episode to find out how batching can make a real difference in your productivity!
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.
How can you plan a music rehearsal that is efficient and effective?
In the world of musical theatre, the music director is responsible for planning music rehearsals to teach all vocal parts to a cast where not everyone sings on every song. There's also only a few rehearsals available to teach everything. Planning good music rehearsals requires organization and creativity. In this episode, I use recent productions of INTO THE WOODS and ROCK OF AGES as different examples of how I prepare for music rehearsals.
Technical note: The microphone sound is not quite as good as normal. I will hopefully improve the issue for the next episode.
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.
One possible part-time or full-time job for many musicians can be as a music director for a church. Bob Moore is a composer with much experience as a music director for Catholic and Episcopalian churches. David Lane is a composer with much experience as a music director for Baptist and Methodist churches. In this episode, we chat about the musicianship tools needed to do the job well.
Bob Moore's website is: https://www.bobmooremusic.com/
Technical note: The microphone sound for the host is not quite as good as normal, especially in the intro and outro.
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.
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.
Transposing is unique among the core skills in that it's the only one that is dependent on one of the other skills. Being able to play well while reading music or by listening is required to give you a starting point. The ability to take a piece of music from any source and change it to any of the other keys is a distinctive skill because it focuses on understanding music from a relative sense rather than absolute. It requires you to think about WHY you're playing a certain note or chord rather than just WHAT to play. As with the previous two episodes, there are 10 steps you can take to developing your core skill of transposing.
This is the 3rd of a 5-part series. If you missed it, check out the previous episode 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
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
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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 4 Core Performance Skills are the big skills that every musician should strive to master to be the most balanced and well-rounded musician possible, and to have success as a performer in EVERY situation. The second of these core skills is playing by ear, or playing music with accuracy after hearing it played elsewhere but having no written score. Whether you're a professional or a dedicated amateur, playing by ear is freedom. You don't HAVE to find sheet music in order to play something you've heard. Playing well by ear obviously involves time in ear training, but this episode discusses this and the other things you want to develop in order to be able to play something well just by listening.
This is the 3rd of a 5-part series. If you missed it, check out the previous episode in this series:
The Four Core Skills Part 1: An Overview of the Skills
The Four Core Skills Part 1: Sight Reading
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 4 Core Performance Skills are the big skills that every musician should strive to master to be the most balanced and well-rounded musician possible, and to have success as a performer in EVERY situation. The first of these core skills is sigh reading. Sight reading not only gives you essentially a head start on learning new music, it is ESSENTIAL for many jobs such as accompanists, studio session players, and theatre musicians. Orchestral musicians get such little time with their music before a concert that without good sight reading skills, they will be way behind. However, much like other core skills, learning it is often over-simplified into advice like "Just play new music" or "Keep your eyes moving ahead." These are all fine approaches, but without addressing other aspects of your practice, it will be hard to become the best sightreader you can be. This episode offers actionable practice tips to improve your sightreading.
This is the 2nd of a 5-part series. If you missed it, check out the previous episode in this series: The Four Core Skills Part 1: An Overview of the Skills
Past sight-reading episodes on this podcast:
Sight Reading Maverick (with Erica Sipes)
Improving Sight Reading By Touch (with David Holter)
Also check out
Deciphering Written Rhythms (with David Krosner)
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.
There are many skills you need to become a great musician such as developing good technique, being good at ear training, and having a good knowledge of music theory. None of these are the Core Skills but they help improve all four. The 4 Core Performance Skills are the 4 types of situations that you might be expected to do in a performance. Most people are better at one than the others, and only a small percentage of musicians take the time to become excellent at all 4. If your practice leads you to develop all 4 skills as well as you can, you are going to find that you understand music from every angle and are the type of flexible musician who will be extremely valuable!
This is the 1st of a 5-part series. In this episode, learn what the 4 skills are and why I chose them. The next 4 episodes will each focus on one skill at a time.
Previous episode mentioned: Music Theory Checklist | Ep31
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.
Simply put: you can't play music well unless you're subconscious mind is driving the bus. If you're aware of having to think about each note, each rhythm, each aspect of the music before you play it, then you're still practicing with your conscious mind. When you train your technique and repertoire beyond the point of awareness where your hands just seem to play by themselves, you have entered the subconscious zone with your music, and this is where the fun begins! In this episode, learn how these two minds work and how to practice in one mode so that you train the other.
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.
Have you ever thought you had a piece memorized only to play it for someone and you start having memory slips? This is one of many common problems that can be solved through a process of troubleshooting, the same that an auto mechanic or computer technician might use. Dr. Larry Weng of Wake Forest University talks about this approach of problem solving for your practice to find out what is really going on when surprises happen. We also discuss a common question of high schoolers: "SHOULD you major in music?" In addition, we talk about philosophies of memorization, an inspirational story of someone who only took music seriously to become a professional after the age of 40, the complexities of a music career, and why you need to become your own teacher.
Links:
Dr. Weng's website
Icarus Quartet
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.
There are so many things a musician must develop to be a success. There's technique, fluency in music theory, composition and arranging skills, the skill of marketing, the skill of networking, staying up-to-date with the industry, and much more. However, there is ONE SKILL that is important for you to develop first that makes all of these other skills more manageable, and this is our topic in Episode 81.
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.
Bob Marks has been a renowned vocal coach for well over 4 decades. His former students is a wall of fame roster and includes: Ariana Grande, Britney Spears, Sarah Jessica Parker, Lea Michele, Laura Bell Bundy, Ashley Tisdale, Debbie Gibson, Natalie Portman, and more.
In this episode, Bob talks about what his role is as a vocal coach in contrast with a vocal teacher, and how those two roles have blurred in recent years among the elite teachers of each field. We also discuss the importance of singers having realistic goals, and we go over a few of the many misconceptions about the voice.
Links:
Bob's website
Book: 88 Keys to Successful Singing Performances
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.
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.
Many professional musicians and music teachers struggle with charging what their worth, or even what they need to charge to make even a decent living. Brian Witkowski of The Lucrative Artist helps musicians and other artists to develop their "money voice", to change the way they think about money. In this episode, we chat about a variety of ways that you can charge more while also creating something incredible and memorable for those you serve. We also talk about how to make a decision on whether or not to take a gig.
Links:
The Lucrative Artist
24 Ideas to Charge More in 2024
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.
Even after you've scheduled your practice time each day and planned what your focus is during that time, the mindset you bring to your practice will absolutely affect how well or poorly you do during your session. There are 5 common types of practice mindsets, 2 which are helpful and 3 which are not. Which one or ones do you gravitate towards the most, and might a shift be helpful in improving the effectiveness of your practice time?
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.
If you're an independent teacher, there are a number of important steps to go from being a hobbyist to becoming a legitimate business. Andrea Miller of Music Studio Startup talks about all of this including making a decision about becoming an LLC and what steps go with that if you choose, making quarterly tax estimates, deductions, and other general information to help you be a thriving music studio.
Find out more about Music Studio Startup (including Andrea's podcast with the same name) at: https://www.musicstudiostartup.com/
Let me know your thoughts on this episode at https://www.speakpipe.com/MusicianToolkit or you can send me a written message at https://www.davidlanemusic.com/contact
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.
This is a follow-up to Episode 17 from last year, where this podcast introduced 25 pieces of classical music, not necessarily the best or most acclaimed pieces, but 25 that you should know even if classical music is not your genre of focus. Even after 25 more pieces, there are so many that were left out, but this plus the previous episode in this series will give you 50 pieces you should know no matter your genre as a musician.
