Musicality Now - TopPodcast.com

View Top 200 Chart

Back to Rankings Page

Musicality Now — Music
Musicality Now

Ever wondered why some people seem to have a gift for music? Have you wished that you could play by ear, sing in tune, improvise and jam? You are in the right place.

Musicality Now is a mix of interviews and teaching, featuring some of the most inspiring and insightful musicians and music educators, talking about how to learn the core inner skills you need to feel like a “natural” in music and enjoy freedom, creativity and confidence.

Topics include: Playing by ear, Singing in tune, Jamming with other musicians, Having a good sense of rhythm, Writing your own music, Writing notation, Improvising a solo, Talking intelligently about music, Understanding Music Theory, Clapping in time, Knowing your instrument inside and out, Tuning your instrument by ear, Reading notation, Sight-reading music, Playing from a lead sheet, Performing live, and Playing multiple instruments.

Musicality Now is brought to you by Musical U (musical-u.com), the leading provider of musicality training online. Learn more and get shownotes at musicalitynow.com.

Copyright: © Copyright 2017 Musical U (Easy Ear Training Ltd.)

Latest Episodes:

027: About Finding Chords in Scales Nov 30, 2017

Show notes

Though you may think of scales and chords as two separate entities, they are very closely intertwined! In fact, chords are very easy to construct if you already have a scale in mind. In this episode of The Musicality Podcast, we discuss how to go from scales to chords with one simple trick, and the practical applications of this skill in playing by ear, songwriting, and improvisation.

Subscribe For Future Episodes!

Apple Podcasts | Android | Stitcher | RSS | YouTube

Full Show Notes and Transcript: Episode 027

Links and Resources

• The Musicality Podcast: Scott Sharp interview episode

• Fretboard Toolbox

• The Musicality Podcast: Sara Campbell interview episode

• Solfa episode of The Musicality Podcast

• Christopher Sutton's interview on TimTopham.com

• FreeJazzLessons.com

Enjoying the show? Please consider rating and reviewing it!

Click here to rate and review

026: A Toolbox of Musical Understanding, with Scott Sharp (Fretboard Toolbox) Nov 28, 2017

Show notes

Today we're talking with Scott Sharp, the creator of Fretboard Toolbox - an innovative way to explain the notes and chords in each key for guitar, bass, piano, banjo and more.

Interestingly, Scott started learning music later than you might expect and really didn't consider himself all that musical. But an impactful experience in his day job as a high school biology teacher unlocked music theory in a way that let him start improvising, playing by ear, and being creative and confident in music.

He built on that insight to create his "fretboard toolboxes" for a range of instruments, and provides them online at fretboard-toolbox.com. He's also just released a very cool "Theory By Hand" eBook that makes it easy for you to figure out the scales and chords in any key.

In this conversation we talk about:

• The big theory insight that let him start playing by ear and improvising and led him to create a whole new way to show how music theory works

• Why learning to play a whole bunch of instruments isn't nearly as hard as you might imagine

• And the advice Scott would have for anyone who fears they're "unmusical"

Scott's Fretboard Toolboxes are an amazing resource for any musician looking to explore the more creative side of music-making and give themselves a shortcut to sounding good and understanding what they're doing with the notes they choose to play.

Please enjoy this conversation and come away inspired to explore this approach to theory yourself!

Subscribe For Future Episodes!

Apple Podcasts | Android | Stitcher | RSS | YouTube

Full Show Notes and Transcript: Episode 026

Links and Resources

• Fretboard Toolbox

• Free jam tracks

• Theory By Hand ebook

• Online Lessons with Scott

• The Circle of Fifths, an invaluable tool for understanding chords, scales, and more

Enjoying the show? Please consider rating and reviewing it!

Click here to rate and review

025: About Mindfulness for Musicians Nov 23, 2017

Show notes

Mindfulness isn't just for buddhist monks; for musicians, mindset is just as important as your chops. Stewing on your mistakes and thinking pessimistically about your progress aren't just bad for your brain - they can have a real hindrance on your actual progress. In this episode, we discuss how mindfulness can help you ignore that negative little voice and focus on your playing.

Subscribe For Future Episodes!

Apple Podcasts | Android | Stitcher | RSS | YouTube

Full Show Notes and Transcript: Episode 025

Links and Resources

• Interview with Lisa McCormick

• Meditation for Beginners, by Jack Cornfield

• The Power of Now, by Eckhart Tolle

• The Untethered Soul, by Michael A. Singer

• Calm.com - to aid your meditation and relaxation

• The Headspace app, with guided meditations to get you started

Enjoying the show? Please consider rating and reviewing it!

