Musicality Now

Latest Episodes:

217: Rewind: Reflections Dec 30, 2019

Show notes

We've had an incredible year at Musical U! Since switching from audio-only to video interviews at the beginning of 2019, we've had the opportunity to speak with amazing musical experts from all over the world. In this special Rewind episode of MusicalityNow, the Musical U team reflects on some of the episodes from 2019 that had a big impact on our musical lives.

We've all learned so much and were really excited to share some of our a-ha moments with you! We are so grateful to have the honor of gaining insight from such powerful musical minds - and we don't want you to miss any of the golden nuggets of information and inspiration packed into the vaults of the Musicality Now catalogue.

Dive in to this special Rewind episode and unlock an excitement for musicality to propel you to your musical goals!

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Full Show Notes and Transcript: Episode 217

Links and Resources

• Musicality Now - How to Earn Your Inspiration, with Mark Cawley

• Musicality Now - More Mindful, More Musical, with Susanne Olbrich

• Musicality Now - Boosting Musical Brainpower, with Josh Turknett (Brainjo)

• Musicality Now - How Composers Improve, with Matthew Ellul (School of Composition)

• Musicality Now - In Perfect Swinging Harmony, with The Quebe Sisters

• Musicality Now - Nature, Nurture, and your Duvet of Music, with Robert Emery

• Musicality Now - How to Learn Like a Genius, with Gregg Goodhart

• Musicality Now - What Music Practice Really Means, with Jonathan Harnum, PhD (The Practice Of Practice)

• Musicality Now - Emotion and Efficiency, with Marc Gelfo

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216: Pathways - Sharilynn Horhota Dec 18, 2019

Show notes

Today we're excited to share another Pathways story with you! We are joined by Musical U member Sharilynn Horhota. Before her engineering career and three children, Sharilynn was headed towards becoming a professional flute player. Now she has returned to the flute in a surprising way.

Sharilynn has been sharing her journey on her Musical U Progress Journal. The Progress Journal, or PJ, is a system we use inside the Musical U site for members to share their progress, ask questions, and get feedback and support from the Musical U team and Musical U community. Sharilynn has made fantastic use of her PJ so we had some sense of her interesting backstory and all the cool activities she's been up to - but as you'll be hearing, Musical U is just one part of all the resources she's been drawing on and all the ways she's been stretching herself since returning to flute.

In this conversation we talk about:

• How studying Alexander Technique in Finland let her feel much freer in her playing and opened up her sound

• The specific resources and exercises that have helped Sharilynn start to improvise, and in a way that feels like she is truly expressing herself, rather than just improv-by-numbers following chord tones.

• And the two clever variants on traditional exercises, scales and long notes, which she now gives her flute students to help them improve faster and enjoy practicing more.

Part of the intention with this Pathways series is to share stories of music learners who are perhaps more relatable than the world-leading experts we're so fortunate to have the chance to interview here on the show. But we're not sure Sharilynn quite fits that bill, because as you'll discover, she is one seriously impressive music learner! You will surely find a lot to relate to in her story - and pick up some handy ideas and pointers that you can apply in your own musical journey.

Have you picked up useful ideas or techniques in your own musical journey so far that you think could inspire or help others on their path of exploring their musicality? Get in touch by dropping an email to hello@musicalitynow.com! We are always looking for new guests for Pathways and would love to share your story next.

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Full Show Notes and Transcript: Episode 216

Links and Resources

• The Complete Guide to The Alexander Technique

• Michael Lake - Alto Bone

• Aimee Nolte Music

• Musicality Now - Explaining the Musical Ear, with Aimee Nolte

• Jeffrey Agrell books

• Musicality Now - Making Improv a Game, with Jeffrey Agrell

• David Reed - Improvise For Real

• David Reed - Sing the Numbers

• Musicality Now - How to Improvise For Real, with David Reed

• Brent Vaartstra - Learn Jazz Standards

• Musicality Now - How to Stop Doubting and Start Performing, with Brent Vaartstra

• Learn Jazz Faster - How To: 25 Great Ways To Maximize Your Jazz Improvisation Practice

• Musicality Now - Boosting Musical Brainpower, with Josh Turknett

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215: What Music Practice Really Means, with Jonathan Harnum (The Practice Of Practice) Dec 11, 2019

Show notes

Today we're talking with Dr. Jonathan Harnum, whose PhD research was focused on the topic of music practice. Dr. Harnum studied how a wide variety of musicians think about and execute practice to be able to reach such high levels of ability.

