Now that you have your musical strengths and weaknesses written down in a place that you will see everyday, it's time to plan what to do with these lists. Two Frames For the best results in doing any kind of goal setting or personal change … [Read more...]
The Path To Musical Excellence: Deliberate Practice
In this series, I'll do my best to help you understand what it takes to be an excellent musician and give you as many techniques as I can to take you to the top. You're about to see two sides of me. One side is called tough love. That side of me … [Read more...]
Top Peak Performance Articles for 2006
It seems that greatness was on my mind a lot in 2006. I wondered about how to become great. I was inspired by people who already are great. And I did my best to overcome the challenges that are on the path to greatness. So here are my top peak … [Read more...]
Glenn Gould Playing Bach’s Goldberg Variations
This video is a magnificent example of musical peak performance. It's possible that Glenn Gould had Asperger syndrome, a disorder related to autism. He really makes Johann Sebastian Bach come alive! … [Read more...]
Do You Make These Mistakes When Learning New Skills?
Dr. Kurt Fischer (Harvard Graduate School of Education) explains in his dynamic skill theory that we all develop through stages of development while learning new skills. These stages also mimic the developmental levels we go through from infant to … [Read more...]
Absolute Pitch Power Lesson 2 Update/Improvement
I've espoused the virtues of accelerated learning techniques and I'm on record as saying that every other absolute pitch ear training course out there could be drastically improved if they only "got it." And while I don't like to go "off topic" in … [Read more...]
Absolute Pitch University Launched
Sometimes, all it takes is a little hands-on mentoring to take you over the top... APU is an Absolute Pitch Master Mind (a coordination of knowledge and effort, in a spirit of harmony, between two or more people, for the attainment of a definite … [Read more...]
West Wing Eulogy: Bartlett For America
Today's a sad day for me. My favorite show of all time is ending. Trust me when I say that I'm not a TV addict. I didn't own a TV for many years. But The West Wing changed all that. Why I love The West Wing: Peak Performance. In my quest to be … [Read more...]
Guitarist Tricks of the Trade
From Tricks of the Trade: Most gigs involve playing multiple sets, e.g., you go on at 9, play til 9:45, and go back on at 10. If the audience sees you looking at your watch, though, they will assume that you are bored. So wear your watch so that the … [Read more...]
How To Be An Expert
From: How to be an expert The only thing standing between you-as-amateur and you-as-expert is dedication. All that talk about prodigies? We could all be prodigies (or nearly so) if we just put in the time and focused. At least that's what the … [Read more...]