Musicianship Mastery with David Lane

Episode 21 is a brief challenge to be mindful in your decisions, understanding that choosing to do something means that you're choosing NOT to do something else.  Sometimes that something else you're NOT doing is practicing challenging music or technique, or composing, or doing something that feels like work, but you can apply this to any decision you make in life. Today's episode is sponsored by The Unstoppable Singer Summit, a free virtual event for singers who want to overcome the starving artist mentality.  There are 45 speakers over 3 days (May 15-17).  Registration is required and you can do so here: https://thesingersummit.com/toolkit/ref/51/ Do you have any comments on today's topic?  Let me know by telling me directly at https://www.speakpipe.com/MusicianToolkit or you can send me a written message at https://www.davidlanemusic.com/contact  You can find this episode and links to this show on all podcast apps from https://musiciantoolkit.podbean.com/ . If you enjoyed this, please give it a rating and review on the podcast app of your choice.  You can also now find the 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 private teachers of all types (music, yoga, martial arts, academic tutoring, coaches, etc) with smooth, automated assistance such as securing timely automatic payments and scheduling.  Click here for more information or to begin your free trial.

Dr. Frank Lehman, film music scholar and professor at Tufts University, returns to chat with David Lane about a score that is often lauded as the greatest of all time, The Empire Strikes Back composed by John Williams.  This episode is a discussion along with musical examples of the themes, harmonies, and orchestration choices that make this a masterpiece, along with a comparison to the 1st Star Wars series, and a little on the legendary performance from the London Symphony Orchestra.  May the force be with you as you join us as we tackle this ultimate Jedi of scores! If you missed it, be sure to catch the 1st episode with Dr. Lehman, where we discussed John Williams more generally as well as some other scores here: https://www.davidlanemusic.com/toolkit/episode/7d49eeaa/episode-8-the-craft-of-john-williams-with-frank-lehman Frank's marvelous catalog of Star Wars themes and analysis is located here: https://franklehman.com/starwars/ Do you have something to add to our discussion?  Let me know by telling me directly at https://www.speakpipe.com/MusicianToolkit or you can send me a written message at https://www.davidlanemusic.com/contact  Musical Excerpts.  All tracks by John Williams and from The Empire Strikes Back except where noted. 18:39 King's Row Main Title (Erich W Korngold) 19:30 Theme from Ivanhoe (Miklos Rozsa) 27:14 Darth Vader Motif from Star Wars 29:02 The Imperial March (2 clips) 34:16 Yoda's Theme 34:47 Yoda's Death (Return of the Jedi) 37:10 Yoda and the Force 39:58 Han Solo and the Princess 40:51 Princess Leia's Theme (Star Wars) 42:20 Rescue from Cloud City 43:55 The Rebel Fleet/Finale 45:12 End Credits 46:36 Droids Theme 47:25 The Wampa's Lair 48:28 Main Title (Luke's Theme) 48:53 Force Theme 49:50 Rebel Fanfare 51:25 Lando's Theme 52:41 Boba Fett's Theme/Attack Position 53:18 Darth Vader's Trap 54:17 Dark Side Motif/Magic Cave 54:46 Yoda and the Force 56:04 The Asteroid Field (2 clips) 59:54 City in the Clouds 1:01:11 Mynock Cave 1:02:16 End Credits (Raiders of the Lost Ark) 1:02:30 End Credits (Indiana Jones & The Last Crusade) 1:04:48 Mynock Cave 1:08:22 The Battle of Hoth (5 clips) 1:15:08 Carbon Freeze (2 clips) 1:18:48 Hyperspace 1:22:37 End Credits   You can find this episode and links to this show on all podcast apps from https://musiciantoolkit.podbean.com/ . If you enjoyed this, please give it a rating and review on the podcast app of your choice.  You can also now find the 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 private teachers of all types (music, yoga, martial arts, academic tutoring, coaches, etc) with smooth, automated assistance such as securing timely automatic payments and scheduling.  Click here for more information or to begin your free trial.

