Musicality Now

Today we’re joined by Professor Cynthia Crump Taggart, the President-Elect of the Gordon Institute for Music Learning. You might have heard that name “Gordon” in the world of music education as associated particularly with audiation, and in fact Edwin Gordon developed a whole approach to music learning which is called, simply enough, Music Learning Theory.

You may have heard the word Klezmer before - or maybe not! Learn more about this distinctive style of Jewish folk music with Musical U’s Content Editor and Product Manager Andrew Bishko, who has developed a very close musical relationship with the genre over the course of his decades-long career.

Our guest today, Jason Haaheim, is the clearest-cut example we've come across of someone who's taken these ideas on board, applied them very directly in his own life, and tracked and documented the results so as to demonstrate very clearly the impact they had.

Musical U welcomes back Steve Nixon of FreeJazzLessons.com to discuss the art of playing in multiple genres, and the skills and knowledge that will help you shine in jazz, rock, pop, classical, and country music alike.

Today we’re joined by Anne Mileski of Anacrusic.com and The Anacrusic Podcast. Anne is trained in several of the musicianship approaches we’ve covered here on the show before, including Kodály, Orff, Dalcroze and Music Learning Theory, and her mission is to make music teaching as purposeful, sequential, and joyful as possible for music teachers everywhere. Anne really stands out as someone who draws on each of those approaches to musicianship training to develop her own very well thought-out material.

The Musical U team discusses the importance of taking it step by step in music - and breaking your practice down into "chunks" that make sense for you.

Today we're joined by Jeff Schneider, award-winning composer and music educator whose YouTube videos for saxophone and piano, online courses, and blog and email lessons are helping musicians around the world to wrap their head around everything from equipment to technique to music theory and listening skills.

The Musical U team discusses the messages contained in music, inspiring your listener to feel something, and finding something you want to express through your instrument.

Today we're talking with Josh Plotner, a man who plays seemingly pretty much every woodwind instrument, from saxophones to flutes to recorders to clarinets - and a ton of world instruments you may never have heard of

The Musical U team tackles the topic of active and deliberate listening, and the benefits it brings to your musicality.

Today we're joined by Marc Gelfo, a self-described “Neuro-symphonic Hornist” who has played French Horn in some of the top symphony orchestras and is the creator of the Modacity app which helps you practice music more effectively and enjoyably.

The Musical U team gets together to talk about the importance of having fun on your musical journey, and how it ties in with creativity, satisfaction, and achievement. 

Today we're talking with David Barrett, one of the world’s leading harmonica teachers and experts in blues music. David is the author of over 70 music education books including Mel Bay’s main harmonica tutor books, he is the founder of bluesharmonica.com, the leading online training provider for learning blues harmonica, and he has also somehow found the time to found and run the world’s only music school dedicated to the blues, the School of the Blues in San Jose, California.

The Musical U team discusses the practice of exploring and pushing the boundaries of your musicality without self-judgement - and the wonderful breakthroughs it can lead to.

Today on the show we’re joined by a musician, music teacher, entrepreneur, author, online summit host, small business coach, podcaster and band director. Which might sound like we have a crowd of guests assembled, but in fact these are all one person: Elisa Janson-Jones.