Musicality Now

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...

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 Journa l. The Progress Journal , or PJ , is a...

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 hig...

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 Mov...

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 lon...

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 "...

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...

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...

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 j...

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 h...

For this episode of Musicality Now, we turned the tables on our usual format. Adam Liette, Musical U Operations Manager is taking over for our normal host, Christopher Sutton – and Christopher is our guest!   Adam sat down with Christopher and asked him two important questions:   1. One that many musicians think they know the answer to: "What is ear training?" 2. And one that is a sticking point f...

Today we are welcoming back Dave Isaacs, "The Nashville Guitar Guru"! We interviewed Dave on episode 60 of the show, where we talked about his own musical journey from aspiring classical guitarist to learning improv, switching to playing popular styles including country rock, teaching. He shared his major lessons learned as a musician and music teacher, which he shares at Nashville Guitar Guru .  ...

Today we're talking with Nick Bottini , a career and performance coach who has worked with high performers from around the world including child prodigies, competition winners, rock stars, entrepreneurs, international sportspeople and elite music college students. Nick is the author of Just Play: The Simple Truth Behind Musical Excellence , a best-selling book which challenges the current thinking...

Today we have the pleasure of speaking with Robert Emery, a concert-pianist turned conductor and Musical Director. He's worked at venues from London's Royal Albert Hall to the Sydney Opera House and with some of the top names in the world of music such as the UK's best-selling classical artist Russell Watson and Stewart Copeland, drummer from The Police. He's also the host of Backstage with Robert...

We're joined by Hulda, Grace and Sophia, The Quebe Sisters , a progressive western swing band that have been blowing people away and winning fiddle contests from an early age - and have been growing a large and devoted fanbase ever since. They have been featured in Musical U tutorials on harmonic ear training because of their unique style of three-voice fiddle playing as well as vocal harmony.   I...

Today on the show we have the pleasure of interviewing one of our favourite people in the world of music education, Jeffrey Agrell. He has pioneered a game-based approach to learning improvisation and written 9 books on the topic, including "Improvisation Games for Classical Musicians" which by itself features over 500 games you can use to learn to improvise in an easy and enjoyable way.   Jeffrey...

Have you heard of the Circle Of Fifths? If you're like most musicians you have heard of it, you've probably read about it, you maybe understand it, you haven't yet memorised it and you only know one thing it's useful for. The result: you're not actually using it anywhere in your musical life.    The Circle Of Fifths is simply the 12 notes of Western music arranged in a certain order around a circl...

What does "Musicality" mean? Naturally we have our own ideas here at Musical U but a recent survey revealed that maybe we've actually missed the mark a bit…   In this episode we share exactly what "musicality" means to our Musical U members - and what it could mean for you.     Subscribe For Future Episodes! Apple Podcasts | Android | Stitcher | RSS | YouTube   Full Show Notes and Transcript: Epis...

When we think of music learning, we often think of the really hard work that goes into learning any instrument. Or that our goals are a long way off and will take years of dedication just to get there - But, what if we took the approach that the simple process of learning music is fun and filled with enjoyment?   In this special rewind episode of Musicality Now the Musical U team discusses Ease an...

Today We're speaking with Matthew Ellul, the man behind School Of Composition , an online resource for anyone who wants to learn to compose music, offering free tutorials as well as eBooks and personal tutoring for aspiring composers.   Composing and song writing are often the end goals which inspire people to join our membership here at Musical U and so we're very conscious of the things which te...

When you see an incredible musician - are you inspired? Or are you intimidated?   Believe it or not, this reaction is not something that happens to you - it's something entirely within your control, and flipping from one to the other can have a massive positive effect on your musical life.   Subscribe For Future Episodes! Apple Podcasts | Android | Stitcher | RSS | YouTube   Full Show Notes and Tr...

Have you been losing your enthusiasm for learning music? Or perhaps you're loving it - but don't seem to be making much progress.   Believe it or not, both of these can stem from the same root problem. And it turns out the famous painter Leonardo da Vinci has the solution for you...   Subscribe For Future Episodes! Apple Podcasts | Android | Stitcher | RSS | YouTube   Full Show Notes and Transcrip...

Today's interview is among the most fascinating we've had on the show to date. We're joined by Dr. Josh Turknett, the neurologist, best-selling author and musician behind "Brainjo" - a music-learning methodology which originated on banjo but applies across all instruments, and which is designed to leverage modern scientific insights on how the brain actually learns.   At the Brainjo Center for Neu...

Have you ever struggled to make a decision in your musical life?   You don't want to miss this tip from a kid named James - it might just save you from indecision and "analysis paralysis" forever more…     Subscribe For Future Episodes! Apple Podcasts | Android | Stitcher | RSS | YouTube   Full Show Notes and Transcript: Episode 194   Links and Resources • Summer Of Transformation Promotion     En...

We are very excited to have Susanne Olbrich on the show! Trained by Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh, Susanne is a specialist in mindfulness for musicians. She is a musician herself and committed to exploring the benefits of mindfulness for musicians.   In this conversation we talk about Susanne's own story and about mindfulness for musicians. But we go deeper than just the surface level you might be ex...