When it comes to practicing music well, there may not be any better incentive than the power of residual effects.  For example, when you learn how to play a 2-octave scale really well, you've not just learned it for that one time.  You've learned it for the next time you need it and will at the very least be a lot further along when you come across anything similar.  Much like saving or investing money early and often, the effects of residual practice compound the more you learn and get a lot accomplished in your sessions.  Listen to this episode to hear what those benefits are, and how to maximize your practice so that you're gaining those residual effects. Does this tip resonate, or do you have anything related to these suggestions?  Let me know by telling me directly at https://www.speakpipe.com/MusicianToolkit or you can send me a written message at https://www.davidlanemusic.com/contact  You can find this episode and links to this show on all podcast apps from https://musiciantoolkit.podbean.com/ . If you enjoyed this, please give it a rating and review on the podcast app of your choice.  You can also now find the 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 private teachers of all types (music, yoga, martial arts, academic tutoring, coaches, etc) with smooth, automated assistance such as securing timely automatic payments and scheduling.  Click here for more information or to begin your free trial.

This is the first of what will be many episodes in the Instrument Spotlight series for The Musician Toolkit, occurring once every few months.  This series is for anyone wanting to choose the instruments as either a primary or secondary instrument, as well as to inform composers and arrangers about the capabilities, challenges, and limitations of such instruments.  Kania Mills is an active performer in band, orchestra, chamber music, and as a featured soloist in North Carolina.  She teaches woodwinds at Livingstone College and Catawba College.  She will help us navigate the clarinet family, how to get started, the challenges with playing well, maintaining the instruments, and also some repertoire. Check out teaching and performance clips of Kania from TikTok below: https://www.tiktok.com/@kaniamills/video/7212036578632404267?_r=1&_t=8bPCRVdlHCc https://www.tiktok.com/@kaniamills/video/7206732376855022891?_r=1&_t=8bPCU4zojoR https://www.tiktok.com/@kaniamills/video/7196109017037737262?_r=1&_t=8bPCQcFR8oQ https://www.tiktok.com/@kaniamills/video/7201345060041002286?_r=1&_t=8bPCbLUJoEQ   List of Musical Excerpts Used in this Episode   12:00 "Scent of Death" from Interview with a Vampire original soundtrack (Eliot Goldenthal) 12:40 "Desert Music" from Sicario original soundtrack (Jóhann Jóhannsson) 34:42 Symphony No. 4 "Italian", mvt 1 (Felix Mendelssohn) performed by Chicago Symphony,;cond. by Georg Solti 35:18 Scherzo from A Midsummer Night's Dream (Felix Mendelssohn) - The Cleveland Orchestra; George Szell 52:46 El Salón México (Aaron Copland) - New York Philharmonic; Leonard Bernstein 53:34 Symphony No. 5, movt. 2 (D. Shostakovich)  - Berlin Symphony; Kurt Sanderling 55:54 Clarinet Concerto, mvt 1 (W. A. Mozart) - Mostly Mozart Orchestra; Gerard Schwarz 56:23 Clarinet Concerto No. 2, mvt. 3 (Carl Maria von Weber) 58:09 Clarinet Quintet, mvt 1 (J Brahms)  - Karl Leister; Amadeus Quartet 58:33 Quintet op. 39, mvt 1 (S Prokofiev) - Kammerensemble de Paris 59:29 Contrasts for Violin, Clarinet, and Piano (Bela Bartok) - The Rogue Ensemble 1:01:17 Black Dog (Scott McAllister) - Robert Spring, Clarinet 1:02:56 Clarinet Concerto, mvt. 1 (Gerald Finzi) - Robert Plane; Northern Sinfonia; Howard Griffiths 1:03:31 Concerto for Clarinet and String Orchestra (Aaron Copland); Benny Goodman 1:04:33 Solfeggietto/Metamorphosis (Eddie Daniels) 1:07:22 Rigoletto (Luigi Bassi) - Han Kim, Clarinet   Do you have a question about the clarinet family or any additional suggested repertoire? Let me know by telling me directly at https://www.speakpipe.com/MusicianToolkit or you can send me a written message at https://www.davidlanemusic.com/contact  You can find this episode and links to this show on all podcast apps from https://musiciantoolkit.podbean.com/ . If you enjoyed this, please give it a rating and review on the podcast app of your choice.  You can also now find the 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 private teachers of all types (music, yoga, martial arts, academic tutoring, coaches, etc) with smooth, automated assistance such as securing timely automatic payments and scheduling.  Click here for more information or to begin your free trial.