The result of Dr. Harnum's research is a book called The Practice Of Practice, which we strongly recommend checking out. The Practice of Practice is a highly-readable treasure trove of all the latest ideas, understanding, techniques and insights on what makes for effective music practice and how you can learn better and faster.

From a classical upbringing to an exciting 2-year road-trip of discovering improvisation, Jonathan Harnum's own musical journey is fascinating! We were excited to have the chance to speak with him and share some of the ideas from The Practice of Practice to inspire and accelerate your music learning.

If you heard our recent interview with Gregg Goodhart on the topic of practice then you'll find this is a beautiful counterpoint. Although the broad topic is the same, this is a very different conversation - but similarly packed with insights and nuggets that can pay off for your own music practice.

In this conversation you'll hear about:

• A simple way to reframe how you think about difficult things which can immediately transform frustration and helplessness into empowered eagerness.

• The neurological research which proves that watching live music can be a highly valuable form of practice too.

• How "guerilla practice" can help you fit in genuinely effective music practice even amid the busiest of lives.

You're going to really enjoy Dr. Harnum's insights on improvising, creativity, broadening the idea of what music practice can be, and some of the very specific actionable ideas he shares along the way.

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Full Show Notes and Transcript: Episode 215

Links and Resources

• The Practice of Practice

• Practice Like This by Jonathan Harnum PhD (Free PDF)

• Jon Harnum - Author, Teacher, Musician

• Dr. Jonathan Harnum - Books on Music Theory and Trumpet

• Kenny Werner - Effortless Mastery

• The Musician's Ear - Active Listening Course

• Musicality Now - How to Learn Like a Genius, with Gregg Goodhart

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214: Mind Before Fingers, with Marilyn White Lowe (Music Moves For Piano) Dec 04, 2019

Show notes

Today we're joined by one of the leading Gordon-trained music educators and author of Music Moves for Piano, Marilyn White Lowe. Music Moves is an innovative approach to teaching piano, which from the very beginning incorporates all of the "inner skills" we focus on here at Musical U, such as improvising, playing by ear, composing your own music and collaborating with other musicians.

Music Moves uses Dr. Edwin Gordon's Music Learning Theory, which codifies how the human brain learns music, as the basis for designing how musicianship can most effectively be taught. "Music Learning Theory" has previously been featured on Musicality Now, most notably in our interview with Professor Cynthia Crump-Taggart, President of the Gordon Institute for Music Learning. We've discussed several times on past episodes the idea of audiation, which is a word Edwin Gordon originally coined. Audiation has detail and depth that goes far beyond simply "imagining music in your head". Marilyn brings a wonderful new perspective to audiation for us, as educators applying it directly in the context of teaching an instrument.

Drawing on ideas from Orff, Suzuki, Dalcroze, and Kodály, The Music Moves For Piano method incorporates listening, singing, movement, audiation, and notation, on top of the pure piano technique skills - and as you'll hear in this conversation it develops the student into a fully-fledged and well-rounded musician - not just a piano player.

In this conversation we talk about:

• Why clapping, tapping or walking may not be the best ways to internalise the pulse and the rhythmic patterns of music.

• The specific rhythm and pitch frameworks which give students the "vocabulary" they need to improvise and be creative in music.

• Why the age of 9 is a turning point in music learning, and what that means for adult music learners.