Previous episodes mentioned:
Part 1 of this series
Listening Approach for Classical vs Non Classical Music
This episode uses excerpts from the following pieces in this order:
Pieces:
Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy from “The Nutcracker” (Tchaikovsky) - London Philharmonic
Concerto for 2 Violins (Bach) - Issac Stern, Itzhak Perlman, New York Philharmonic, Zubin Mehta
Music for Stringed Instruments, Percussion, & Celesta (Bartok) - Cleveland Orchestra, Christoph Von Dohnányi
Sonata Op. 27, No. 2 “Moonlight” (Beethoven) Daniel Barenboim
Suite No. 1 from Carmen (Bizet) Lamoureux Concert Associations Orchestra, Antal Dorati
Etudes Op. 12 (Chopin) Vladimir Ashkenazy
The Sorceror’s Apprentice (Paul Dukas), Cincinnati Symphony, Jesús López-Cobos
Pomp and Circumstance No. 1 (Edward Elgar) - English Symphony Orchestra, William Boughton
String Quartet Op 76, No. 3 “Emperor” (Haydn) - Kodály Quartet
Symphony No. 4 “Italian” (Mendelssohn) - Cleveland Orchestra, George Szell
Serenade: Eine Kleine Nachtmusik (Mozart) - I Musici
Carmina Burana (Orff) - London Symphony, Andre Previn
Canon in D (Pachelbel) - London Baroque
Romeo and Juliet (Prokofiev) - London Symphony, Andre Previn
William Tell Overture (Rossini) - National Symphony, Riccardo Chailly
Carnival of the Animals (Saint-Saens) - George Prêtre
Stars and Stripes Forever (Sousa) - US Marine Band
On the Beautiful Blue Danube Walzes (J Strauss Jr) - Berlin Philharmonic, Herbert von Karajan
The Firebird (Stravinsky) - Phiharmonia, Robert Craft
Overture to Romeo and Julet, 1812 Overture (Tchaikovsky) - Russian National, Mikhail Pletnev
Why Fumeth in Fight (Tallis) - Chappelle du Roi, Alistair Dixon
Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis (Vaughan Williams) - London Philharmonic, Leonard Slatkin
The Four Seasons, Op. 8 mp 1-4, (Vivaldi) - I Musici
Ride of the Valkyries (Wagner) - London Philharmonic, Adrian Boult
Lohengrin: Prelude to Act 3 and Bridal Chorus - Vienna Philharmonic, Rudolf Kempe
Let me know your thoughts on this episode at https://www.speakpipe.com/MusicianToolkit or you can send me a written message at https://www.davidlanemusic.com/contact
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 Instrument Spotlight series within The Musician Toolkit is meant to introduce instruments as possible primary or secondary instruments, the challenges, the repertoire, and the capabilities. Kate Warren is a freelance hornist and educator who also serves as Yaffe Post-Graduate Teaching Fellow for the Yale School of Music's Music in Schools Initiative. In this episode, we talk about the horn, types of motivation, transposing, and practice organization.
Kate Warren can be followed at https://www.katewarrenmusic.com/ Music excerpts are featured in this order: Mvt 2 from Symphony No. 1 (Gustav Mahler) - Chicago Symphony, Georg Solti | "Poppyfields" from The Shadow original soundtrack (Jerry Goldsmith) | Incommensurable (Christopher Biggs) - Kate Warren, horn and Amer Hasan, clarinet | "The Escape to Sherwood" from Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves (Michael Kamen) | Excerpts from Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi (John Williams) - London Symphony Orchestra | "Andante Cantabile" from Symphony No. 5 (Peter Tchaikovsky) - London Symphony, Igor Markevitch | "Allegro Vivace" from Sextet for Piano, Flute, Oboe, Clarinet, Bassoon, and Horn (Francis Poulenc) - Alexandre Tharaud, Phillipe Bernold, Oliver Doise, Ronald Van Spaendonck, Laurent Lefevre, Herve Joulain | "The Anvil of Crom" from Conan the Barbarian original score (Basil Poledouris) Full clip for Incommensurable on Kate's YouTube channel Previous Episode in Instrument Spotlight series:The Clarinet Family (with Kania Mills) | Ep18 Also mentioned:Episode 7 - The Overtone Series Let me know your thoughts on this episode at https://www.speakpipe.com/MusicianToolkit or you can send me a written message at https://www.davidlanemusic.com/contact
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.
This episode is primarily meant as a primer for music students. It gives a very broad overview of music history from the Medieval era through what we might call modern classical music. This episode is limited to Western civilization and some of the common composers. This episode also offers David Lane's suggestion that we should rethink how we've classified musical eras since 1900. Let us know what you think.
Music excerpts occur in this order:
O virga ac diadema (Hildegard von Bengen), The Shoemaker’s Wife (John Dowland), Canzon 12 (Giovanni Gabrieli), Spem in Alium (Thomas Tallis), Erbarme Dich, mein Gott from “St Matthew’s Passion” (Johann Sebastian Bach), String Quartet op. 76, no. 2 mvt III (Franz Joseph Haydn), finale of Act 4 of Swan Lake (Peter Tchaikovsky), Symphony No. 2 (Gustav Mahler), “Nuages” from Nocturnes (Claude Debussy), and Part 2 of Daphnis et Chloe (Maurice Ravel)
Let me know your thoughts on this episode at https://www.speakpipe.com/MusicianToolkit or you can send me a written message at https://www.davidlanemusic.com/contact
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.
Dr. Ronnal Ford has learned to play, on a professional level, all of the woodwind and stringed instruments of the orchestra in addition to a few others. He talks about how he approaches learning a new instrument. He also talks about the challenges of being a musician of color in the classical community, and some of the recent opportunities that help him and similar musicians to be featured more prominently.
Let me know your thoughts on this episode at https://www.speakpipe.com/MusicianToolkit or you can send me a written message at https://www.davidlanemusic.com/contact
Links:
Ronnal Ford's website: https://www.ronfordmusic.com/
Ronnal Ford's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@RonFordMusic/featured
Life in the Pit episode featuring Ronnal Ford
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.
Should you strive for big and hard goals, or safe goals that are fairly easy to attain? What do you do when it becomes obvious that you won't reach a goal by the deadline you gave yourself? This episode talks about these questions, along with the importance of balance, grace, pivot, and the importance of failure and discomfort.
Let me know your thoughts on this episode at https://www.speakpipe.com/MusicianToolkit or you can send me a written message at https://www.davidlanemusic.com/contact
Previous episode referred to here: Goals, Motivation, and Organization with Melissa Slocum, Ep59
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.
If you're studying music and find yourself unable to progress, or are progressing too little in your opinion when considering your practice time, don't despair. You are experiencing something very common in music and in plenty of other skill areas: the intermediate plateau. This episode discusses why it exists and 7 things you can do to break through the barrier to becoming a great musician!
Let me know your thoughts on this episode at https://www.speakpipe.com/MusicianToolkit or you can send me a written message at https://www.davidlanemusic.com/contact
Past episodes mentioned here:
What's Keeping You From Being a Great Performing Musician (Ep. 9)
Music Theory Checklist (Ep. 31)
Circle of 5ths and All It Reveals (Ep. 58)
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.
Anyone who seeks to become better a better sight reader will find a lot of information on what your eyes should be doing as you play, but there has not been nearly as much focus on what your hands should be feeling. If you play the piano or other instrument that involves a lot of movement with the hands, can you manage steps and leaps with accuracy without ever looking at your hands? David Holter has a system called SPARK that helps pianists to develop this skill of kinesthetic awareness, and we chat about that for this episode.
Links:
David's Sight Reading SPARK course
Piano Sight Reading Community on Facebook
Let me know your thoughts on this episode at https://www.speakpipe.com/MusicianToolkit or you can send me a written message at https://www.davidlanemusic.com/contact
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.
Whether it's composing a big piece, trying to master difficult repertoire, or wanting to build a full-time teaching studio when you don't even have your first student, it's easy to see the target far in the distance. Learning how to build and climb a staircase will help you accomplish absolutely any goal you have, big or small!
Previous episode referenced: Episode 40
Let me know your thoughts on this episode at https://www.speakpipe.com/MusicianToolkit or you can send me a written message at https://www.davidlanemusic.com/contact
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.
If you've had a music teacher at any point in your life, you've probably heard the advice to "slow down". It is truly excellent advice...if you approach it a certain way. If your idea of practicing slowly is to make everything proportionately slower (as if someone filmed you full speed and then put the video in slow motion), this is only one way, and usually not the most effective in most cases. Check out this episode to hear what good slow practice should look like.
Let me know your thoughts on this episode at https://www.speakpipe.com/MusicianToolkit or you can send me a written message at https://www.davidlanemusic.com/contact
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.
Whether you're a teacher or a performing musician, you'll only go as far as your goals, your system for dealing with lack of motivation, and your organization. The guest for this episode is Melissa Slocum - piano teacher, business coach, and podcaster. We talk about a variety of topics in this episode, including better ways to think about goals, a different approach to the idea of work/life balance, the important 1-word question you should regularly ask yourself, 2 nightly routines to keep you organized and motivated, a challenging take on the concept of the "ideal client" and more!
Follow Melissa at https://musicgro.com/
Her podcast, Sounds of Encouragement, can be found on any podcast app or here: https://musicgro.com/podcasts/
Let me know your thoughts on this episode at https://www.speakpipe.com/MusicianToolkit or you can send me a written message at https://www.davidlanemusic.com/contact
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.
No single visual aid shows more aspects of how music works than the Circle of 5ths (sometimes called Circle of Keys and Circle of 4ths). Besides its more widely known uses for showing the order of sharps and flats along with the keys in sharp and flat order, it also shows scale degree frequency, primary and secondary triads, chord groupings, and more. From the basic to the obscure, this will get into the Circle of 5ths and all that it reveals.
Click here for the specific visual referred to throughout this episode: Circle of 5ths Image
What else have you discovered about music because of the circle of 5ths?
Let me know your thoughts on this episode at https://www.speakpipe.com/MusicianToolkit or you can send me a written message at https://www.davidlanemusic.com/contact
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.
So many musicians sit for hours a day, or perform a similar motion repeatedly, or maintain their arms in a fixed position...or some combination of those three, and they lead to injuries or fatigue in more than 90% of musicians at some point in their career. The majority of issues are correctable and even preventable.
