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.