A lot of the concepts we talk about here at Musical U are brought to life in this conversation. If you've ever wondered what it would look like to learn an instrument in a way that truly incorporates musicality training, rather than having it be off in its own separate area, this episode will inspire your music learning.

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Full Show Notes and Transcript: Episode 214

Links and Resources

• Music Moves For Piano

• Music Moves Books

• Music Moves Videos

• The Gordon Institute for Music Learning - Music Learning Theory

• Edwin E. Gordon - Learning Sequences in Music

• Edwin E. Gordon - How Children Learn When They Learn Music

• Gerald Eskelin - Lies My Music Teacher Told Me

• Eric Bluestine - The Ways Children Learn Music: An Introduction and Practical Guide to Music Learning Theory

• Music Learning Academy

• Musicality Now - Audiation and Thinking Music, with Cynthia Crump Taggart

• Creative Piano Teachers Podcast - Forrest Kinney on The 4 Arts of Music

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213: How to Learn Like a Genius, with Gregg Goodhart Nov 27, 2019

Show notes

Today's guest, Gregg Goodhart, specializes in taking all the latest research and understanding of how the human brain can most effectively practice, and actually putting it to practical use, in music lessons and classrooms. Through his innovative Practiclass project he's able to prove by on-the-spot demonstration with real students, just how effective these techniques can be for breaking past longstanding plateaus and reaching new heights of instrumental ability.

Gregg's YouTube channel and project is called Learn Like A Genius, and with good reason. When you see the virtuoso instrumentalist, the person who seems like a musical genius, and wonder how they got so good, the chances are that they either consciously or unconsciously have been using some of the learning techniques that Gregg shares today.

We talk about:

• The two disastrous ways that the idea of "talent" sabotages music learners and can hold you back from reaching your true potential.

• Gregg's simple three-word summary of the powerful idea of "deliberate practice", and how it can be the key to fast progress.

• The counter-intuitive but foolproof way to break past plateaus where you just can't seem to play a certain passage correctly at full speed.

You're going to come away from this episode seriously inspired about what could be possible from your music practice in the future - and to make sure you're able to really follow through on that, we've got a couple of fantastic ways for you to dive into using these ideas in a practical way.

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Full Show Notes and Transcript: Episode 213

Links and Resources

• Gregg Goodhart - Learning Coach

• What is a Practiclass? Sax, cello, guitar, The Learn Like A Genius Institute

• Learn Like A Genius - Piano Practiclass (Full), Houston, TX with Gregg Goodhart

• Learning, Competence, and Talent, with Gregg Goodhart

• Making things hard on yourself, but in a good way: Creating desirable difficulties to enhance learning

• Geoff Colvin - Talent Is Overrated

• Effective Practice: Lessons from Neuroscience and Psychology, with Gregg Goodhart

• Practical Ways to Play Better Now, Right Now, C'mon, Go Do It!

• Why an "A" is not enough

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212: From The Notes On the Page To Artistry And Mastery, with Dennis Alexander (Premier Piano Course) Nov 20, 2019

Show notes

Today we have the honour of talking with one of the top authors of piano books over the last nearly 35 years: Dennis Alexander.

With over 400 publications and recordings on Alfred Music, including Alfred's flagship piano method Premier Piano Course, Dennis is one of the world's most prolific and popular composers of educational piano music for students at all levels. In 2015 he was awarded a "Lifetime Achievement Award" by the National Conference on Keyboard Pedagogy in recognition of his extraordinary service to the music teaching profession.

Mr. Alexander provides a rich learning experience for his students by bringing awareness to the importance of musicality. Often dull topics like music theory and reading notation are brought to life with a creativity and a consciousness of musical expression.

In this conversation we talk about:

• How Dennis' background in playing by ear and improvising feeds into how he approaches composing.

• The main difference between children and adult learners and one great way to make learning more enjoyable and improvisation less intimidating if you're an adult learner.