The guest for this episode is Angela McCuiston, a personal trainer and founder of MusicStrong, and focuses on helping musicians develop a physical fitness routine to help them play injury-free.
Links mentioned on this episode:
Sign up here for MusicStrong membership.
Become a Founding Member of the Wellness Center.
Facebook group for Music Strong.
Let me know your thoughts on this episode at https://www.speakpipe.com/MusicianToolkit or you can send me a written message at https://www.davidlanemusic.com/contact
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.
Basic classical music education introduces students to a major scale, 3 types of minor scales, and a chromatic scale. If you continue a little deeper, you might get a passing introduction to the modes (such as dorian and phyrigian), the whole tone scale, pentatonic scales, and maybe the diminished scale, not to mention non-Western and even synthetic scales. But how many of these do you really know well in terms of theory? Further still, how many of these scales have you committed to practicing in all keys? This episode will introduce you to all of these scales and hopefully encourage you to really expand the variety of scales you have been learning.
Let me know your thoughts on this episode at https://www.speakpipe.com/MusicianToolkit or you can send me a written message at https://www.davidlanemusic.com/contact
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.
On Episode 53, we offered 12 areas you want to consider reducing or eliminating in order to clear room on your slate. This episode follows up to offer 10 specific musical goals that you can add to your own goals in order to become a better more well-rounded musician this upcoming year!
Prior episodes mentioned:
New Year's Goals Part 1: Letting Some Things Go | Ep53
Designing a Website That Works (with Taylor Rossi) | Ep40
Other helpful relevant episodes:
The Benefits of Score Study (with Andrew Callo) | Ep16
Basics of Studio Recording (with Liz May) | Ep26
Let me know your thoughts on this episode at https://www.speakpipe.com/MusicianToolkit or you can send me a written message at https://www.davidlanemusic.com/contact
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.
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all our listeners! This short episode is an introduction to David's 3 favorite pieces of Christmas music:
Samuel Barber: Die Natali
Benjamin Britten: Ceremony of Carols
Les Brown & His Band of Renown: Nutcracker Suite
*In the episode, Episode 54 is promoted as part 2, but that episode will be a special Christmas episode.
Let me know your thoughts on this episode at https://www.speakpipe.com/MusicianToolkit or you can send me a written message at https://www.davidlanemusic.com/contact
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.
This week's episode and next offer some suggestions on New Year's goals. Episode 55* will deal with suggested goals for getting things done or accomplished, but this week's Episode 53 is important to check out first. Before you can really get things accomplished that matter to you the most as a musician, you have to make room in your life by auditing various aspects of your life to see if you can minimize or completely remove some of the things filling up your time and space. This episode offers 12 ways you might consider for removing clutter.
*In the episode, Episode 54 is promoted as part 2, but that episode will be a special Christmas episode.
Let me know your thoughts on this episode at https://www.speakpipe.com/MusicianToolkit or you can send me a written message at https://www.davidlanemusic.com/contact
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.
David Lane is about to celebrate 24 years of being a private teacher for piano, composition, and theory. He offers 8 tips for becoming a better teacher, some easy-to-apply things that he was not doing from the very beginning, each of which has made him a better and happier teacher.
Let me know your thoughts on this episode at https://www.speakpipe.com/MusicianToolkit or you can send me a written message at https://www.davidlanemusic.com/contact
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.
Sherri Chung is a composer of numerous television and streaming series, including Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai, Kung Fu, Riverdell, Based on a True Story, and more. We talk about her career but also about creativity, the importance of a full education in music composition and orchestration (rather than just specializing in one type of music) and more.
Let me know your thoughts on this episode at https://www.speakpipe.com/MusicianToolkit or you can send me a written message at https://www.davidlanemusic.com/contact
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.
To become a great musician, it's helpful to spend time studying scores, reading books, getting guided instruction, and other things that cost a lot of time and/or money. However, there are two mindset skills that are free and don't require an expert to teach them to you, and those skills are gratitude and curiosity. In this episode, I explain why these two skills are crucial to not only guiding you to bigger success as a musician, but also why they are pillars of good mental health.
Let me know your thoughts on this episode at https://www.speakpipe.com/MusicianToolkit or you can send me a written message at https://www.davidlanemusic.com/contact
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.
If there's something big you want to do like learning a challenging piece, writing a large-scale work, starting a band, opening or expanding a teaching studio, or something else that you keep putting off...it sometimes seems like you just can't even get started. All you have to do is get the ball rolling. It's a combination of finding the simple first steps and stacking as needed, and finding a way to leverage your accountability to the point that, before you know it, you've gone from seeking a goal that's impossible to one that is inevitable!
Let me know your thoughts on this episode at https://www.speakpipe.com/MusicianToolkit or you can send me a written message at https://www.davidlanemusic.com/contact
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.
Conner Cherland is an L.A. based musician who left a job in the tech industry 7 years ago to become a full-time musician. He talks about his tools to success, including his commitment to high-volume creation with the understanding that not all songs are keepers, a great networking tip he's used to get big wedding and party gigs, and also the work that went into his latest album, Lake, from creation to raising money to distribution. He also talks about becoming a student again and what he's learning.
You can stream the album Lake on any music streaming app. You can find the direct links and find out more about Conner at: https://www.connercherland.com/
Let me know your thoughts on this episode at https://www.speakpipe.com/MusicianToolkit or you can send me a written message at https://www.davidlanemusic.com/contact
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.
In Episode 42, we talked about the importance of memorization as a musician, but didn't really talk about HOW to memorize music. Like almost every musical skill, memorization is very easy for some musicians while very difficult for others. This episode talks about the importance of getting your eyes in the right place, mindfulness, engaging your senses, and other tactics that will help you become better at memorizing music.
The article from Disc Makers that is referenced in this episode can be found here: https://blog.discmakers.com/2023/09/memorizing-music/
Let me know your thoughts on this episode at https://www.speakpipe.com/MusicianToolkit or you can send me a written message at https://www.davidlanemusic.com/contact
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.
Frequency and consistency are 2 hallmarks of great practice for musicians. That is to say: If you practice often, and you play your music the same way every time, you have the most important fundamentals of practicing well! 5 X 5 Practice is an easy-to-remember template that combines both frequency and consistency. In essence, you choose a technique or musical passage to focus on, practice it to the point where you can play 5 times in a row with complete accuracy. Repeat this for 5 days. It might only be a fraction of your total practice time, but it adds up. In this episode, we'll get into the details and examples of how this practice can be a simple solution for improving the quality of your performance!
Let me know your thoughts on this episode at https://www.speakpipe.com/MusicianToolkit or you can send me a written message at https://www.davidlanemusic.com/contact
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.
It's not uncommon for a teacher to hear this from a parent who is discontinuing lessons.
"They won't practice unless I tell them to do it." Sometimes we're talking about a 7 or 8 year old child.
Parents and, sometimes, teachers can have unrealistic expectations for how much children should CHOOSE to do the challenging work with practicing their instrument. There's a lot going on here, not the least is which a faulty correlation between not choosing to practice and not liking their instrument. Real practice is WORK, and even adults have trouble with making it a priority. This episode also talks about the 3 opinions of self-starting that many adults tend to hold, preventing them from realizing the truth: Self-starting is a myth.
Let me know your thoughts on this episode at https://www.speakpipe.com/MusicianToolkit or you can send me a written message at https://www.davidlanemusic.com/contact
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.
Whether you're a composer, a teacher, or a performer, having a good music notation program that you know how to use well is a great tool! If you're convinced of that but don't have one already, one of the questions that everyone There are a lot of music notation programs to choose from, but there are 3 big ones: Finale, Sibelius, and Dorico. Jason Loffredo is the creator of the highly acclaimed Conquering Finale video tutorial series, and he helps answer the question of which program is right for both you based on multiple factors. And, of course, some good amount of Finale Talk, including Jason's Top 5 tips for improving the efficiency of your work flow! Check out this episode for some very helpful info no matter how advanced you are with your software.
Links:
Conquering Finale Series
Finale
Sibelius
Dorico
Jason's website is: https://jasonloffredo.com/home-page
Let me know your thoughts on this episode at https://www.speakpipe.com/MusicianToolkit or you can send me a written message at https://www.davidlanemusic.com/contact
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.
Here's a motivational episode for you for when you feel like your opportunities are too small, or nothing you do really matters. A great exercise for when you have any kind of success is to write down, step by step, all the opportunities you accepted that led to this point. Step by step. Not just what you did as a child studying music that led to your most recent success, but what did you do 3 months ago? Where did you send a resume? What party did you attend, and who did you strike a connection with? What competition did you prepare for? What video did you put on YouTube that might have been seen later by someone else? Then...what did you do before that? And before that? Success often comes after a long chain of little, and sometimes seemingly insignificant opportunities that all add up!
Let me know your thoughts on this episode at https://www.speakpipe.com/MusicianToolkit or you can send me a written message at https://www.davidlanemusic.com/contact
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.
