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 really good book Apr 27, 2008
I'm a drummer and I've found this book to touch upon a lot of pertinent issues that no one else really covers, it has truly helped me to completely revamp my practicing and my relationship to the drum set and music is becoming more and more positive every day
Must have! Apr 27, 2008
This book is a must have for everyone that wants to achieve mastery in everything that we want to succeed in, NOT only music. I agree with the previous positive comments, also that the subconcious mind plays the most important role for achiving what we desire. Therefore the meditation is necessary tool for effortless mastery...
JC
A life-changing experience Apr 11, 2008
Please get involved with this product. I was at a fellow musician's home in Sydney about 6 years ago when I first read this book. Since then I have changed from an uptight, crappy player into a player who gets noticed, has "chops" and one who can find peace in playing. Like the man says, I used to approach the piano with trepidation - now, like Kenny, the piano seat is the most comfortable in the house for me. I have even prescribed this book to my students. IF YOU WANT TO BE A MUSICIAN, YOU MUST READ THIS. I repeat
READ THIS NOW - BEFORE YOU WASTE HALF YOUR LIFE (like I did) WONDERING WHY YOU CAN'T PLAY LIKE "A HEAVY".
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
News flash *practicing is not for getting better* Mar 25, 2008
Easily the best part of the book, though it's clear that some readers found it difficult to grasp. One reviewer described it as "practicing thoughtlessly." This couldn't be further from the truth.
Effortless Mastery deals with negative mindsets that plague musicians from reaching their full potential. The typical negative mindset usually places a high priority on "getting better." Why is this bad, you ask? I'll elaborate.
The "getting better" attitude is usually counter-productive. You think, 'I'm going to get it together by learning a bunch of stuff." So you write a "list". You know those lists, right?
-scales
-appergio's
-II-V-I's
-keith jarrett transcription
-monk tunes
-bach sonata
-metronome practice, etc.
The underlying thought during all this practice is, "There is so much to learn. I'm getting older, and I need to get better by yesterday!" With this race-against-the-clock attitude, practicing becomes a laundry list of things that you barely skim the surface of. Or worse, you end up not practicing at all because you think that unless you can put in 2 or 3 hours, it won't matter. (Does this sound familiar? It sure did to me!)
You gotta get your head together, which is the first half of the book. A healthier attitude sounds like this: "I am a great person and I don't need my playing to reflect that fact. I don't need to get better. My only reason for practicing is to attain mastery so that I may deepen my experience to music."
So you get into an relaxed space, with high self-esteem now, and play something. If you stumble on a chord or rhythm, that is good news! You've just found a glitch in your technique that's been holding you back! You then reduce the amount of material you are working on. Either slow the tempo or shorten the length of the example until you can execute the material without effort.
We've all heard great artists say things like, "my best performances come when my consciousness is out of the way" or "the best compositions come from outside myself" (From God, etc.) Werner's revolutionary idea is that you can PRACTICE with this 'observer' mindset, rather than trying to coerce new material to conform to you. It's not about 'practicing thoughtlessly', but rather the opposite; it's about focus. Focus that is directed on 'sticking with it', instead of 'getting better.' (It's a Zen thing, man.)
Obviously, there will be times 'when the phone rings' and you have to practice on deadline and hope for the best. Werner is not suggesting that you practice this way 100% of the time. 5 minutes a day, might be all that you can stand at first, it's hard to stay in the space at first, but gradually you'll increase your concentration and mastery will overtake you in the fastest possible way.
Wonderfully Empowering and Freeing Book with CD Meditations Feb 12, 2008
What I like most about the book is that Kenny Werner believes, as I do, that all humans have master musicians within us. If you are willing to keep an open mind and explore beyond music itself to gain mastery over your musical performance, his book and accompanying CD Effortless Mastery has a lot to offer. Not only will you gain true mastery over your musical performance, but you'll enjoy both preparation and performance infinitely more.
One the other hand if you don't like books that delve into spiritual development or the idea of our interconnectedness so prevalent in personal growth, then this book and the CD meditations may not be for you.
Readers already familiar with meditation, Zen, or other Eastern philosophies will immediately recognize many of the fundamental ideas and perhaps have an advantage in following Werner's advice as to how to apply it. However, the book is written in such a way that it is accessible to people with no prior background in these disciplines as long as you are willing to keep an open mind.
Werner's description of fear-based music making captures much of what I experienced and saw/heard around me throughout my musical training before and during university. It's a problem I worked hard to help my own students overcome, even in my earliest days as a teacher, and it's refreshing to know that there are other people out there showing musicians the way out of this fear-based realm.
The accompanying CD meditations are helpful as well, especially if you have limited meditation experience. The author's voice is smooth and velvety and helps induce the listener more easily reach the desired state of centeredness. The only thing I would change about the meditations is that I would prefer a gentle transition back out of the meditative state. If you've gone into a very deep state, the transition is too abrupt and not ideal in my opinion. Perhaps it is done intentionally so to let the performer reach out for her instrument and practice/perform while in that state, but I think it is less than ideal and the wise reader will add her own slow transition out of the meditative state.
All in all, Kenny Werner's book and CD set is an empowering work that can help to free the joy and musicianship of musicians at all levels and genres. I highly recommend it.
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