Collected Advice on Music

Collected and paraphrased from musicians and educators such as Julian Lage, Wayne Shorter, Chris Eldridge, Chris Thile, Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, Jacob Collier, Hal Galper, Bill Evans, Miles Davis, Thelonius Monk, Keith Jarrett, John Coltrane, Kenny Werner, and many more.

On Mastery

I’ll lead with the most important kind of advice I’ve received on music, via jazz pianist, educator, and author Kenny Werner. His two books, Effortless Mastery and Becoming the Instrument, have massively helped thousands of musicians, including myself. Some ideas from Jacob Collier round out this section:

Kenny Werner

  • “Many musicians are held back by the need to sound good.”

  • “Needing anyone’s approval or permission to play or create music is a surefire way to grow miserable. Focus instead on your own enjoyment and edification and people will be drawn to that.”

  • “As musicians, we have the potential of doing great things. Everyone can remember at least one great concert they’ve been to. The performance was so inspired that it stayed with the audience well after they went home. Perhaps the fragrance of it was still there the next day. The feeling it created caused those present to behave differently for a while, possibly with more grace, with more mindfulness of the soul. Spiraling to deeper levels of consciousness, the performer takes us beneath the layers of illusion.”

  • “There is no easy or difficult; only familiar and unfamiliar.”

  • “Music can shoot through the musician like lightening through the sky if that music is unobstructed by thoughts.”

  • “Never judge your self-worth by something as trivial as how you play music.”

  • “Seeking new levels of technical mastery should be a life long pursuit - not because you want to impress, but to facilitate any direction the great spirit inside you wants to go.”

  • “A master is someone who loves their own sound.”

    Jacob Collier

  • “I think that the journey of self to truth is always kind of a gnarly one.”

  • “Even if nobody was listening to it, I'd still be making music.”

  • "I don't believe life is particurlarly serious. It's very important, but it's not serious."

  • “The Emotional Intelligence of Music”: Profound Jacob Collier Interview.

    Random but pertinent:

On Playing

  • Music is for everyone of every skill level, both performer and listener. There is no right or wrong in music, just expectations being or not being fulfilled.

  • “I'm a firm believer that embracing the imperfections of making music is so much of what makes something groove. Getting rid of these imperfections runs the risk of removing a lot of the magic that makes this music really special, and diminishes music's ability to connect with us as human beings. We are all imperfect, after all.” -Jacob Collier

  • When you feel like playing (instead of practicing), play. Playing (especially without thought) is always a good way to spend time, but there is no room for judgement or thought.

  • The most compelling version of yourself to be at any moment is your most authentic one.

  • Not identifying with music allows us to fully enjoy it, as well as execute it under pressure.

  • It’s nice to not fight how we play too hard; there is a wide range of expression possible at every level.

  • Pretend you’re playing a role or part to help with nerves when performing.

  • Don’t worry so much about what you play, but what you feel like when you play.

  • When trying to be mindful while playing your instrument, focusing on your feet planted on the ground and working your awareness up your body can help counter nerves and ground you,

  • Focus on intention when writing and performing, as well as a willingness to share.

  • Your playing directly results from your regular practice, for better and worse. You play how you play based on your regular relationship with the instrument.

    Takeaway: show up every day, not only to work but if only to play a bit and flex the muscle of expression and sharpening your tools. And it is possible to change how you play, or to get better, but it takes a daily relationship, and it takes an endless curiosity about the whole thing.

  • “Wise men speak because they have something to say; fools because they have to say something.”― Plato

    Relates to music- don’t “need” to play something but rather try and communicate with your music and with the intention to share it.

    Herbie Hancock

  • “Music isn't about music, it's about life.”

  • “A great teacher is one who realizes that he himself is also a student and whose goal is not dictate the answers, but to stimulate his students' creativity enough so that they go out and find the answers themselves.”

  • “In the world of Art there are no wrong choices.”

    John Coltrane

  • “There is never any end... There are always new sounds to imagine; new feelings to get at. And always, there is the need to keep purifying these feelings and sounds so that we can really see what we've discovered in its pure state.”

  • “Over all, I think the main thing a musician would like to do is give a picture to the listener of the many wonderful things that he knows of and senses in the universe. . . Thats what I would like to do. I think thats one of the greatest things you can do in life and we all try to do it in some way. The musicians is through his music.”