Not every music student or even professional musician has explored classical music, much like not necessarily every classical musician will know something about jazz or any other genre.  However, each genre has certain pieces that one should know from each genre regardless of your preference.  These are 25 of many possible choices, not necessarily "the best", but some pieces you should recognize by title and composer upon hearing. Musical examples used in this episode: 06:53 P. Tchaikovsky: "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy" from The Nutcracker - (Montreal Symphony; Charles Dutoit) 12:49 J.S. Bach: Toccata and Fugue in D minor BWV 565 (Hannes Kästner, organ) 13:15 J.S. Bach: Toccata and Fugue in D minor BWV 565 (Czech Philharmonic; Leopold Stokowski) 17:26 S Barber: Adagio for Strings (New York Philharmonic; Thomas Schipps) 19:48 Beethoven: Symphony No. 5 (Vienna Philharmonic; Carlos Klieber) mvt 1 and 4 24:03 Beethoven: Symphony No. 9 (Berlin Philharmonic; Von Karajan) mvt. 4 and 2 28:33 Brahms: Hungarian Dances 4, 5, 6 (Vienna Philharmonic; Claudio Abbado) 30:56 A Copland: "Hoe-Down" from Rodeo (St. Louis Symphony; Leonard Slatkin) 32:33 F Chopin: Grand Valse Brillante op. 18 (Valentina Lisitsa) 34:22 Debussy: Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun (Royal Concertgebouw; Bernard Haitink) 36:01 Dvorak: Symphony No. 9 "From the New World" mvt 2 (London Philharmonic; Charles MacKerras) 38:16 Grieg: Peer Gynt and Peer Gynt suite no.1 (San Francisco Symphony; Herbert Blomstedt) 40:13 Handel: The Messiah "Hallelujah" (London Symphony; Colin Davis) 40:43 Handel: Water Music selections (English Chamber Orchestra; Raymond Leppard) 41:30 Holst: The Planets "Mars" - (Montreal Symphony; Charles Dutoit) 42:13 Liszt: Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 (Marc-Andre Hamelin) 43:22 Mendelssohn: Overture and Wedding March from A Midsummer Night's Dream (London Symphony, Andre Previn) 45:11 Mozart: Overture to The Marriage of Figaro (Academy of St Martin in the Fields; Neville Marriner) 46:16 Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition - Promenade and Great Gate of Kiev (Berlin Philharmonic; Claudio Abbado) 48:25 Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No. 2 (Vladimir Ashkenazy; Moscow Symphony; Kirill Kondrashin) 49:38 Ravel: Bolero (Boston Symphony; Seiji Ozawa) 51:42 Ravel: Daphnis & Chloe (Rotterdam Philharmonic; Yannick Nézet-Séguin) 52:46 Rimsky-Korsakov: Flight of the Bumblebee (Berlin Philharmonic; Zubin Mehta) 53:08 Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherezade mvt IV and III (London Symphony; Charles MacKerras) 55:06 Schubert: Ave Maria (Barbara Booney) 55:31 R Strauss: Also Sprach Zarathustra (Chicago Symphony; Fritz Reiner) 57:15 Stravinsky: Rite of Spring (from Part 1) (New York Philharmonic; Leonard Bernstein) 58:21 Tchaikovsky: Russian Dance, Arabian Dance, Dance of the Reed Flutes from The Nutcracker (Montreal Symphony; Dutoit)   Do you have a different recording of these pieces that you'd recommend?  Let me know by telling me directly at https://www.speakpipe.com/MusicianToolkit or you can send me a written message at https://www.davidlanemusic.com/contact  The blog post that goes with this episode can be found here: https://www.davidlanemusic.com/post/25-essential-classical-pieces-to-know You can find this episode and links to this show on all podcast apps from https://musiciantoolkit.podbean.com/ . If you enjoyed this, please give it a rating and review on the podcast app of your choice.  You can also now find the 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 private teachers of all types (music, yoga, martial arts, academic tutoring, coaches, etc) with smooth, automated assistance such as securing timely automatic payments and scheduling.  Click here for more information or to begin your free trial.