Geoff Westley is an active international performer, a pianist with a unique approach to programming. His concerts are 100% his own original music, and he doesn't write any of it down. In this episode, we talk about his approach to these concerts, thoughts on improvisation in general, how improvisation is a "lost art" among many classical musicians, and how that skill seems to intersect with the skill of memorization.
Find out more about Geoff Westley at https://www.geoffwestley.com/
Let me know your thoughts on this episode at https://www.speakpipe.com/MusicianToolkit or you can send me a written message at https://www.davidlanemusic.com/contact
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.
David Lane shares 10 of his favorite books that aren't about music, but they speak to a mindset or a strategy that absolutely will help musicians in their quest to be better at practice and be better at improving themselves in every way.
The books discussed:
Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway
The Right Call
The Infinite Game
Effortless
Grip
Atomic Habits
Range
The One Thing
The War of Art
So Good They Can't Ignore You
Let me know your thoughts on this episode at https://www.speakpipe.com/MusicianToolkit or you can send me a written message at https://www.davidlanemusic.com/contact
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.
One tool every musician should have in 2023 for getting gigs or students is a good website, one that actually generates leads and revenue. Taylor Rossi is a musician as well as a web designer. She talks about the things that musicians are doing too much of and what they're not doing enough of to have a better website. We also talk about SEO and generally changing how you see your website from a client's perspective, and what really matters.
Taylor's business: https://www.nicolericcardo.com/cyc
Follow Taylor on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thetaylorrossi/
Let me know your thoughts on this episode at https://www.speakpipe.com/MusicianToolkit or you can send me a written message at https://www.davidlanemusic.com/contact
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.
This podcast is committed to exploring all the traits that the most successful musicians around the world tend to cultivate, whether it involves the skills associated with making and understanding the music, or the mental, emotional, and social skills that go into having a successful career. There are so many great examples to emulate, but there are also more than a few musicians who seem to be successful as far as getting work in spite of one or more trait that puts off their colleagues: things like showing up late, talking negatively about other musicians, monopolizing rehearsal time for reasons that could have been addressed beforehand, and more. With the help of contributions from more than a dozen colleagues, this episode looks at the practices from some musicians that you should strive to avoid, and WHY their outlier success is harder to sustain.
Let me know your thoughts on this episode at https://www.speakpipe.com/MusicianToolkit or you can send me a written message at https://www.davidlanemusic.com/contact
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.
One of the tools of musicianship that was mentioned in Episode 1 is the ability to play well any written rhythm. Why so specific? Why WRITTEN rhythm instead of just saying that we should be good at rhythm. It's because they are completely different skills, and you're probably already good at one of them whether you know it or not, but the other one needs training. My guest is long-time friend, percussionist, former band director and educator for all ages, Dr. David Krosner. We talk about how to quickly dissect written rhythm into something you can sight-read with success. We also talk about the importance of memorizing entire rhythmic patterns (not just individual notes), playing polyrhythms, and more. This is an essential episode for an essential tool!
Click here for David Krosner's book as mentioned in the episode: https://www.beatinpathpublications.com/DKrosner/home.html
Let me know your thoughts on this episode at https://www.speakpipe.com/MusicianToolkit or you can send me a written message at https://www.davidlanemusic.com/contact
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.
This is a full episode response to a listener question. On an earlier episode about practice, it was mentioned that composing an etude based on a tricky measure or group of measures is a good way to not only conquer that measure, but passages like it that you might face in the future. A listener asked David Lane: How do you compose your own practice etude? Using 2 specific examples from the listener, a French hornist, he shares some ideas on how this might sound as various etudes. This episode will hopefully help give you some ideas of how to get started, as well as answer why it's a good idea.
Let me know your thoughts on this episode at https://www.speakpipe.com/MusicianToolkit or you can send me a written message at https://www.davidlanemusic.com/contact
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.
If you're a working musician, chances are that at least once in your life, you'll move to another area. You're moving to an area with established musicians and trying to get your foot in the door. What are some of the things you can do? Robonzo is a drummer who has established a working network in the areas of Fort Worth/Dallas and San Francisco, as well as towns in Panama and Mexico, and shares a few things to do and don't to get started in a new area.
Robonzo is the creator and host of The Unstarving Musician podcast.
Let me know your thoughts on this episode at https://www.speakpipe.com/MusicianToolkit or you can send me a written message at https://www.davidlanemusic.com/contact
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.
Whether it's setting big goals for your life or even what you want to accomplish the next time you sit down to practice your instrument, one of the most powerful mindset tools you can employ is to be as specific as possible in what you expect to accomplish. It helps to be realistic about what you can accomplish with your current skills and the time available, but avoiding generic goals and becoming super-specific is an effective first step in accomplishing a lot!
Let me know your thoughts on this episode at https://www.speakpipe.com/MusicianToolkit or you can send me a written message at https://www.davidlanemusic.com/contact
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.
Every musician should know a little about conducting. But what does a conductor really do, especially when working with professional musicians? How do they prepare for rehearsal and for a performance? Our guest this episode is Michelle Merrill, a conductor who previously served as Associate/Assistant Conductor of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra under the supervision of esteemed maestro Leonard Slatkin. She is the music director of the Coastal Symphony of Georgia, and just recently was appointed as the new music director of the Winston-Salem Symphony Orchestra. She talks about the importance of networking, the craft of score and rehearsal preparation, the importance of making sure your physical style suits you individually, as well as her short and long term plans with the Winston-Salem Symphony.
For single tickets to the WSSO 2023-24: https://wssymphony.my.salesforce-sites.com/ticket/#/
For more on Michelle Merrill, visit: https://www.michelle-merrill.com/
Let me know your thoughts on this episode at https://www.speakpipe.com/MusicianToolkit or you can send me a written message at https://www.davidlanemusic.com/contact
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.
In the corporate world, it's customary to receive a performance review from your supervisor. A good review is objective, noting what you're doing well already and what needs improvement. When you're a solo musician or private teacher, a performance review is an important step that often gets ignored because...well, you're by yourself. However, by simply recording video and audio of yourself at work and making observations during playback, you can separate your roles of the the employee and the supervisor. In this episode, you can hear how a performance review can greatly improve your practice, your progress on a piece, your effectiveness as a teacher, your goals, your finances, and so much more!
Let me know your thoughts on this episode at https://www.speakpipe.com/MusicianToolkit or you can send me a written message at https://www.davidlanemusic.com/contact
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.
Eric Perrotti is primarily a guitarist, but with a passion for learning as many instruments as possible, enough so that he has collected over 200! However, he has done so with a very modest budget. He talks about the approaches he has taken to learn all of these instruments in a self-taught way, as well as his strategies for finding great deals and building his instrument library without breaking the bank!
Follow Eric at https://www.instagram.com/ericperrotti/
What are your tips for finding or learning new instruments? Let me know your thoughts on this episode at https://www.speakpipe.com/MusicianToolkit or you can send me a written message at https://www.davidlanemusic.com/contact
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.
Where are you in your knowledge of music theory? It all starts with the fundamentals (a very broad category that takes a while to master) and there are multiple levels of each branch to know before you move on to other areas such as part-writing skills, analysis, and counterpoint. This episode will give you a checklist of skills and experiences. Check off what you know, and write down what you need to learn.
Let me know your thoughts on this episode at https://www.speakpipe.com/MusicianToolkit or you can send me a written message at https://www.davidlanemusic.com/contact
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.
Andrew Synowiec is a session musician, primarily as a guitarist, who has appeared on recordings of a variety of artists and bands, including The Who, Barbara Streisand, Megan Trainor, and M83. He's also performed on the soundtracks of several films and television series, including Cobra Kai, Frozen, Coco, A Good Day to Die Hard, Little Fockers, and more! Andrew talks about moving to LA from Miami, becoming a session guitarist, the process of working with a variety of composers, and...of course, the tools to be successful in this line of work. He also talks about some of his other projects as a performer. This is a great conversation that you won't want to miss!
Find out more about Andrew Synowiec at https://andrewsynowiec.com/
Musical excerpts in order of appearance: "The Final Countdown" arr. Pinar Toprak (from The Lost City soundtrack)
"Sam and Robby" and "Quiver" by Leo Birenberg and Zach Robinson (from Cobra Kai soundtrack)
"Let It Go" by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez (from Frozen soundtrack)
"Triple Vodka Rhapsody" by Marco Beltrami (from A Good Day to Die Hard)
"Dia de Los Muertos" by Michael Giacchino (from Coco)
"Triad Days" and "Late to the Party" by Andrew Synowiec
Let me know your thoughts on this episode at https://www.speakpipe.com/MusicianToolkit or you can send me a written message at https://www.davidlanemusic.com/contact
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.
Whether it's a virtual metronome or tuner, notation software, games to improve your music theory or ear training, or more...musicians have plenty of choices and sometimes the need for apps to help them have a better practice experience, to learn skills, or simply to make the music. This is far from a comprehensive list, but includes categories of apps and some suggestions for each musician to consider.
