

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

Jun 2, 2025 • 39min
Dealing with FOMO as a Musician
The fear of missing out (FOMO) comes in 2 forms for a musician. The first is social and live events that you're not able to do because of rehearsal and performance. The other is not using all the skills you practiced because there isn't enough time to achieve a professional goal on all of them. Saying I CAN do this, I'm good at this, and even to a point that I LIKE doing this aren't always good reasons for not putting it aside. This episode tries to address this 2nd version of FOMO, to encourage you that it's okay to not do everything so that you can go all-in on your well-rounded life as a musician!
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

10 snips
May 26, 2025 • 1h 12min
Embracing Technology for Learning Music (with Sam Reti)
Sam Reti, a passionate guitar teacher and co-founder of Musi Live, discusses the exciting intersection of technology and music education. He shares insights on embracing an explorer's mindset to utilize apps that enhance musicianship, from practice tools to assessment software. The conversation highlights the need for tech-savvy educators and critiques conventional metrics of success in instructional videos. Reti also emphasizes the impactful role of AI and virtual reality, urging musicians to adapt and thrive in the digital age.

May 19, 2025 • 23min
What I Got Wrong About Quarterly Goals
Way back on Episode 27, I talked about the power of having quarterly goals. Since then, I've spent over a year in an accountability group centered around quarterly goals, and have gained more clarity on what works and what doesn't. This is a revised look at one of the most powerful ways to keep succeeding at anything.
Previous episode on this topic: https://www.davidlanemusic.com/toolkit/episode/77965d9f/the-power-of-quarterly-goals-or-ep27
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
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.

May 12, 2025 • 31min
Getting Beyond the Sight Reading Mode
Sight reading is the first time you play through a piece of music, but the "sight reading mode" can last for a long time. The sight reading mode is the stage where you feel like your eyes have to stay glued to the sheet music for nearly every performance second because your mind and body has no real familiarity with the music. It's not that you're trying to play it from memory, but everything is just cautious and not clicking. This episode offers 7 things you can do to take your music to the next stage of 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
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.

May 5, 2025 • 60min
Developing Your Accompanying and Collaboration Skills (with Rachel Ehring)
Playing your instrument while following other musicians is an art, and one of the essential tools of musicianship. Dr. Rachel Ehring chats with me in this episode about why this is a good skill to learn, the challenges unique to collaborating, and how this opens the doors to opportunities for both amateurs and professionals.
Links for this Episode
Rachel's Website: https://rachelehring.com/
1:1 Coaching: https://skilled-trailblazer-7766.kit.com/products/private-1-1-coaching
Free Collaborative Rate Calculator: https://skilled-trailblazer-7766.kit.com/b5e06d175a
Free Webinar on Accompanying: https://skilled-trailblazer-7766.ck.page/a77faf8007
Instagram @RachelEhring
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
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.

Apr 28, 2025 • 23min
Why You Should Memorize Everything
Some classical musicians have severe anxiety about playing from memory, and others just want to avoid it, but this episode offers 9 reasons why memorizing everything you ever practice is actually a solution to that and more!
Click here for the episode on HOW to memorize music: https://www.davidlanemusic.com/toolkit/episode/791a00c3/tactics-for-memorizing-music-or-ep47
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
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.

Apr 21, 2025 • 31min
The Practice Pyramid: What Matters Most When Practicing Music
The most common question I get from students and their parents when they ask about practice is: "how many minutes should I be practicing?". This isn't the first question they should ask. To get the most out of your practice, you need to work on 3 habits in a specific order to set a good foundation. This episode introduces the Practice Pyramid to help make sure you are not just practicing enough minutes, but also to avoid wasting those minutes.
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
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.

Apr 14, 2025 • 1h 3min
Championing New Music and Working Internationally (with Michael Hall)
Michael Hall is a Chicago-based violist who is an international soloist, clinician, and artistic director. He has carved a career for himself with a zeal for living composers and new music, as well as his work with musicians around the globe, including as artistic director for the Bandung Philharmonic Orchestra in Indonesia. His passion is infectious, and he provides inspiration for any typically orchestral musician who wants to thrive as a full-time musician without being a full-time member of an orchestra or having a large teaching studio.
Michael's website is: https://michaelhallviola.com/Welcome.html
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
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.

Apr 7, 2025 • 15min
Why You Should Go To Summer Music Camp
If you haven't yet graduated from school, you should seize the opportunity THIS SUMMER to go to camp. You'll grow as a musician in ways you probably haven't yet imagined.
After listening, click here to find a summer music camp: https://www.musicalamerica.com/pages/?pagename=camps2025&header
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.

Mar 31, 2025 • 20min
Why You Should Play in Band or Orchestra
If you or your child is looking ahead to starting middle school, you likely have the opportunity to sign up for band or orchestra, and you absolutely should!! An instrumental ensemble offers many benefits that you cannot get in private lessons, and a different set of benefits from singing in a chorus. And if you're older, even an adult, there are opportunities for you to play as well. Let's talk about why you should play in band or orchestra.
If you're not in school, find a band at https://www.acbands.org/find-a-band-directory2
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
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.