Click here to rate and review

024: Note2Self: "I Love This!", with Lisa McCormick Nov 21, 2017

Show notes

Have you ever felt frustrated because you keep getting something wrong in the music you're learning? Or worried that there is just too much to learn and you're coming to music too late to ever master it all?

Today we have the pleasure of interviewing Lisa McCormick, a successful singer-songwriter and the creator of the "Note2Self" methodology of music learning, which can help with exactly those kinds of mindset barriers, especially among adult musicians.

After several years as a successful artist, Lisa turned her attention to teaching and now specialises in helping adult beginners get going with guitar and ukulele. We first met Lisa several years ago after discovering an excellent course she created to help guitarists start playing chords by ear. As well as in person classes 1-on-1 and in groups around Brattleboro, Vermont, she provides courses through her website LisaMcCormick.com and is a senior faculty member at GuitarTricks.com.

What we love about Lisa's approach is that she really focuses on the joy of making music from day one and strips away the complexity that can often make learning music frustrating for adults.

In this conversation we talk about:

• The emotional baggage that can make it difficult for adults to begin learning a new instrument and how to get around that

• How she helps complete beginners play a song on ukulele in less than ten minutes - and play several songs by the end of the day

• How the Note2Self methodology can equip musicians - particularly those who are self-taught or trying to make use of internet resources to learn - to get away from the negative self-talk and confusion that can hold them back, and instead learn faster by having effective and healthy mental habits

Lisa also shares the simple 3-word mantra from Note2Self that you can start using immediately - and honestly this alone could be transformative for how much you enjoy your musical journey...

Subscribe For Future Episodes!

Apple Podcasts | Android | Stitcher | RSS | YouTube

Full Show Notes and Transcript: Episode 024

Links and Resources

• LisaMcCormick.com

• The Sexy Secret of "One, Four, Five"

• Getting Started with Guitar

• Lisa's Guitar Lessons, on GuitarTricks.com

Enjoying the show? Please consider rating and reviewing it!

Click here to rate and review

023: About the 10,000 Hour Rule Nov 16, 2017

Show notes

"It takes 10,000 hours of practice to become an expert," states the 10,000 Hour Rule. Undoubtedly, working passionately and diligently towards your musical goals is a great formula for success, but what if musicians could get the results they want before hitting this numerical milestone? We discuss the truths and myths surrounding the 10,000 Hour Rule, and how to best allocate those hours to become a master musician.

Subscribe For Future Episodes!

Apple Podcasts | Android | Stitcher | RSS | YouTube

Full Show Notes and Transcript: Episode 023

Links and Resources

Interview with Ged Brockie
Outliers: The Story of Success, by Malcolm Gladwell
How Musicians Should Spend Their 10,000 Hours
How to Get More out of Every Practice Session

Enjoying the show? Please consider rating and reviewing it!

Click here to rate and review

022: Beyond the "Quick Fix", with Ged Brockie (The Guitar and Music Institute) Nov 14, 2017

Show notes

Today on The Musicality Podcast, we're joined by Ged Brockie, founder of the Guitar and Music Institute, a website which provides original and curated content to help guitarists develop their skills - and, as you'll learn in this conversation, also provides insights and education useful to any musician.

Playing multiple instruments can both broaden and deepen your understanding of music, and is one of the best things you can do for your musicality. In that spirit, even if you're not a guitarist yourself you'll want to stay tuned, as Ged's story and perspective on learning music is still going to be very interesting and relevant for you.

Ged has been a professional musician for over thirty years, performing across the UK. He's helped develop courses for higher education, launched a summer school and a music festival, and composed original music for television, theatre, and film.

Somehow, amongst all of that he's also found the time to:

Publish the "Fastline" series of guitar tutor books teaching jazz, blues, rock and more
Write a book with accompanying tutorial videos called Drop Two Voicings Uncovered
Create a huge website at GuitarAndMusicInstitute.com
Launch the GMI podcast earlier this year

Ged is a great storyteller, and in this conversation we talked a bit about his early beginnings in music, what it was like growing up as a musician in Scotland in the 80s, how things have changed in terms of learning music and performing, and his perspective on what's good and bad about the current status quo in music education.

He shared his opinion on whether there's such a thing as musical "talent" (and if so, how important it is), the most important thing you can do while studying music to turn you into a real musician, how learning music is like learning a language, and the connection between theory, technique and musicality.

We also talk about a man smashing a bus stop.

We hope you enjoy this wide-ranging and illuminating conversation with Ged!

Subscribe For Future Episodes!

Apple Podcasts | Android | Stitcher | RSS | YouTube

Full Show Notes and Transcript: Episode 022

Links and Resources

GMI: Guitar and Music Institute
The GMI Podcast
GMI Podcast Episode: Interview with Christopher Sutton, CEO of Musical U
Drop Two Voicings Uncovered - The Must-Have Book for Guitarists
Fastlines Blues Guitar Method and Jazz Guitar Method

Enjoying the show? Please consider rating and reviewing it!