You can find a written list of the apps mentioned in this episode here: https://www.davidlanemusic.com/post/what-kind-of-apps-do-musicians-use
What kind of apps do you use as a musician? Let me know your thoughts on this episode at https://www.speakpipe.com/MusicianToolkit or you can send me a written message at https://www.davidlanemusic.com/contact
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.
If you're not a harpist and wanting to compose, the harp can be a mysterious instrument. It can play all of the notes of a chromatic scale, but only 7 in a time across all octaves. It has a similar range to the piano with a similar 2-staff system, but the harpist uses fewer fingers and approaches the notes from a different angles. There are pedal diagrams, pedal change instructions, special effects in tones, and so many other things to consider. If you've ever thought about composing or arranging for the harp, it's very helpful to have someone like Danielle Kuntz to help! Danielle is a harpist with a passion for new music, and her business is to help composers balance creativity with practicality to write great harp music with clarity.
You can get in touch with Danielle at https://www.daniellekuntz.com/
The resource for notation programs and harp notation is here: https://mola-inc.org/resources/20141
Let me know your thoughts on this episode at https://www.speakpipe.com/MusicianToolkit or you can send me a written message at https://www.davidlanemusic.com/contact
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.
Problem 1: Not having long-term goals puts us in the trap of focusing only on day-by-day or week-by-week tasks. We get things done, but we're not moving towards anything bigger.
Problem 2: Long-term goals can be overwhelming, exhausting our patience and our discipline. Something that's going to take 2 or 3 years or longer can be very tough for staying the course.
Solution: Quarterly planning and review!
In this episode, David Lane shares why he loves quarterly goals and how they hit that sweet spot of short term productivity and long term ambition. He also explains the critical addition of the review process at the end of each quarter so that you're constantly learning from both your successes and your failures to always be creating better goals. There are also suggestions of how you can implement this system as a musician. Check out this episode right way, just before Q3 begins, and plan out a great 3 months!
What has been your experience with quarterly goals? Are you inspired to get started? Let me know your thoughts on this episode at https://www.speakpipe.com/MusicianToolkit or you can send me a written message at https://www.davidlanemusic.com/contact
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.
One of the tools every great musician should have in their toolkit is knowledge and experience of studio production. If you use a professional engineer in your projects, you'll be able to understand the process and communicate better. Often, you may be doing a DIY recording project, and want to get the best final product that you can. This is a huge topic, and this episode is limited to just a few basics: choosing the right microphone, microphone placement, minimal gear requirements, planning a production session (even when it's just you involved), and a few finishing touches.
Our guest, Liz May, is a professional audio engineer with a pianist background, is very active as a live sound engineer and also owns a recording studio called Soundlizzard Productions.
Let me know your thoughts on this episode at https://www.speakpipe.com/MusicianToolkit or you can send me a written message at https://www.davidlanemusic.com/contact
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.
This is the 2nd of an epic 2-episode look at the genre of heavy metal, both in terms of music history and theory. This 2nd episode takes more of a look at the history of heavy metal since 1980 through the lens of subgenres. Leading us on this journey is Eric Schwartz, a classical musician and lifelong metal fan who is a co-host of the podcast Heavy Metal 101. For the final segment of this episode, Eric and I each offer up 5 of our all-time favorite heavy metal albums. Be sure to play this episode loud!
If you missed part 1, we talked more about the origins of heavy metal and got more into the music theory side. You can find that episode hereL https://www.davidlanemusic.com/toolkit/episode/7e14ef9d/heavy-metal-101-part-1-with-eric-schwartz
Eric's podcast, Heavy Metal 101, can be best enjoyed here: https://open.spotify.com/show/1tjsy3NgM063tlvMOv9PQR?si=4cba8bafc3f84dd4
The top 10 albums that we discussed, and 10 more we considered, can be heard in their entirety here:
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0zrwEkboZKE5eLcikCdxdg?si=84415f3fa70a4d77&pt=e95433e2fc7ed6227c31035d7374dd5a
These are the musical examples played in this episode:
04:39 Iron Maiden: The Prisoner05:51 Van Halen: Runnin' with the Devil06:34 Motorhead: Overkill06:57 Metallica: Master of Puppets08:31 Death: Scream Bloody Gore09:51 Emperor: Toward the Pantheon10:24 Helloween: I'm Alive11:02 Pantera: Walk12:02 At the Gates: Cold12:44 Dream Theater: Pull Me Under13:51 Black Sabbath: Supertsar16:41 Mastadon: Crack the Skye18:12 Zeal & Ardor: Children's Summons20:13 The Prodigy: Firestarter22:16 Nine Inch Nails: Heresy24:47 Def Leppard: Rocket27:01 Queensrÿche: Speak27:18 Queensrÿche: Spreading the Disease27:51 Queensrÿche: Suite Sister Mary29:18 Black Sabbath: Symptom of the Universe29:58 Black Sabbath: Megalomania30:43 Black Sabbath: The Writ32:07 Megadeth: Sweating Bullets32:32 Megadeth: Foreclosure of a Dream33:39 Beetlejuice the Musical: The Whole Being Dead Thing36:23 Slayer: Angel of Death36:42 Slayer: Raining Blood38:23 Anthrax: NFB39:01 Anthrax: Got the Time39:20 Anthrax: In My World41:47 King Diamond: A Mansion in Darkness42:15 King Diamond: 7th Day of July 197744:42 Avenged Sevenfold: Unbound (Wild Ride)45:21 Avenged Sevenfold: Dear God48:07 Judas Priest: Painkiller48:40 Judas Priest: Hell Patrol49:02 Judas Priest: A Touch of Evil50:22 Nightwish: The Poet and the Pendulum51:03 Nightwish: The Islander51:22 Nightwish: 7 Days to the Wolves54:40 Death: Spirit Crusher55:08 Death: Voice of the Soul56:09 Death Painkiller What's your favorite heavy metal band or album, and why that choice? Let me know your thoughts on this episode at https://www.speakpipe.com/MusicianToolkit or you can send me a written message at https://www.davidlanemusic.com/contact
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.
This is the first of an epic 2-episode look at the genre of heavy metal, both in terms of music history and theory. This first episode compares how heavy metal came to be and developed throughout the '70s and into the early '80s, and then compares its attributes with Baroque through Romantic era concerti, as well as what metal offers that distinguishes itself as a genre. Leading us on this journey is Eric Schwartz, a classical musician and lifelong metal fan who is a co-host of the podcast Heavy Metal 101.
Be sure to check out part 2 next week when we dive into heavy metal since 1980, the variety of subgenres, and our own personal favorite albums.
Eric's podcast, Heavy Metal 101, can be best enjoyed here: https://open.spotify.com/show/1tjsy3NgM063tlvMOv9PQR?si=4cba8bafc3f84dd4
These are the musical examples played in this episode:
9:40 Black Sabbath: The Wizard
11:24 Judas Priest: The Ripper
12:10 Judas Priest: Deceiver
18:37 Soundgarden: Loud Love
19:41 Alice in Chains: Man in the Box
20:05 Nirvana: Smells Like Teen Spirit
22:31 Black Sabbath: Iron Man28:12 Van Halen: Eruption29:02 Vivaldi: Summer (III: Presto) perf. by I Musici29:40 Vivaldi: Winter (I: Allegro Non Molto) perf. by I Musici30:15 Van Halen: Eruption32:30 Black Sabbath: Black Sabbath33:06 Gustav Holst: The Planets (I. Mars) Montreal Symphony; cond. Charles Dutoit33:47 Black Sabbath: Black Sabbath36:42 Spinal Tap: Hell Hole38:30 Deep Purple: Lazy41:02 Judas Priest: Tyrant47:12 Metallica: Battery50:08 Tool: Schism51:56 Meshuggah: Bleed Let me know your thoughts on this episode at https://www.speakpipe.com/MusicianToolkit or you can send me a written message at https://www.davidlanemusic.com/contact
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.
It's graduation season! 30 years ago, host David Lane graduated from high school. Like so many adults, he's learned quite a bit since then, with some lessons harder than others. From advice about practicing his instrument, finances, health, marketing, networking, and more...here are 30 things he would tell himself 30 years ago if he could go back in time. If you're a high school graduate or still in college, or have a musician family member or friend in a similar situation, this episode may help give them a head start!
Adult listeners, what important lesson would you tell the high school graduate version of yourself?
Let me know by telling me directly at https://www.speakpipe.com/MusicianToolkit or you can send me a written message at https://www.davidlanemusic.com/contact
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.
On this episode, we take a look at composing the score for a big-budget documentary series such as Prehistoric Planet, currently streaming on Apple TV+ with a 2nd season due to come out soon. Series composers Anže Rozman and Kara Talve talk about working at Bleeding Fingers Music with Hans Zimmer, collaborating with each other in creating the score, and everything about the process from spotting the episodes, to deadlines, to preparing the score to be recorded by a live orchestra, in addition to commissioning and learning to play some of the custom-built instruments for this score such as the Raptor Violin, Hadro Cello, Petrified Wood Xylophone, and many more.