Andrew Callo, a talented composer and arranger known for his contributions to the Air Force Band, highlights the transformative power of score study. He discusses how analyzing orchestral scores can deepen understanding of harmony, orchestration, and melodic development. Callo shares insights on navigating score transpositions, the practical challenges of using miniature scores, and recommends resources for musicians. The conversation also touches on the evolution of orchestration techniques, emphasizing the artistry behind creating music that resonates with both emotion and technical mastery.

David Lane was recently asked, "What gave you that idea?" in regards to this podcast.  In this episode, he offers some insight into when he noticed these traits of musicianship, and how it developed before becoming the basis of this podcast.   From this episode, what most resonated with you, or what do you think I should have included?  Let me know by telling me directly at https://www.speakpipe.com/MusicianToolkit or you can send me a written message at https://www.davidlanemusic.com/contact  You can find this episode and links to this show on all podcast apps from https://musiciantoolkit.podbean.com/ . If you enjoyed this, please give it a rating and review on the podcast app of your choice.  You can also now find the 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 private teachers of all types (music, yoga, martial arts, academic tutoring, coaches, etc) with smooth, automated assistance such as securing timely automatic payments and scheduling.  Click here for more information or to begin your free trial.

It's hard to truly understand the full expressive power of music unless you sing.  This is true especially if you're primarily an instrumentalist.  Depending on your instrument, you might be missing out on a chance to sharpen your skills of intonation, tone, breath, vibrato, and expressive details that some instruments lack.  More and more, innovative instrumental teachers include singing in their lessons for beginners to create this more intensely personal connection to music. Our guest this week is Katie Muhlenkamp.  She is an experienced vocal performer in both the worlds of classical and musical theatre, as a soloist and as a choral member.  She also is a private voice teacher, and is here to talk about the basics of vocal production, some of the myths associated with singing, how to choose a teacher, and how to get some free opportunities to practice singing. From this episode, what most resonated with you, or what do you think I should have included?  Let me know by telling me directly at https://www.speakpipe.com/MusicianToolkit or you can send me a written message at https://www.davidlanemusic.com/contact  You can find this episode and links to this show on all podcast apps from https://musiciantoolkit.podbean.com/ . If you enjoyed this, please give it a rating and review on the podcast app of your choice.  You can also now find the 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 private teachers of all types (music, yoga, martial arts, academic tutoring, coaches, etc) with smooth, automated assistance such as securing timely automatic payments and scheduling.  Click here for more information or to begin your free trial.

Discover the essential skill of active listening for musicians, distinguishing between passive enjoyment and deeper engagement with music. Explore the unique listening techniques for classical versus non-classical genres and the value of repeated listens. Learn how full attention can transform your understanding of music, revealing complex elements like harmonic language and emotional dynamics. Dive into the impact of studio craftsmanship in pop music and uncover how active listening fosters self-discovery and enhances your musical growth.

Discover why musicians should explore practices beyond their instruments. The discussion includes the power of gratitude for personal and professional growth. Learn about key habits like maintaining a gratitude journal, enhancing time management, and the benefits of outdoor activity. The importance of physical fitness and meaningful conversations for relationship-building is emphasized. Plus, hear about the value of active listening and engagement in musical collaboration. Expand your toolkit with these essential non-musical skills!