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 developed without them. This episode will talk about the unique qualities of musicianship that only singing can offer, some basics of good singing, as well as a plan for how you can guide yourself to improve your vocal skills. This is the 2nd of a 2-part series. Last week's episode talked about the basic piano skills that every musician should learn. Pair that with vocal skills, and you cover more about music than any other 2 instruments can possibly do.

If you enjoyed this, please give it a rating and review on the podcast app of your choice. You can find all episodes of this 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

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 about why it's considered essential by most conservatories, what types of skills you should know, and how you can guide your self-education.

This episode may best be appreciated as a video on YouTube where every technique that is mentioned is also shown.

If you enjoyed this, please give it a rating and review on the podcast app of your choice. You can find all episodes of this 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

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, such as practicing well and networking, but nearly everything else is different from when I began my journey nearly 30 years ago. My definition of a successful career is modest: I've been able to pay all of my bills and have enough money left over for moderate enjoyment without doing even a single job that didn't involve my music studies over the past 26 years. There's so much different now, and this requires new tactics to succeed.

Musicianship Mastery is formerly known as The Musician Toolkit.

If you enjoyed this, please give it a rating and review on the podcast app of your choice. You can find all episodes of this 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

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 plenty of exceptions - pieces I could ignore for over a year and sit down to play from memory like I'd practiced it yesterday. In this episode, I talk about what the pieces that stick all have in common versus the ones that just disappear, and what you can do to make sure you never again lose any music you've spent time learning that you want to keep.

Musicianship Mastery is formerly known as The Musician Toolkit.

If you enjoyed this, please give it a rating and review on the podcast app of your choice. You can find all episodes of this 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 music teachers with smooth, automated assistance such as securing timely automatic payments and scheduling. Click here for more information or to begin your free trial.

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 hundreds of musicians for at least 35 years, and these are my thoughts on how to do it well.

Musicianship Mastery is formerly known as The Musician Toolkit.

If you enjoyed this, please give it a rating and review on the podcast app of your choice. You can find all episodes of this 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 music teachers with smooth, automated assistance such as securing timely automatic payments and scheduling. Click here for more information or to begin your free trial.

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. This episode will introduce you to the basics of preparing for a rehearsal, how to lead the rehearsal, how to lead a performance, and the basics of baton technique and other hand instructions.

Musicianship Mastery is formerly known as The Musician Toolkit.

If you enjoyed this, please give it a rating and review on the podcast app of your choice. You can find all episodes of this 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 music teachers with smooth, automated assistance such as securing timely automatic payments and scheduling. Click here for more information or to begin your free trial.

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 responds to learning music and how we can approach practice to maximize what the brain does best. In this episode, we talk about how to get truly ready for performance and how to make sure your memory of all your repertoire is reliable.

Musicianship Mastery is formerly known as The Musician Toolkit.

If you enjoyed this, please give it a rating and review on the podcast app of your choice. You can find all episodes of this 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 music teachers with smooth, automated assistance such as securing timely automatic payments and scheduling. Click here for more information or to begin your free trial.

This is the 2nd of 3 episodes where I share my notes on one of the best books I've read recently: Molly Gebrian's "Learn Faster, Perform Better", a book about how the brain scientifically responds to learning music and how we can approach practice to maximize what the brain does best. In this second episode, we talk about how you can improve your sense of internal rhythm and techniques you can use to get your music up to tempo.

Musicianship Mastery is formerly known as The Musician Toolkit.

If you enjoyed this, please give it a rating and review on the podcast app of your choice. You can find all episodes of this 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 music teachers with smooth, automated assistance such as securing timely automatic payments and scheduling. Click here for more information or to begin your free trial.