All music clips in this score are from the Apple TV+ Original Series Soundtrack for Prehistoric Planet, Season 1 - available for streaming or download on all major outlets.
Check out these two videos about the unique instruments for this score:
https://www.instagram.com/reel/CrkE-r2uV9N/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
https://www.instagram.com/reel/CrcFJ9HsIVt/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
Do you have any comments on today's topic? Let me know by telling me directly at https://www.speakpipe.com/MusicianToolkit or you can send me a written message at https://www.davidlanemusic.com/contact
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.
Episode 21 is a brief challenge to be mindful in your decisions, understanding that choosing to do something means that you're choosing NOT to do something else. Sometimes that something else you're NOT doing is practicing challenging music or technique, or composing, or doing something that feels like work, but you can apply this to any decision you make in life.
Today's episode is sponsored by The Unstoppable Singer Summit, a free virtual event for singers who want to overcome the starving artist mentality. There are 45 speakers over 3 days (May 15-17). Registration is required and you can do so here: https://thesingersummit.com/toolkit/ref/51/
Do you have any comments on today's topic? Let me know by telling me directly at https://www.speakpipe.com/MusicianToolkit or you can send me a written message at https://www.davidlanemusic.com/contact
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.
Dr. Frank Lehman, film music scholar and professor at Tufts University, returns to chat with David Lane about a score that is often lauded as the greatest of all time, The Empire Strikes Back composed by John Williams. This episode is a discussion along with musical examples of the themes, harmonies, and orchestration choices that make this a masterpiece, along with a comparison to the 1st Star Wars series, and a little on the legendary performance from the London Symphony Orchestra. May the force be with you as you join us as we tackle this ultimate Jedi of scores!
If you missed it, be sure to catch the 1st episode with Dr. Lehman, where we discussed John Williams more generally as well as some other scores here: https://www.davidlanemusic.com/toolkit/episode/7d49eeaa/episode-8-the-craft-of-john-williams-with-frank-lehman
Frank's marvelous catalog of Star Wars themes and analysis is located here: https://franklehman.com/starwars/
Do you have something to add to our discussion? Let me know by telling me directly at https://www.speakpipe.com/MusicianToolkit or you can send me a written message at https://www.davidlanemusic.com/contact
Musical Excerpts. All tracks by John Williams and from The Empire Strikes Back except where noted.18:39 King's Row Main Title (Erich W Korngold)
19:30 Theme from Ivanhoe (Miklos Rozsa)27:14 Darth Vader Motif from Star Wars29:02 The Imperial March (2 clips)34:16 Yoda's Theme34:47 Yoda's Death (Return of the Jedi)37:10 Yoda and the Force39:58 Han Solo and the Princess40:51 Princess Leia's Theme (Star Wars)42:20 Rescue from Cloud City43:55 The Rebel Fleet/Finale45:12 End Credits46:36 Droids Theme47:25 The Wampa's Lair48:28 Main Title (Luke's Theme)48:53 Force Theme49:50 Rebel Fanfare51:25 Lando's Theme52:41 Boba Fett's Theme/Attack Position53:18 Darth Vader's Trap54:17 Dark Side Motif/Magic Cave54:46 Yoda and the Force56:04 The Asteroid Field (2 clips)59:54 City in the Clouds1:01:11 Mynock Cave1:02:16 End Credits (Raiders of the Lost Ark)1:02:30 End Credits (Indiana Jones & The Last Crusade)1:04:48 Mynock Cave1:08:22 The Battle of Hoth (5 clips)1:15:08 Carbon Freeze (2 clips)1:18:48 Hyperspace1:22:37 End Credits 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.
When it comes to practicing music well, there may not be any better incentive than the power of residual effects. For example, when you learn how to play a 2-octave scale really well, you've not just learned it for that one time. You've learned it for the next time you need it and will at the very least be a lot further along when you come across anything similar. Much like saving or investing money early and often, the effects of residual practice compound the more you learn and get a lot accomplished in your sessions. Listen to this episode to hear what those benefits are, and how to maximize your practice so that you're gaining those residual effects.
Does this tip resonate, or do you have anything related to these suggestions?
Let me know by telling me directly at https://www.speakpipe.com/MusicianToolkit or you can send me a written message at https://www.davidlanemusic.com/contact
The blog post that goes with this episode can be found here: https://www.davidlanemusic.com/post/25-essential-classical-pieces-to-know
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.
This is the first of what will be many episodes in the Instrument Spotlight series for The Musician Toolkit, occurring once every few months. This series is for anyone wanting to choose the instruments as either a primary or secondary instrument, as well as to inform composers and arrangers about the capabilities, challenges, and limitations of such instruments. Kania Mills is an active performer in band, orchestra, chamber music, and as a featured soloist in North Carolina. She teaches woodwinds at Livingstone College and Catawba College. She will help us navigate the clarinet family, how to get started, the challenges with playing well, maintaining the instruments, and also some repertoire.
Check out teaching and performance clips of Kania from TikTok below:
https://www.tiktok.com/@kaniamills/video/7212036578632404267?_r=1&_t=8bPCRVdlHCc
https://www.tiktok.com/@kaniamills/video/7206732376855022891?_r=1&_t=8bPCU4zojoR
https://www.tiktok.com/@kaniamills/video/7196109017037737262?_r=1&_t=8bPCQcFR8oQ
https://www.tiktok.com/@kaniamills/video/7201345060041002286?_r=1&_t=8bPCbLUJoEQ
List of Musical Excerpts Used in this Episode
12:00 "Scent of Death" from Interview with a Vampire original soundtrack (Eliot Goldenthal)12:40 "Desert Music" from Sicario original soundtrack (Jóhann Jóhannsson)34:42 Symphony No. 4 "Italian", mvt 1 (Felix Mendelssohn) performed by Chicago Symphony,;cond. by Georg Solti35:18 Scherzo from A Midsummer Night's Dream (Felix Mendelssohn) - The Cleveland Orchestra; George Szell52:46 El Salón México (Aaron Copland) - New York Philharmonic; Leonard Bernstein53:34 Symphony No. 5, movt. 2 (D. Shostakovich) - Berlin Symphony; Kurt Sanderling55:54 Clarinet Concerto, mvt 1 (W. A. Mozart) - Mostly Mozart Orchestra; Gerard Schwarz56:23 Clarinet Concerto No. 2, mvt. 3 (Carl Maria von Weber)58:09 Clarinet Quintet, mvt 1 (J Brahms) - Karl Leister; Amadeus Quartet58:33 Quintet op. 39, mvt 1 (S Prokofiev) - Kammerensemble de Paris
59:29 Contrasts for Violin, Clarinet, and Piano (Bela Bartok) - The Rogue Ensemble1:01:17 Black Dog (Scott McAllister) - Robert Spring, Clarinet1:02:56 Clarinet Concerto, mvt. 1 (Gerald Finzi) - Robert Plane; Northern Sinfonia; Howard Griffiths1:03:31 Concerto for Clarinet and String Orchestra (Aaron Copland); Benny Goodman1:04:33 Solfeggietto/Metamorphosis (Eddie Daniels)1:07:22 Rigoletto (Luigi Bassi) - Han Kim, Clarinet Do you have a question about the clarinet family or any additional suggested repertoire? Let me know by telling me directly at https://www.speakpipe.com/MusicianToolkit or you can send me a written message at https://www.davidlanemusic.com/contact
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.
Not every music student or even professional musician has explored classical music, much like not necessarily every classical musician will know something about jazz or any other genre. However, each genre has certain pieces that one should know from each genre regardless of your preference. These are 25 of many possible choices, not necessarily "the best", but some pieces you should recognize by title and composer upon hearing.
