252: Q&A - If it ain't broke, why fix it?

Do you know what your "North Star" is in music?   If you've ever suffered from "shiny object syndrome", chasing squirrels and going down YouTube rabbitholes, or you've found your musical motivation going up and down like a rollercoaster week by week...   Then let me share one solution, proven by thousands upon thousands of musicians to fix all those problems and more - in as little as five minutes.   Subscribe For Future Episodes! Apple Podcasts | Android | Stitcher | RSS | YouTube   Full Show Notes and Transcript: Episode 267   Links and Resources • Musicality Now: How To Be A Beatle • Your Musical Core training • Musicality Now: Hey! Where Are You Going? • Molly Gebrian   Enjoying the show? Please consider rating and reviewing it! Click here to rate and review

Ever seen what other musicians are up to... and felt intimidated? Like YOU could never do that.   And if we're talking about songwriting, composing or other creative musical activities - well, forget about it!   In this clip from Tero Potila's masterclass at Musical U he reveals how to shift out of the "comparison trap" and recognise the musical contribution which you alone can make.     Subscribe For Future Episodes! Apple Podcasts | Android | Stitcher | RSS | YouTube   Full Show Notes and Transcript: Episode 266   Links and Resources • Musicality Now: Craft, Creativity and Career (interview with Tero Potila) • TeroPotila.com     Enjoying the show? Please consider rating and reviewing it! Click here to rate and review

Tero Potila is a successful songwriter and composer with a string of hits to his name. He recently joined us at Musical U as a Guest Expert, teaching on creativity and collaboration.   In this mini-interview, you'll hear exactly how he went from thinking songwriting took a magical "talent" to discovering that he too was capable of writing great music.   Subscribe For Future Episodes! Apple Podcasts | Android | Stitcher | RSS | YouTube   Full Show Notes and Transcript: Episode 265   Links and Resources • TeroPotila.com     Enjoying the show? Please consider rating and reviewing it! Click here to rate and review

Christopher looks back on "Beatles Month", when we went deep into the musicality of the Fab Four themselves, uncovering the truth behind their phenomenal career and apparently supernatural "talent".   Subscribe For Future Episodes! Apple Podcasts | Android | Stitcher | RSS | YouTube   Full Show Notes and Transcript: Episode 264   Links and Resources • ToneDeafTest.com • SingTrue app • Beatles Month Index • Welcome to Beatles Month • How the Beatles Came to Be, with Scott Freiman • Writing Songs the Beatles Way, with Matt Blick • The Message in the Music of the Beatles, with Scott Kuehn • The Simplicity and Sophistication of the Beatles, with Aaron Krerowicz • The Story of the “Fifth Beatle”, with Kenneth Womack • How To Be The Beatles, with Hard Day’s Night • The Musicality of the Beatles     Enjoying the show? Please consider rating and reviewing it! Click here to rate and review

Join Christopher and the Next Level coaching team to discover the latest tips, tricks and techniques you can use to advance in your own musical life.   This time we have:   - Zac sharing the "breakthrough that leads to ALL the breakthroughs"   - Camilo with a nifty AI tool you can use to help with active listening, playing by ear and improvisation   - Andy reveals a surprising way to improve your finger speed on your instrument   - Andrew discusses how our musicality and creativity can easily outstrip our notation skills - and what to do about that   Tip: find just ONE idea from everything that's shared, and take it to your next music practice session or apply it in YOUR musical life.     Subscribe For Future Episodes! Apple Podcasts | Android | Stitcher | RSS | YouTube   Full Show Notes and Transcript: Episode 263   Links and Resources • Dave Smith "Roots in Rhythm" Workshop (use coupon code MUSICAL-U for an exclusive discount!) • Learn more about Next Level Coaching • Moises AI app   Enjoying the show? Please consider rating and reviewing it! Click here to rate and review

Since 2015 one man has been the heart of the Musical U community, our very own @GtrStu777! In this interview you'll meet our "Community Conductor" Stewart Hilton, who does so much to keep our unique community thriving, and find out a bit about his own fascinating musical journey.   Subscribe For Future Episodes! Apple Podcasts | Android | Stitcher | RSS | YouTube   Full Show Notes and Transcript: Episode 262   Links and Resources • Stewart's articles "Summer of Music: On the Road", Part 1 and Part 2 • A sampling of Stewart's music over the years:   - One song from the 9-song tape by Hemlock, power metal band in the late 1980s.   - A song from the first tape from Stewart's Christian band Weeping Prophet   - Full-length CD from The Void   - Album by Vine Connection   - A release from last year which Stewart played all the electric guitar parts on • About Singing as a Tool and How to Learn to Sing in Tune       Enjoying the show? Please consider rating and reviewing it! Click here to rate and review

In this sneak-peek behind the scenes of our forthcoming Musicality book, Christopher shares a framework you can use to start playing more expressively.   Subscribe For Future Episodes! Apple Podcasts | Android | Stitcher | RSS | YouTube   Full Show Notes and Transcript: Episode 261   Links and Resources • MusicalityBook.com: Register your interest now!     Enjoying the show? Please consider rating and reviewing it! Click here to rate and review

What do a zombie cowbell, a matte-black drumhead, and a pink sparkly snare drum have in common?   Believe it or not, they can all make you more musical... Here's how!     Subscribe For Future Episodes! Apple Podcasts | Android | Stitcher | RSS | YouTube   Full Show Notes and Transcript: Episode 260   Links and Resources • Musicality Now: Rhythmic Reconnection (interview with Dave Smith)   Enjoying the show? Please consider rating and reviewing it! Click here to rate and review

Drummer Dave Smith teaches a powerful stepping-based method for improving your connection to the pulse, your sense of rhythm and your ability to both perform and be creative with different rhythmic patterns.   In this first part of his recent Musical U masterclass, Dave introduces the foundation of his method, with an exercise you can start using right away to improve your own rhythmic chops.   Subscribe For Future Episodes! Apple Podcasts | Android | Stitcher | RSS | YouTube   Full Show Notes and Transcript: Episode 259   Links and Resources • Dave Smith Drums • Dave's Free Facebook Group: "Musicians Improving Their Rhythm Mastery" • Roots in Rhythm Workshop (use coupon code MUSICAL-U for an exclusive discount!)       Enjoying the show? Please consider rating and reviewing it! Click here to rate and review

Ever felt like your rhythm skills aren't quite what they should be - but you really didn't know what you could do about that?   We've found that typically, the rhythm side of things is massively overlooked by music learners. The basics come easily, and then we kind of forget about actually improving our sense of rhythm.   So even though it's a huge part of the difference between an "okay" performance and a really great performance, often we aren't actually working on our rhythm skills the way we could or should be.   Today we have a mini-interview with our recent Guest Expert, drummer extraordinaire Dave Smith, whose approach to developing your sense of rhythm and your connection to the pulse of music is really special - and really powerful.    Subscribe For Future Episodes! Apple Podcasts | Android | Stitcher | RSS | YouTube   Full Show Notes and Transcript: Episode 258   Links and Resources • Dave Smith Drums • Dave's Free Facebook Group: "Musicians Improving Their Rhythm Mastery" • Roots in Rhythm Workshop (use coupon code MUSICAL-U for an exclusive discount!)     Enjoying the show? Please consider rating and reviewing it! Click here to rate and review