Musicianship Mastery with David Lane

A Simple Change to Make Your Musical Goals More Likely to Succeed

Some people find goals helpful, and others don't.  If you haven't found goals to be helpful or consistently effective, it's possible that you could change that completely

This Might Surprise You About Good Practice

There are things you might assume about practicing, using a metronome, what progress is supposed to look like, and more that you'll only learn the truth about once you st

Learning from Failure as a Musician

About 5 years ago, I was fired from a music gig.  It's the only time in nearly 30 years of being a professional musician, and I think about it a lot.  There are definitel

5 Projects To Improve Your Musicianship

To become a well-rounded musician, it's worthwhile to engage in a variety of medium sized musical projects to give you new perspective and to help your growth.  This epis

How High Can You Succeed as an Amateur Musician?

The label "professional" is misunderstood across many levels, including music.  While the average professional will be more accomplished than the average amateur, the lab

Remembering a Great Musical Mentor

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 compo

The Non-Musical Traits That Get You Hired as a Musician

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 impre

My Biggest Mistakes as a Former Music Student

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 th

Why You Need Urgency In Learning Your Technique

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

How to Find the Right Music Teacher for You

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 vid

Practice: Get It a LOT Better NOW

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 you

You'll Never Be a Good Musician Until You Embrace This

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 an

Latest Updates with Musicianship Mastery

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 forw

Minimum Vocal Skills for the Non-Singer

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 dev

Minimal Piano Skills for the Non-Pianist

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

If I Had to Start Now, How Would I Build a Music Career?

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,

Stop Forgetting Music You Worked So Hard to Learn

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 pl

How to Follow Other Musicians

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 hund

How to Be an Effective Conductor

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.  Thi

Perform Music Better and With a Rock-Solid Memory

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 respo