Click here to rate and review

021: About Chord Tones Nov 09, 2017

Show notes

Learning and understanding chord tones will help you create memorable melodies with tension and release and solo over existing progressions. This in turn will help you play by ear, improvise, and write songs - enabling you to choose the notes that sound the best, rather than using trial-and-error to form your chords and melodies.

Subscribe For Future Episodes!

Apple Podcasts | Android | Stitcher | RSS | YouTube

Full Show Notes and Transcript: Episode 021

Links and Resources

• Interview with Meghan Nixon

• Playing by Ear with Brad Mavin - Chord Tones

• Chord Ear Training How-To: Chord Types

• Practice I-IV-V Progressions

Enjoying the show? Please consider rating and reviewing it!

Click here to rate and review

020: How to Sing Smarter, with Meghan Nixon Nov 07, 2017

Show notes

Today we're joined by Meghan Nixon, of HowToSingSmarter.com. You may be confused by the title: singers want to sing louder, higher, stronger, more confidently - but "smarter"?

As you're going to discover in this conversation, singing smarter is perhaps the most important thing you can do to improve your experience and results as a singer.

During the course of her career in music, Meghan has helped hundreds of people become better singers and musicians. She works with voice and piano students of all ages, levels and genres in her busy private studio in Arvada, Colorado. She is a classically-trained vocalist with a degree in Jazz Performance from Michigan State University and has performed in Jazz, Rock, Funk, R&B, Bluegrass and Folk bands. She's been teaching voice for 15 years and focuses on healthy singing technique, ear training and musicianship.

In this episode Meghan shares with us:

• The framework she puts in place with all her students that helps them approach new songs, sing the right notes, and even sight-sing music they've never seen before.

• The truth about "tone deafness" and how she helps first-time singers to quickly get the hang of singing in tune, and

• How she went from being too scared to even try improvising as a singer, to knowing clearly and confidently how to assemble the right notes at the right time.

We loved chatting with Meghan about what it means to "sing smarter" and how it can help all those of us who aren't necessarily "natural singers" to feel just as confident and capable as those who are.

Subscribe For Future Episodes!

Apple Podcasts | Android | Stitcher | RSS | YouTube

Full Show Notes and Transcript: Episode 020

Links and Resources

• HowToSingSmarter.com

• The Tone Deaf Test

• Beginner Solfa Sight-Singing Practice Exercises

Enjoying the show? Please consider rating and reviewing it!

Click here to rate and review

019: About Recovering from Mistakes Nov 02, 2017

Show notes

Though you may be tempted to panic or freeze up after playing a bad note during your performance, your mistake is not the end of the world - far from it!

Learn four tips and tricks that will get you through those moments, with your audience being none the wiser.

Subscribe For Future Episodes!

Apple Podcasts | Android | Stitcher | RSS | YouTube

Full Show Notes and Transcript: Episode 019

Links and Resources

• Interview with Melody Payne

• Get Confident module preview

• Making Music with Ease, with Gerald Klickstein

Enjoying the show? Please consider rating and reviewing it!

Click here to rate and review

018: Getting "Off Book", with Melody Payne Oct 31, 2017

Show notes

On this episode, we are joined by Melody Payne, a.k.a. "The Plucky Pianista". Melody has been writing online since 2012, sharing innovative and forward-thinking ideas for teaching music more effectively.

In this conversation, we talk a lot about getting "off book" - meaning being able to play even without the note-by-note sheet music in front of you.

Melody shares an impactful early experience with a performance that went wrong and how she eventually learned to handle musical mistakes with grace.

She found a great way to get started playing by ear and improvising with a friend, and that led on to wanting to equip her students with the tools needed to feel that freedom.

Melody teaches two particular skills and uses a special app to help her young students quickly start playing the songs they love in their own way without needing to learn them note-by-note.

One thing a lot of musicians struggle with is how to make their performances actually sound good - not just hitting the right notes at the right time, but actually moving the listener. Melody shares insights on her "Three Rules for a Magical, Musical, Moving, Performance".

If you've ever felt limited to playing just the notes that are put in front of you, you're going to love this episode. Melody shares so openly and has real insights on getting "off book".

Subscribe For Future Episodes!

Apple Podcasts | Android | Stitcher | RSS | YouTube

Full Show Notes and Transcript: Episode 018

Links and Resources

• MelodyPayne.com

• iReal Pro app

• 3 Rules for a Magical, Musical, Moving Performance

• Accompanying 101: 10 Tips for Beginning Accompanists

Enjoying the show? Please consider rating and reviewing it!

Click here to rate and review

Related Podcasts