Musical examples used in this episode:
06:53 P. Tchaikovsky: "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy" from The Nutcracker - (Montreal Symphony; Charles Dutoit)12:49 J.S. Bach: Toccata and Fugue in D minor BWV 565 (Hannes Kästner, organ)13:15 J.S. Bach: Toccata and Fugue in D minor BWV 565 (Czech Philharmonic; Leopold Stokowski)17:26 S Barber: Adagio for Strings (New York Philharmonic; Thomas Schipps)19:48 Beethoven: Symphony No. 5 (Vienna Philharmonic; Carlos Klieber) mvt 1 and 424:03 Beethoven: Symphony No. 9 (Berlin Philharmonic; Von Karajan) mvt. 4 and 228:33 Brahms: Hungarian Dances 4, 5, 6 (Vienna Philharmonic; Claudio Abbado)30:56 A Copland: "Hoe-Down" from Rodeo (St. Louis Symphony; Leonard Slatkin)32:33 F Chopin: Grand Valse Brillante op. 18 (Valentina Lisitsa)34:22 Debussy: Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun (Royal Concertgebouw; Bernard Haitink)36:01 Dvorak: Symphony No. 9 "From the New World" mvt 2 (London Philharmonic; Charles MacKerras)38:16 Grieg: Peer Gynt and Peer Gynt suite no.1 (San Francisco Symphony; Herbert Blomstedt)40:13 Handel: The Messiah "Hallelujah" (London Symphony; Colin Davis)40:43 Handel: Water Music selections (English Chamber Orchestra; Raymond Leppard)41:30 Holst: The Planets "Mars" - (Montreal Symphony; Charles Dutoit)42:13 Liszt: Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 (Marc-Andre Hamelin)43:22 Mendelssohn: Overture and Wedding March from A Midsummer Night's Dream (London Symphony, Andre Previn)45:11 Mozart: Overture to The Marriage of Figaro (Academy of St Martin in the Fields; Neville Marriner)46:16 Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition - Promenade and Great Gate of Kiev (Berlin Philharmonic; Claudio Abbado)48:25 Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No. 2 (Vladimir Ashkenazy; Moscow Symphony; Kirill Kondrashin)49:38 Ravel: Bolero (Boston Symphony; Seiji Ozawa)51:42 Ravel: Daphnis & Chloe (Rotterdam Philharmonic; Yannick Nézet-Séguin)52:46 Rimsky-Korsakov: Flight of the Bumblebee (Berlin Philharmonic; Zubin Mehta)53:08 Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherezade mvt IV and III (London Symphony; Charles MacKerras)55:06 Schubert: Ave Maria (Barbara Booney)55:31 R Strauss: Also Sprach Zarathustra (Chicago Symphony; Fritz Reiner)57:15 Stravinsky: Rite of Spring (from Part 1) (New York Philharmonic; Leonard Bernstein)58:21 Tchaikovsky: Russian Dance, Arabian Dance, Dance of the Reed Flutes from The Nutcracker (Montreal Symphony; Dutoit) Do you have a different recording of these pieces that you'd recommend? Let me know by telling me directly at https://www.speakpipe.com/MusicianToolkit or you can send me a written message at https://www.davidlanemusic.com/contact
The blog post that goes with this episode can be found here: https://www.davidlanemusic.com/post/25-essential-classical-pieces-to-know
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.
One of the great ways to learn how music works is to study written scores. There are different ways to approach this but, in this episode, we're mainly talking about orchestral scores and improving the knowledge of harmonies, orchestration, development of melodic material, ear training, and more all directly from existing pieces of music from the composers themselves.
Our guest is Andrew Callo, a composer and arranger who has done a lot of work with the Air Force Band and a number of other concert works. We talk about the benefits of score study to improving the ability to compose and arrange music.
Music Excerpts in this episode are:
(18:10) Beethoven: Symphony No. 1 (mvt I) - performed by the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Herbert Von Karajan
(48:42) Holst: The Planets (Mars) - Berlin Philharmonic; Simon Rattle
(55:53) R. Strauss: Aus Italien (III. Andantino) - Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra; Ondrej Lenard
(1:01:18) R. Strauss: Don Quixote (var. VII) - Chicago Symphony Orchestra; Fritz Reiner
(1:02:28) Beethoven: Symphony No. 5 (I) - Berlin Philharmonic; Von Karajan
(1:03:07) Beethoven: Symphony No. 3 (IV) - Berlin Philharmonic; Von Karajan
(1:06:00) Stravinsky: The Firebird (Introduction) - Philharmonia Orchestra; Robert Craft
Andrew's additional notes are located here: https://www.davidlanemusic.com/_files/ugd/8c856b_addc1e9b18ca471a81a5747d3d6caf67.pdf
From this episode, what most resonated with you, or what do you think I should have included? Let me know by telling me directly at https://www.speakpipe.com/MusicianToolkit or you can send me a written message at https://www.davidlanemusic.com/contact
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.
David Lane was recently asked, "What gave you that idea?" in regards to this podcast. In this episode, he offers some insight into when he noticed these traits of musicianship, and how it developed before becoming the basis of this podcast.
From this episode, what most resonated with you, or what do you think I should have included? Let me know by telling me directly at https://www.speakpipe.com/MusicianToolkit or you can send me a written message at https://www.davidlanemusic.com/contact
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.
It's hard to truly understand the full expressive power of music unless you sing. This is true especially if you're primarily an instrumentalist. Depending on your instrument, you might be missing out on a chance to sharpen your skills of intonation, tone, breath, vibrato, and expressive details that some instruments lack. More and more, innovative instrumental teachers include singing in their lessons for beginners to create this more intensely personal connection to music.
Our guest this week is Katie Muhlenkamp. She is an experienced vocal performer in both the worlds of classical and musical theatre, as a soloist and as a choral member. She also is a private voice teacher, and is here to talk about the basics of vocal production, some of the myths associated with singing, how to choose a teacher, and how to get some free opportunities to practice singing.
From this episode, what most resonated with you, or what do you think I should have included? Let me know by telling me directly at https://www.speakpipe.com/MusicianToolkit or you can send me a written message at https://www.davidlanemusic.com/contact
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.
It took 13 episodes since this podcast began with the premise of exploring 20 tools of musicianship that every musician should have in some proportion. Finally, there's a 21st tool to mention: the skill of active listening. This is different than passive listening, a fine activity where you just enjoy the music, but it is essential to becoming a great musician! In this episode, we review listening strategies while giving some special mention to classical simply because how you become familiar with the music is different than how you would approach other genres.
Download the checklist of What to Listen For here: https://www.davidlanemusic.com/_files/ugd/8c856b_2d89c0432f4b45239fcd410f7b4e356b.pdf
From this episode, what most resonated with you, or what do you think I should have included? Let me know by telling me directly at https://www.speakpipe.com/MusicianToolkit or you can send me a written message at https://www.davidlanemusic.com/contact
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 ability to practice well is an important tool for every musician. So why not put that skill to use on useful aspects of your life other than music? Here are 10 things you can practice to improve that will either make you more efficient with your time, leave you better prepared to do the important work, or improve your relationships and your marketability as a musician. If you want to be a successful well-rounded musician, make sure you're exploring these non-musical skills with as much intention as your instrument.
From this episode, what most resonated with you, or what do you think I should have included? Let me know by telling me directly at https://www.speakpipe.com/MusicianToolkit or you can send me a written message at https://www.davidlanemusic.com/contact
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.
If you're a performing musician who uses sheet music, sightreading is one of the skills that you want to prioritize in developing, so this is the first of many times that this podcast will likely talk about this tool. Erica Sipes is a pianist with a live show on her channel called Sightreading Maverick. We touch on some of the physical tools needed to sightread well, but primarily we talk about the emotional and mindset tools that often get neglected when discussing this skill.
Check out Erica's services at https://www.beyondthenotescoaching.com/ and subscribe to her YouTube channel as well as watch past episodes of Sightreading Maverick (and tune in on Sundays at 1pm Eastern) at https://www.youtube.com/@EricaSipes
From this episode, what most resonated with you, or what do you think I should have included? Let me know by telling me directly at https://www.speakpipe.com/MusicianToolkit or you can send me a written message at https://www.davidlanemusic.com/contact
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.
When it comes to practicing music, sometimes the problem is that we don't always know what the process feels like when practice is good. There are actually two halves to the practice, and not recognizing this leads students to occasionally either mistake the halfway point for the finish point or to rush the process in a way that the prepared piece is sloppy. Listen to learn the 2 phases of practice, how neglecting the full process shows up in your practice, and finally... a picture of what good practice actually looks like.
You can see the graphs I explained on YouTube or on the blog version of this podcast found here: https://www.davidlanemusic.com/post/what-good-practice-actually-looks-like
From this episode, what most resonated with you, or what do you think I should have included? Let me know by telling me directly at https://www.speakpipe.com/MusicianToolkit or you can send me a written message at https://www.davidlanemusic.com/contact
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.
There's nothing wrong with being average at anything. As I once heard another podcaster say, "Most people, on average, are mediocre at most things". To go from average to good takes some effort, but it's a smaller and seemingly less daunting step than to go from good to great. If you're stuck on being average or good as a performer, one or more of the 7 reasons that are mentioned in this episode might be why.
From this episode, what most resonated with you, or what do you think I should have included? Let me know by telling me directly at https://www.speakpipe.com/MusicianToolkit or you can send me a written message at https://www.davidlanemusic.com/contact
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.