On Learning

  • Knowledge isn’t a hamburger- you just don’t consume it, you grapple and wrestle with it. You want it to change you. Similarly, you must slowly digest and integrate the knowledge for it to really benefit you.

  • “...That is one of the main causes of this arrogance: the idea of power. Then you lose your true power which is to be part of all, and the only way you can be part of all is to understand it. And when you don't understand, you have to go humbly to it. You don't go to school and say, 'I know what you're going to teach me'." -John Coltrane

  • Music Theory (conventions, rules, etc.) are always descriptive (they make sense of what’s been written), never prescriptive. Let theory help you, but don’t let it tell you what to do or demand permission. All musical conventions can be broken at one point or another.

  • Acquire musical skills instead of learn/memorize. Music is much more an experiential lesson and way of being, less a bunch of rules and conventions. This is how language learning, cooking, sports, etc. are actually mastered. Learning 3 notes or chords on your instrument, then gaining experience by playing them in endless new ways together is acquisition- as opposed to simply memorizing. That musical skill will actually be useful and more “baked in” vs memorized and abstract.

  • Focus on acquiring the smallest amount of knowledge and applying it as broadly as possible.

  • “The thing with music education is that it is good at teaching technique, but not texture. You only learn about that from listening to music and experimenting on your own.” -Jacob Collier

  • Feel like you can interface with musical knowledge, experience, and conventions when useful but don’t feel that you must harbor them. They can as easily be ignored. Go with your gut on what is useful and what’s a hinderance. (Essential for improvisation, studying theory, and writing).

  • Great place to start with solo guitar and piano: learn melody of songs, then add a single bass note to accompany the melody. Add chords only after.

  • It’s good to often reference, vet, (and sometimes question) your teachers, and always be looking for teachers to help you in your journey. See if your favorite inspirations talk about where they learn.

    On Practicing

  • Practice is a noun as well as the daily verb. Think of your “practice” as a doctor/lawyer does. Every time we perform music we’re engaging in that and widening our practice. Any habitual actions in our life constitute a practice.

  • Practice like you brush your teeth, without needing to see results immediately, and without caution or pretension.

  • Practice “the smallest”, meaning the smallest skills that can be mastered with precision.

  • “Practicing” should be strictly divided from “Playing”. A helpful analogy: if your music-making is a car, it’s hard to provide actually helpful maintenance to it while in motion. Music’s similar in that when playing, “taking apart” the music while in motion is the quickest way to lose any natural musicality you had going. There is no room for judgment or doubt when playing, for then it wouldn’t be playing. This distinction is important and can make your practice efficient, concise, and revelatory.

  • There’s never enough time to practice, but we need to give regular time to the acquisition of skills. It’s good to shoot for playing at least a tiny bit every day. That grows pretty easily with mild dedication.

  • Mental practice away from the instrument is one of the best things you can do. Tap/drum on your leg, hum the major scale to yourself, imagine playing chords, solos, or even whole pieces (that do or don’t exist). There are of course apps for this too. Music is primarily a mental activity, and this is a great way to get a leg up before even touching the instrument. When musical ideas and skills are intimately familiar, everything we work on benefits.

  • Active listening can also be great practice (listening to learn how you react to music and to sharpen your ear).

  • With practice, practicing itself gets quicker and more efficient. Five or ten minutes of quality practice is better than hours of directionless practice.

  • To state again: Your playing directly results from your regular practice, for better and worse. A basketball pro spends 90% or more time in practice, and that regular practice shows up in their playing.

  • “There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow men. True nobility lies in being superior to your former self.” -Ernest Hemingway

    On Writing

  • If a song could go 6 ways, write 6 different tunes.

  • When writing initially, explore and try out different things with a vigor. Don’t commit to anything for a bit until something shows itself to you.

  • Keeping the ego in check is a regular part of a healthy creative practice and is crucial when creating.

  • Good muscle to flex: articulating what you like about something, both for music and everything else in your life.

  • Get used to listening to yourself.

  • There’s something about finishing a tune that enables you to start the next one.