• And the specific aspects which you should have in mind to bring a rendition from a strictly-correct but unmoving one through to a compelling, musical performance.

Enjoy this glimpse into what makes one of the top piano methods much more than just "playing the right notes at the right time". Even if you're not a piano player you don't want to miss all of the deep musical insight in this interview!

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Full Show Notes and Transcript: Episode 212

Links and Resources

• Dennis Alexander Online

• Premier Piano Course

• Keys to Stylistic Mastery

• Keys to Artistic Performance

• Dennis Alexander on Alfred Music

• Dennis Alexander Compositions

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211: Pathways - Nick Cheetham Nov 14, 2019

Show notes

In more than 200 episodes, Musicality Now has brought you interviews with the world's leading experts on musicality as well as teaching segments on crucial topics to your music learning. But while we've been inspired by the accomplishments of educators and musicians who seem to "arrived" musically, something very important has been missing.

What is really going on in the day-to-day musical lives of passionate music learners who are still very much on the Pathways to reaching their musical goals?

Well, today we have the first in a new series of episodes in which we'll be talking with folks just like you, reaching out, inspiring each other, and lending each other a hand in our musical journeys.

Every day inside Musical U we see the power of peer-to-peer learning, and how much we can all gain from being among the right community of music-learners. And so we're going to be inviting the Musicality Now audience as well as our members at Musical U to come on and share their own music-learning journey, and the resources, insights and breakthroughs that have helped them along the way so far.

If you've had a musicality breakthrough - small or large - please get in touch by sending an email to hello@musicalitynow.com - we want to hear your story!

Today we're joined by Nick Cheetham, a podcast listener who got in touch after our recent "Intimidating - or Inspiring? You Choose" episode to share some of his thoughts on the topic, and he had such interesting things to say we decided to invite him on the show to share his journey so far.

In this conversation you're going to hear about:

• What caused Nick to pick up the violin for the first time at age 40 despite worrying he might be "tone deaf"

• How Nick's been able to achieve several significant goals over the last 18 months and how that relates to the choice of "intimdating vs. inspiring"

• And how after 10 years of learning Nick made some adjustments and was quickly able to get off the page and into playing by ear, improvising, and playing in groups.

We hope you'll enjoy this new kind of episode - let us know what you think, and maybe we can share your story next.

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Full Show Notes and Transcript: Episode 211

Links and Resources

• Musicality Now - Intimidating – or Inspiring? You Choose

• Musicality Now - Explaining the Musical Ear, with Aimee Nolte

• Musicality Now - How to Improvise For Real, with David Reed

• Musicality Now - How to Stop Doubting and Start Performing, with Brent Vaartstra

• Coursera - Fundamentals of Music Theory from The University of Ediinburgh

• Carol Dweck - Mindset: The New Psychology of Success

• Improvise For Real

• Creative Strings Academy

• The Mind Over Finger Podcast

• The Jazz Violin Podcast

• River Of Suck

• Learn Jazz Standards

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210: The Keys to Performance Success, with Dr. Don Greene (Winning On Stage) Nov 06, 2019

Show notes

Today we have the pleasure of talking with Dr. Don Greene, one of the world's leading experts and practitioners of performance psychology. In his 30-year career Dr. Greene has coached more than 1,000 performers, including top-tier symphony musicians and Olympic gold medalists.

Dr. Greene has written eight books, two of which we discuss in this conversation, Performance Success and College Prep for Musicians. He also publishes articles covering all aspects of peak performance psychology for music, sports and all performing disciplines on his website, Winning on Stage.

You may be familiar with some of the ideas in this interview, such as visualisation and positive self-talk. However, If you're like most music learners, you've probably come across these ideas in vague blog posts or conversation. You're going to find it hugely valuable to hear from a performance psychologist who's worked with world-class performers across several disciplines for many years.

We talk about:

• Why trying to feel relaxed is not actually the route to reliable performance under pressure

• The five areas you can assess yourself on, to know how best to improve your own performance abilities.

