

Musicianship Mastery with David Lane
David Lane
Do you want to be a great musician? A well-rounded musician? Maybe you’re already a good musician, and you want to take that next step. To do that, you need to be able to sight-read well, play by ear, compose or improvise, understand the art of practice, and be versatile in many other ways. Musicianship Mastery (formerly known as The Musician Toolkit) explores these tools, how to improve them, and how you can apply them to a variety of gigs and musical careers whether you’re a professional musician or a committed artist who makes your income outside of music. Join us on a quest to improve your musicianship and to make you the most well-rounded musician you can be!
Episodes
Mentioned books

Oct 13, 2025 • 19min
What Musicianship Is and How to Develop It
What is musicianship? Specifically, what does it mean when we say someone has "good musicianship"? This episode explores the question while reviewing all of the musicianship tools that inspired this podcast in the first place.
Musicianship Mastery is formerly known as The Musician Toolkit.
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
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

Oct 6, 2025 • 31min
Designing Your Musical Life for Success as a Working Musician
With so many ways to express yourself as a musician, it can be hard to know how to get started. If you'd like to become a working musician, either part-time or full-time, this episode goes over some of your options and presents a strategy for how to build your musical life.
Musicianship Mastery is formerly known as The Musician Toolkit.
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
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

Sep 29, 2025 • 44min
Succeeding in Music While Living With Chronic Illness (with Jastin Artis)
Practicing well is hard to do every day just because of the mental focus and discipline it requires. How much more difficult is it when you add a physical challenge like chronic pain or other illness? Jastin Artis was diagnosed with fibromyalgia in 2019, and had to learn how to function before he could eventually thrive. He shares here his tactics and mindset for moving forward despite not having a body that wants to cooperate.
Jastin helps other hip hop, R&B, pop and artists of other genres with the business side of music at A&R In Your Pocket. All of his info can be found here: https://jastinartis.com/
Musicianship Mastery is formerly known as The Musician Toolkit.
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
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

Sep 22, 2025 • 10min
Building Your Staircase of Musical Goals
4 episodes prior to this episode, I talked about creating a 5-year plan as a musician. Although we touched on how to take that backwards into shorter-term goals, this is a follow-up to focus on exactly how to think backwards so that you can build your staircase of musical goals that starts with the very first step: today!
Featured episode mentioned: https://www.davidlanemusic.com/toolkit/episode/757e74ca/whats-your-5-year-plan-as-a-musician
Also mentioned: https://www.davidlanemusic.com/toolkit/episode/7300027b/what-i-got-wrong-about-quarterly-goals
Musicianship Mastery is formerly known as The Musician Toolkit.
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
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

Sep 15, 2025 • 14min
When Should You Prioritize Your Musical Technique?
This is a topic that many of my piano teacher colleagues might disagree. Some teachers believe that mastering technique is a prerequisite for playing any level of repertoire. I have a different opinion about the importance or at least the prioritization of technique, and explain why in this episode.
Musicianship Mastery is formerly known as The Musician Toolkit.
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
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

Sep 8, 2025 • 54min
The Craft of Music Composition (with Tony Steve)
Composing music is something that you can practice and improve in the same way you can with your instrument. In this episode, Dr. Tony Steve and I chat about music composition as a craft, the idea of compositional templates, the importance of limitations, mastering idioms, counterpoint, and how you can use exercises to improve.
Follow Tony at https://www.facebook.com/tonystevepercussionist
Musicianship Mastery is formerly known as The Musician Toolkit.
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
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

Sep 1, 2025 • 12min
How to Analyze Music Before Practicing
Good practice isn't aimless, but involves a plan. This episode talks about how you can analyze your music before you begin practicing so that you can be most efficient in your learning.
Musicianship Mastery is formerly known as The Musician Toolkit.
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
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

Aug 25, 2025 • 23min
What's Your 5 Year Plan as a Musician?
We've recently discussed the importance of quarterly goals, but are those goals feeding into a longer term vision? How do you see yourself as a musician in 5 years, and how do you get there from here? This episode offers some prompts to help build your long term musical goals, and how this connects to your shorter term goals.
Episode mentioned: https://www.davidlanemusic.com/toolkit/episode/7300027b/what-i-got-wrong-about-quarterly-goals
Musicianship Mastery is formerly known as The Musician Toolkit.
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
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

Aug 18, 2025 • 35min
Enjoying a Successful Music Career in Theme Parks (with Doug Minerd)
For more than 30 years, Doug Minerd has found a place to use and further develop his skills in composing and arranging, lead rehearsals, and unlike a lot of similar musicians...engage with a wide variety of people in collaboration. He's done this while working up to the executive office at places like Cedar Point, Busch Gardens, Sesame Place, and Sea World. He also has had his compositions performed in Dollywood, Silver Dollar City, Hersey Park, Princess Cruise Lines, and more. He shares both the musical tools and the attitude that led to such a successful career.
Find out more about Doug and listen to his music at: https://www.minerdmusicworks.com/
Musicianship Mastery is formerly known as The Musician Toolkit.
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
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

Aug 11, 2025 • 18min
Switching from Finale to Dorico: My Early Journey
As one of many thousands of users of Finale, I was floored by the news last year that they were no longer continuing their legendary notation software. I've chosen to begin learning Dorico. It's slow going, but I wanted to share my experiences so far as a beginner, and what I'd recommend to get the most out of the program.
Also check out the previous episode on music notation programs: Music Notation Apps in a Post-Finale World (with Jason Loffredo)
Musicianship Mastery is formerly known as The Musician Toolkit.
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
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