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.