• The importance of a so-called "pre-shot routine" that can help you perform at your best even when your heart is pounding

This conversation is going to equip you with some valuable new insights and strategies to apply in your musical life and open your eyes to what might be possible for you!

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Full Show Notes and Transcript: Episode 210

Links and Resources

• Winning On Stage

• Winning On Stage Articles

• Dr. Don Greene's Books

• Performance Mastery Assessment

• Centering Training

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209: Side By Side In Music, with Caroline Whiddon (Me2_Orchestra) Oct 30, 2019

Show notes

Today we're talking with Caroline Whiddon, the co-founder of Me2/Orchestra, the world's only classical music organisation created for those with mental illnesses and the people who support them.

The mission of Me2/Orchestra is to erase the stigma surrounding mental illness, including addiction, through supportive classical music ensembles and inspiring performances.

As a society we are only just beginning to figure out how to talk sensibly and openly about mental illness. In this interview we wanted to be respectful and tactful while also addressing head-on some of the stigma that Me2/Orchestra is trying to mitigate, such as the assumptions people have about how an orchestra of people with mental illness can actually function.

We talk about:

• Caroline's own story of music and mental health and how it led to her meeting the co-founder of Me2/, Ronald Braunstein.

• How after studying with the likes of Karajan and Bernstein, Ronald was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and encountered the stigma and discrimination which ultimately inspired the Me2/ project.

• And the specific ways Me2/ benefits its players and enlightens audiences - not in any kind of preachy way but simply by virtue of its existence and musical excellence.

One thing to clarify before we dive in - you might associate the phrase "Me Too" with the recent #MeToo movement about sexual assault but Me2/Orchestra was founded in 2011 and there's no connection between the two. The name came from Ronald's experience sharing his mental health diagnosis with other musicians and being surprised to hear them say "me too".

Mental health is something we should talk more openly and honestly about. We are glad to have the opportunity to showcase this wonderful project. Whether this topic is of interest to you or not, there is a ton of insight packed into this conversation and we can all learn a lot from how Me2/ approaches running an orchestra.

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Full Show Notes and Transcript: Episode 209

Links and Resources

• Me2/Orchestra Online

• Orchestrating Change - Documentary Film about Me2/Orchestra

• NY Times Article - Fighting the Stigma of Mental Illness Through Music

• Al Jazeera news report on Me2/Orchestra

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208: Making Music Books More Musical, with Joseph Alexander Oct 23, 2019

Show notes

Today we're speaking with Joseph Alexander, the man behind Fundamental Changes, the leading publisher of guitar books on Amazon with over 100 titles in their catalogue and over 150,000 copies sold last year.

Joseph's own backstory is a really interesting one and reveals some great insights about learning effectively in the modern era, whether self-taught or with a teacher. Fundamental Changes has been leveraging the dramatically changing landscape in the world of book publishing to provide exciting new opportunities for students - and potential authors!

In this conversation we talk about:

• The three factors that helped Joseph go from struggling in learning music to really enjoying and improving consistently.

• The specific advantages a modern indie publisher has over traditional book publishers and how that helps authors and students alike.

• What their publishing process looks like when they work with a musician or music educator who has something interesting to say - and how different that is from the status quo in the publishing industry.

If you've ever wondered how a music book comes to be, or whether learning from a print book or ebook can really match up against in-person lessons or YouTube videos - you won't want to miss this one.

Fundamental Changes are currently seeking new authors - if you're a musician or music educator with something interesting to share, be sure to get in touch via the contact form on the Fundamental Changes website!

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Full Show Notes and Transcript: Episode 208

Links and Resources

• Musicality Now - Welcome to the Musicality Podcast!

• Fundamental Changes

• Musicality Now - From Mechanics to Organics, with Bradley Sowash

• Musicality Now - Nature, Nurture, and your Duvet of Music, with Robert Emery

• Musicality Now - A Simple Tip for Indecision and Analysis-Paralysis

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