John Williams recently celebrated his 91st birthday. He's rightfully considered the most popular and perhaps the greatest film composer of all time! His too-many-to-list credits include Jaws, Star Wars I through IX, E.T. The Extra Terrestrial, Jurassic Park, Indiana Jones series, and Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. What are the tools of John Williams' craft? What are some of his composition techniques and his creative influences? What are the various musical experiences aside from being a film composer that have helped shape his musicianship? Besides discussing his early background, we will be focusing on 2 very different and seldom discussed scores to explore his style through his scores to Sabrina (1995) and Images (1972)
To help me discuss this is my guest, Dr. Frank Lehman, an associate professor of Tufts University. He is a music theorist and a film musicologist who has specialized in study of John Williams, Hans Zimmer, and film score music in general. His many articles and peer-reviewed papers, including his massive ongoing catalog and commentary of all Star Wars themes can be found through his website at https://franklehman.com/
What is your favorite John Williams score or theme? Let me know by telling me directly at https://www.speakpipe.com/MusicianToolkit or you can send me a written message at https://www.davidlanemusic.com/contact
This episode uses several musical clips to accompany our discussion of the music. (Note: these music clips play on the podcast feed only, not on the YouTube video.) In order of appearance, here is the full list of clips. All music is composed by John Williams except where otherwise noted.
10:05 "Hedwig's Theme" from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone12:32 "The Most Beautiful Girl in the World" from The John Tanner Touch13:28 Opening from "You Are Welcome" a documentary about Newfoundland14:35 "Pajama Game" from Not With My Wife, You Don't16:00 Main Title from Tarantula - music by Henry Mancini16:31 Theme from Peter Gunn - music by Henry Mancini17:26 Theme from To Kill a Mockingbird - music by Elmer Bernstein18:27 "Good-bye Willy" from Death of a Salesman - music by Alex North19:30 "The Swamp" from Psycho by Bernard Herrmann20:37 "The Nightmare" from Vertigo by Bernard Herrmann21:30 Overture to the School of Scandal by Samuel Barber21:55 Commando March by Samuel Barber28:37 "Theme from Sabrina" from Sabrina29:40 ("Theme from Sabrina" from Sabrina)30:12 ("Theme from Sabrina" from Sabrina)31:47 "Moonlight" (with Sting) from Sabrina32:45 "How Can I Remember" from Sabrina33:33 "Nantucket Visit" from Sabrina34:29 "Linus' New Life" from Sabrina40:13 Amériques by Edgar Varese42:03 "In Search of Unicorns" from Images44:36 "Killing Marcel" from Images45:51 "Blood Moon" from Images47:52 "Reflections" from Images48:44 "Miracle of the Ark" from Raiders of the Lost Ark49:35 "Barry's Abduction" from Close Encounters of the Third Kind50:08 "Diving Away from Trouble" from War of the Worlds51:17 "The Mecha World" from A.I. Artificial Intelligence53:40 "The Imperial Attack" from Star Wars54:06 "Map Room: Dawn" from Raiders of the Lost Ark 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.
Creating music on acoustic instruments (ones that don't require electricity to produce the sound) are operating on properties of physics. Sound waves have attributes, and each pitch on an actual instrument is producing multiple sound waves at once, with the fundamental (the sound you actually hear) and overtones, which create resonance. Overtones are inaudible unless you isolate them, which you can do on most instruments. This is a topic that intimidates a lot of musicians, but it's important to try to dive in. It not opens your mind to new instrumental effects, but it helps you understand the secrets to creating RICH harmony, and explains why some chord choices just don't work as well as others.
This episode is meant to work in podcast format only. However there are a number of videos, charts, and sheet music examples that might make the video version of this a better choice for some of you. You can find that here: https://youtu.be/_fNUPW-l5YM
Special thanks to Jennifer Lane and Harlan Feinstein for their contributions!
If you have a question or feedback after listening to this episode you can leave a voice message at https://www.speakpipe.com/MusicianToolkit or you can send me a written message at https://www.davidlanemusic.com/contact
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 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.
Whether you're a student pianist or you're already accomplished when it comes to classical music and reading fully notated scores, it's a different experience to take a lead sheet (with just a melody line and chord symbols) and perform it with accuracy, creativity, good voice-leading, and then add some improvisation. But if you're a well-rounded musician, this world shouldn't be intimidating.
Federico Pivetta is a great pianist who is comfortable in both the classical and jazz worlds, where he is in local and regional demand as one of the best jazz pianists in the area. He helps us learn about the harmonic language of jazz, how to work with a lead sheet, the basics of improvisation and some exercises to develop this skill, and an intro to some of the various rhythmic styles.
If you have a question or feedback after listening to this episode you can leave a voice message at https://www.speakpipe.com/MusicianToolkit or you can send me a written message at https://www.davidlanemusic.com/contact
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 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.
There are dozens and dozens of genres, but there are really 2 ways of learning music (with small variations of each). One way can be helped by strong skills of sight reading, knowledge of music theory, and the ability to read written rhythms. The other way can be helped by a well-developed ear, improvisation skills, and great applied knowledge of music theory. I call it the Classical vs Jazz approach but (again) I'm not talking about the genres. For example, you can use a classical approach to learn jazz repertoire and a jazz approach to learn classical repertoire. Check out the episode to hear the pros and cons and each, and which one I recommend.
If you have a question or feedback after listening to this episode you can leave a voice message at https://www.speakpipe.com/MusicianToolkit or you can send me a written message at https://www.davidlanemusic.com/contact
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 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.
Most aspiring composers have narrow goals, seeing film (or video game) music or being a concert composer as the way to go, but if you can create music on paper, you actually have many options to contribute original music and add at least some income in the process. One of those ways is composing for publication that is marketed to schools and churches: music for school bands and orchestras, music for church choirs and handbells ensembles, and more. It's a tricky world that requires a flexible but creative composer who can still write very good music that is specifically tailored to various ages and levels.
Bruce Tippette is a composer with dozens of published works through Alfred Music, Hal Leonard, C. Alan Publications, Carl Fischer, FJH, and more, many of which have been honored as J.W. Pepper's Editors Choice. Bruce talks with us about the skills needed to become this type of composer, how to navigate the sometimes intimidating grading system of school ensembles, strategies to getting published, and how all of this can lead to building relationships and getting commissioned work.
You can explore Bruce's music and contact him through his website at https://www.brucewtippette.com/
If you have a question or feedback after listening to this episode you can leave a voice message at https://www.speakpipe.com/MusicianToolkit or you can send me a written message at https://www.davidlanemusic.com/contact
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 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 such an easy thing to do. You're impressed with a great musician or other artist, and you talk about or get to compliment them, and out comes this word that seemingly everyone uses as a 1st choice...and that word is "talented". Talent is certainly worth having, but it shouldn't be THE quality that gets the praise. To quote the title of Geoff Colvin's wonderful book, Talent is Overrated, it's not because talent has no value, but as a tool it is VERY limited. As a first choice of compliment, especially to a student musician, there is the possibility of hugely negative consequences, as David Lane explains in this episode
Has the label "talented" been a roadblock for you or someone you know? If you'd like to share a brief account of your story, you can at https://www.speakpipe.com/MusicianToolkit
If you're not comfortable leaving a voice message, you can send me a message at https://www.davidlanemusic.com/contact
You can find this episode and links to this show on all podcast apps from https://musiciantoolkit.podbean.com/
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.
When you work on music, there's so much to think about: rhythm, notes, fingerings, dynamics, articulation, tempo, and so on. If the piece challenges you, and you're having trouble getting better, you may be trying to do too many things at once. Hint: 2 things is too many things. This episode offers 20 examples of how you can reduce your practice challenges down to 1 task.
If you have a practice tip specific to your instrument related to "one problem at a time" that you'd like to share, please consider leaving a voice message at https://www.speakpipe.com/MusicianToolkit
If you're not comfortable leaving a voice message, you can send me a message at https://www.davidlanemusic.com/contact
*Episode note: I mentioned that you should increase tempo on a metronome by 1-2%. It should be 5-10%.
If you loved this, please share with your friends, and please leave a 5-star rating and review!
You can find this episode and links to this show on all podcast apps from https://musiciantoolkit.podbean.com/
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.
Welcome to The Musicianship Toolkit with David Lane! This podcast is dedicated to helping you improve your craft of musicianship. First, we need to discuss what goes in the toolkit. The skill of sight-reading, the ability to play by ear, the ability to practice effectively and efficiently, knowledge of music theory, and 16 more tools will be introduced here. Give yourself a rating of 1 (poor) to 5 (excellent) of each tool as it's introduced to see where you are right now. What tool do you need the most help with? What tools did I leave out? Send me a message at https://www.davidlanemusic.com/contact
If you loved this, please share with your friends, and please leave a 5-star rating and review!
You can find this episode and links to this show on all podcast apps from https://musiciantoolkit.podbean.com/
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.
Is it your goal to become a great musician? Are you already a working musician, but want to strengthen your craft? Are you a music student with strengths and weaknesses, and not always sure how to address that which needs improvement?
Do you need to learn how to be a better sight-reader? Do you need help playing by ear, transposing, or memorizing music? Do you sometimes struggle to know how much to practice a piece of music or skill, or what approach to take? Are you wanting to get better at improvisation, composing, music theory, learning 2nd and 3rd instruments?
If so, it sounds like you need to check out... The Musician Toolkit!
You can follow David Lane AND the Musician Toolkit podcast on Facebook @DavidMLaneMusic, on Instagram and TikTok @DavidLaneMusic, and on YouTube @davidlanemusic1