  • Define the “terms of engagement” (similar to rules of a board game) about an original piece of music for yourself. Articulating things like mood and character, (what does it make you feel) etc. instead of “It’s in E”.

  • Try finding what it is but often sussing out what it isn’t.

  • Create from an intent of emotion or character, not from specific notes or chords (those don’t matter as much as what it means).

  • “I suppose my job is to describe spaces that are honest to me. And the goal, I suppose, is that the listener can hear themselves in some way in that song and also, in some way, hear me. And so if the listener is able to identify with my honesty then I'm being the most helpful I can possibly be.” -Jacob Collier

  • Show up and play every day. Record one or more short ideas every day on your phone, and review them at the end of the month. Or write a song a day, etc. Get some output flowing, and edit later.

  • “The Muse visits during the act of creation, not before. Don't wait for her. Start alone.” ―Roger Ebert

    Methods for idea cultivating:

  • Sing to yourself, a lot (even if you aren’t a singer). Sing with your instrument. Connect your inner voice to come out of the instrument.

  • Try to employ your imagination to work on hearing and making music in its free time (in the back of your mind), especially away from the instrument.

  • Cut yourself free and play without judgment when looking for new material. Get used to outputting some music every day without judging or identifying with the process too much.

  • Go ahead and get all the terrible ideas onto tape and out of the way. Usually one of them turns out worth saving.

    On Improvising

  • Become the instrument. Start connecting music to the intent of language; we are the most free when we communicate in good faith and untangled from the ego. It takes trust that the next word or note that automatically comes out is the perfect next one.

  • If you can’t sing it, you can’t play it (or perhaps shouldn’t).

  • The interesting “you” part of music is what people are going to connect to, not the parts that sound like everyone else.

  • Imagine you in the act of playing, something specific but not an actual song. Imagine the hip rhythms and melodies you’d effortlessly pull off, and the meaning you could convey clearly and with intention. This gives a big peek into what’s possible with the right tools.

My favorites:

“I connect every music-making experience I have, including every day here in the studio, with a great power, and if I do not surrender to it nothing happens.”

“We accept so many things that come through the media; we get used to them, however vigilant we are. But for any creative art, you have to remain 110% conscious, and in a world that's losing consciousness, that's getting harder.”

“Once we're inside a tune, we can do anything with it.”

Miles Davis

  • “It's not the note you play that's the wrong note - it's the note you play afterwards that makes it right or wrong.”

  • “It takes a long time to sound like yourself.”

Wayne Shorter

  • “Play and write music the way you want the world to be.”

  • “I always say that music is a small drop in the ocean of life. I was told a long time ago that your horn, or whatever instrument you play, is a means to be in the world.”

  • “Go out on the stage as a human being and do not be afraid to show struggle in your music. It's a struggle in life and then struggle and then victory.”

“Jazz shouldn't have any mandates. Jazz is not supposed to be something that's required to sound like jazz. For me, the word 'jazz' means, 'I dare you.'“

  • “The arts can open the door to the imagination, pushing the envelope of how peace can be created. It takes courage to take this kind of risk, and courage is what we all need to create a better world.”

  • “You know the actor John Garfield? In one movie he walked up to this train station, the ticket booth, and the guy says, 'Yes, where are you going?' And he says, 'I want a ticket to nowhere.' I thought: that's it. The freedom to do that. I want a ticket to nowhere.”

  • “There's a steady forward march of a creative process that some of us stay with and don't give up - that should be an admirable thing - from Louis Armstrong to Charlie Parker to Miles to Ornette and some people who are not even known today - some kids coming up - people who are out to change the world.”

Book Recommendations

Effortless Mastery / Kenny Werner

Becoming the Instrument / Kenny Werner

Inner Game of Music / Timothy Gallwey

Steal Like An Artist / Austin Kleon

The Music Lesson / Victor Wooten

Absolutely on Music / Haruki Murakami & Seiji Ozawa

How Music Works / David Byrne

Songwriting Without Boundaries / Pat Pattison

Musicophilia / Oliver Sacks

The War of Art / Steven Pressfield

How to Write One Song / Jeff Tweedy

The Creative Act: A Way of Being / Rick Rubin

Start Ugly: The Unexpected Path to Everyday Creativity / David Duchemin

The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron