You'll Hear It: Full Album Deep Dives with Jazz Musicians - 7 Essential Skillzz for Pro Musicians

Episode Date: February 20, 2020

Peter and Adam teach you how to pay some billzz on this episode with their list of skillzz that all professional musicians have.7 Essential Skillzz for Pro MusiciansGreat earsVersatilityOpennessGritAbility to communicate at a high levelPassion for music & artistryGreat technical abilityBONUSCheck out Geoffrey Keezer's new course from Open Studio: Elements of Solo Piano. He'll show you the strategies and techniques you need to know to become a better solo pianist. For a free sample, take a look at Keezer's excellent transcribed performance of "The Nearness of You" right here. And for all of our piano courses in one convenient place, take a look at our Piano Access Pass.Interested in more music advice? Go here to browse our catalog of jazz lessons and courses available for purchase. And be sure to check out our All Access Pass - every course from Open Studio on every instrument.Let us know what you think by leaving a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ review, or head over to our YouTube channel.Follow us on Facebook | Twitter | Instagram See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Hey, Peter. Hey, Adam. If you had to pick one skill that was essential for being musician, what would it be? Well, it depends. Are we talking skill or skills? Two Zs. Two Zs. All right.

I'm about if I give you seven today. Okay. I'm Adam Manus. And I'm Peter Martin. And you're listening to the You'll Hear a podcast. Daily Music Advice coming at you. Coming at you today's episode is sponsored by Open Studio Network. Go there for, oh, your jazz lessons.

WKRP. Okay. Okay. No, go to Open StudioJazz.com to check out all of our courses. We've got a new elements of solo piano course that's been popping off a little bit. I don't know if you know about that. I do know about it, and I love how we are the shorthand for that around the Open Studio's Open Studio, ESP. ESP.

Right. Yeah, do you have ESP? Yeah, exactly. So we can kind of, we're not promising we're teaching you ESP. We're doing elements of solo piano from Jeffrey Kieser. But I mean, it's not our fault if you get a little ESP at the same time, right? Does Kieser cover the tune ESP? can't say he does, but we can't say he

doesn't either. I mean, we can kind of we can read his mind maybe. That's right. If we're doing this right. Yeah. You will definitely get an insight into the mind, which is vast, especially the solo piano mind of Jeffrey Keezer. That's a good analogy right there. Did I tell you, I got a little chance to hang with him last weekend? No. Yeah, we

and I actually got to follow up on some questions I had from watching the course, which was a lot of fun. And yeah, what a cool guy, interesting guy. Yeah, he came to the gig at Lincoln Center and we hung out. And I was was perfect because I didn't see him until after the gig because, you know, I have this thing, there's a small group of pianists especially

that if I know they're there before the gig even though I'm a seasoned professional, duh, I become totally debilitated and unable to perform it even a mildly adequate level and he's one of those. You know, yeah, for all of you aspiring Peter Martin level pianists out there, know that even

Peter Martin, when he sees Jeffrey Keyser in the audience or something, feels a little twang of maybe like, ugh. But it's so fun when you see them afterwards. Yeah, and you're like, because then you're like, well, I kind of put my best foot forward

because I wasn't thinking about you. That was cool. Very cool. So today we're talking about the seven essential skills. I'm changing this title to put a Zee in there. I like it. I like it.

Two Zs. Skills. Forget about SEO. We don't care. We're going skills. For pro musicians. So let's define a pro musician. Anybody who has a business card

that says pianist or with their instrument on it, right? This is really just anybody who's out there like gigging, doing anything. These are skills that are going to help you to, A, perform the gigs you already have, but B, like, help you get more gigs, help you get better gigs. The better you get at these skills, the better musician you're going to be. Yeah, and I define this, I don't know if we've ever come to a

conclusion together on this, so I'll just throw it out there. I define a pro as a pretty broad area, not necessarily just like you, it's your primary job. I would go beyond that and say that if you take the intersection of the time that you spend and the passion that you have for being a musician serious like a pro, that doesn't mean you think that your Chick-Korea level. It's not about level,

but if you take it seriously in that you want to play music for people in which you are going to entertain them and challenge them on some level, that makes you a pro. Is that too broad? No, am I painting with two broads of a stroke? No, that's great,

because this is really just anybody who's out there doing it. Yeah. It's like, yeah, and it's just, It's not about, I mean, you know, you might be like, well, I would consider myself a pro, but I can't get any gigs. No, it's a mentality. If you have the mentality of a pro, you're a pro. And if you want to be a pro, work on these things. Yeah, it's like me with basketball. I consider myself a pro-professional. I have not been ever paid to play the game, but that doesn't get in the way of me, considering you're laughing because you're laughing because you love me. I've also never seen you play basketball, and I'm pretty sure you could kick my ass at it, so I don't know why I'm laughing. Which in itself would not necessarily make me pro level, but no. I have a pro mentality. I have a pro mentality. I have a pro mentality. I don't know. I have a pro-exal. I. I don't know. I have a pro- I don't have a pro game, man. Anyway, tell me about it. Okay, seven essential skills for pro musicians.

What's number one? Number one is great ears. Ear training. This is listen. We always put this at number one because it really is the most important thing. Yes. You know, we were talking the other day

about like practicing mindfully. I find that if I'm not listening, I'm not being mindful. I'm not in the moment with what's going on. Yeah. So it's about, you know, not only being in the moment and being there,

being present on stage as you're playing, but developing your ears as a tool for you to use as a way to hear melodies being played bass lines, harmony, rhythm these essential skills with a Z that you need to know just to play

music at any kind of level. Don't happen without ears. We can't see it. We have to hear it. First. Yeah. Exactly. This podcast isn't called You'll see it. That's right. Or you'll feel it or you'll taste it or you'll smell it. Like an art or food podcast. Maybe we'll branch out, but not this one. If we had a funk podcast where you call it, you'll smell it.

Oh, that'd be good. Got it. Got it. I think you nailed it with that. And the only thing I would add on that as far as great ears, this does not mean you are born with great ears. This might mean that you are, but you have made that a big part of your development, your conscious development. So we don't want anyone with any of these skills to be like, oh, I wasn't born with all seven of those, so I can't be a pro musician. No, if you're a pro, you spend time developing your ears.

That's right. You know, even if you're born like Bach or whatever, that I don't even know if you had good ears or not. I would imagine he had... I've never seen a photograph of that guy. He's so elusive. No, but I mean, but whether or not he was born with that or not, like, yeah, obviously he had great ears. But there's always more work than, you know, more nurture versus nature, I think, with these things.

Yeah, so always be listening, always be transcribing. Even if it's just a phrase or a couple of bars, it's great if you can do transcribe many solos. You know, all of the master musicians that we know, and including, you know, you and I've done a fair bit of transcribing myself. We all have transcribed a ton of music. Does anything help? I mean, especially once you get to like the intermediate level and above. Is there any activity that's as good as that? No, you just have to keep going. That's the way to get language. It's the way to get all the details. Yep. All right. So number two. Number two is versatility. Yes, yes. And I would just

highlight first styles, that versatility in different kinds of styles with music. And some of you might be, you know, surprised that we have that, well, I mean, first of all, except for number one, This is not in any particular order. That's the nature of something being essential. These are not the top ones. But I think that this makes it into the group because it's both an attitude, a framework, and a byproduct of developing in all these areas that you are passionate about and inquisitive enough to want to learn different styles and to be versatile.

And then it's also really a manifestation of how you continue to be a pro and make a living doing this, how people want to hear you, is that you've got not only that. that versatile mindset, but you can actually play different things. Right. And I mean, there's many ways to define it. It can certainly be narrow in like, well, I only play classical, but I understand the Baroque period. And I understand the classical period.

I understand the romantic. It's not about like you have to know every style and be, you know, thin. But, you know, there's always what I've seen in all great pro musicians and they have that pro mentality. They're versatile. And this is just style. We didn't want to go too many, but there's also like versatile being able to work with different people in different circumstances, all those little great.

are big help too. I think the key to this, like the pro-level, the master level of versatility is being able to play different styles and still sounding like you. Like I think about our friend Gregory Hutchinson, he can play about anything.

Yeah. And it still sounds like Hutch. Yes. You know what I mean? He's got his sound coming through even when he's doing like an R&B thing or a straight ahead thing or a brushes thing. Right.

It's all the same musician, all the same artist, but he's so versatile in what he can do and put himself into. So I don't think it necessarily means, like you have to be a chameleon and you have to be able to just like melt into you know a thousand different styles perfectly yeah it's like how you can you be when you're doing these different styles yeah yeah and how much can you absorb from the different styles uh into your

own art and although you may end up being a specialist due to your interest or the kind of gigs that you do or circumstances or timing or or a number of different things you might be a specialist and maybe people only see you doing one thing that doesn't mean you're not versatile and that you don't still value that versatility that you bring to the to the band understand. For sure. All right, number three, we have openness. Yeah, I like this one. Now, you put here like a little parentheses of Roy Hargrove as an example. Yeah, because, you know, sometimes I think we over-explained things. And so I would just say that Roy, and the only thing I will explain is is what I mean whenever I bring up, you know, truly one of the giants of our music and, you know,

contemporary of ours and, you know, that's beloved on a number of different levels. But trumpet playing, composition, humanity, all these things, of course, we hear that in Roy, I would say, like, his openness to grow is what to me was the biggest indicator of him being such a great pro musician. The biggest thing that you would see for that consistently. I mean, when I first met him, he was 16 years old. I think I was 15 years old, maybe even 14 and 15. And all the way up until, you know, when he, his untimely passing, he was going to sit in. He was open to playing with anybody.

Like, it was never like, oh, I can't do that because I'm really good. And he was always really good. He was always at the top of like whatever age group and then, you know, the pecking order. But he was so open to not only playing with any, that was just what you would see. Like he was at every jam session. He was open to learning. He was open to teaching later on. And in such an appropriate way.

He was just open, you know. And so I use him as a shining example. Obviously trumpet players use him as a shining example of a great musician. But I would just say, stay open. That's pro. And sometimes we think, like you think about some of the great basketball players that in the summer they go and play at Rucker Park. That's that same kind of thing. No, I can only play when there's three refs. No, if you have a passion for this and you're a pro, you'll, not

not can play anywhere. You're not going to get hurt or whatever, but Roy was that epitome of openness. That's great. You know, I think, too, what is kind of like a secondary note on this is that he really put the music before everything else. Like, a respect for the music was the pinnacle of that. So all of this openness that you're describing is, I think, because of him wanting to hold the music at such a high standard of respect that he would, you know, sort of give himself to it. Yep. You know, in any way he felt appropriate is great. Awesome.

Number four, I think, might be one of the most important things on this list, which is grit. Grit. Grit. And by grit, we mean work ethic. Oh, no, not grits. That, too. It takes a little grits. No, a work ethic, an ability to come back again and again.

Yeah. Right? To realize that we are here in the long run, that we are musicians for our whole lives. and that we need to keep coming back, we need to keep starting again. Yep. We need to pick ourselves up when we're not feeling great about it

and just keep going, keep working. Yeah. And I mean, the way that you stay a pro is by having grit, it's very hard to, because this is a, it's a difficult endeavor to master an instrument, you know? And it's a long-term thing. And so it's, yeah, it's not 10,000 hours, but it's a lot. It might be more, whatever.

But, I mean, the idea of, like, being a pro and you know sometimes people think of like oh once you hit pro level you don't need the grit the grid is how you get there no the grid is how you get there and then how you stay there you know and so that's like the work ethic and then the great thing about it is generally to get to that top level that pro you know that that mentality but then your actual playing and composing or whatever you're doing at that top level once you get there you can't get there without the grit and usually you kind of get in the habit of having the grid you've already got it and so then you're like oh i'll just keep doing this so that's why you're you're you're

you so often see great pro musicians play all the way right up until they die. Because they're like, I'm going to retire. They're like, they're in the habit of continuing to practice and continuing to get better. And they're not just like, oh, I'm just going to maintain here. But if you don't have this right now, you need to realize that this isn't going to come when you reach for a certain level. No. You have to develop this in the now. Like where you are now is the only place that exists.

So get your grit together right here and right now because it's not going to be like, oh, if I was just here, I could do that. have to have it. And that's the difference. That's why those people who are at that top level are so good is because they've figured out that it's just where we are now, no matter where that is, is the only thing that matters. And it's the only time I have to do this, right? So you have to put

in the work all the time. Like it just doesn't It's never ending. It's never ending. It's never ending. So if you don't like it, find something else. Because it's not like you're going to get to a certain point. Then you're like, now I can relax. Well, so that leads us right into our number six here. Number five, my friend. Oh, yeah, number five. Uh, oh, that doesn't lead us in, actually. Oh, it doesn't.

Okay. Okay. So I'll just act like we're reading this one. Number five, the ability to communicate at a high level. Yeah. Okay. Now, remember why we put this in there is because we wanted to kind of go like a skills, as opposed to just a regular skill, covers many different areas.

So we think about the obvious one, which is communicate through music. But how do we actually do that? Like, what are the skills that we need to develop and to have and that we've seen repeated over and over again with great players? great musicians. Certainly through music, so as you're playing, listening, and having good ears, what we talked about earlier, of course, will help you do that. But also through how you communicate your music that you're composing, if you're doing that, which is through notation. We both spent a lot of time. And when you're younger, you don't realize how important that is. Now,

that's not, that skill is important. This is the one that maybe isn't absolutely necessary on here because we've had some great musicians, pros that never could even read music. But the days of that are kind of waning. But if you are going to notate something, you know, you have to consider how to communicate it. That's right, right, right. And, you know, I always think of the example.

I remember seeing Wayne shorter, oops, drop that name on the ground, in an airport. And, you know, he was so, he was holding this big, kind of folder with score, you know, score size and was like clutching it like it was his baby,

his grandbaby or something. Yeah. And those were his orchestral scores. And like he had his role manager, whatever, but he's holding those. And like, that's how important. Like, he had, notated, that was a piece of him and his music.

For sure. I mean, of course, if you're writing music as good as Waynes, I was trying to steal it from him. Right, yeah, yeah. But then also other ways that are important, I think, to communicate that I see with really good pros, how you talk and just talk to people off the bandstand. I mean, that's an important thing to develop, you know, how you write, you know, via email and all these other ways now. I mean, unless you're, you know, Elvin Jones or something as a drummer, you've got to be able to communicate. And then just, you know, with, you know, fans, people that want to listen online or at concerts, all that kind of stuff is a little bit secondary,

but if you become a good communicator, it helps in those areas as well. They can really help your pro-level stuff. It certainly does. Love it. Okay, number six, passion for music and artistry. I think this one is just super important. This is also, I think, why it's important,

even as you're working on music to constantly be listening to music, constantly trying to go out to hear live music, you know, to go. Those things can reignite your passion, too. For sure. but also to go to museums and galleries and go see a play and go see a film and just whatever you can do that can spark any kind of creativity can be a real game changer yeah game changer yeah and then this thing is one of those ones this a skills that really feeds into all these other ones that you know the grid and all these kind of things can make those easier too so we shouldn't feel like oh well that's like around the edges that's an interesting part, you know, we're keeping all these faders moving up.

That's great. We do have, it's time for number seven. We do have a bonus. What? Yeah, but let's do number seven, and then we'll do our bonus after that. Number seven is always have a bonus. That's an essential skill of a podcaster. Now, what's number seven?

Number seven is to have great technical ability at a high level, the essential technical skill specific to your instrument. I think this is incredibly important. I think this balance with artistry, this is what, to me, makes great musicians. great. Yes. You can't have one and not have the other

for me. If you're just a total NAM technician, I'm going to put that whole category into a thing. I'm just not interested in what you're saying. If you're all plumbing

and no plumber. Right. And if you're all like art without any kind of craft, you're a fan then. It's just not going to work for me either. And I think honestly, I think listeners all have this

like balance, this threshold of balance between these things, right? that we all take into consideration. So whatever that means to you, I think that the key to technical ability is that whatever that means to you, whether that's just how you emote on your instrument,

whether that means super choppy, whatever that is, like you have to spend quality time working on it all the time. Yeah, and it's, you know, absolutely. And it's acknowledging it first and then using your grit to work on that, you know, are you going to get to the level of, you know, Horowitz as a pianist on a technical level, probably not,

no matter how much grit you have, but it's not about that. It's about can you combine that with your passion, you know, for music and artistry and with your grit and your work ethic and your communication and all these things as a piece of the puzzle. It's just so important that we have it on there, and it's fun to kind of end on that, because ultimately it is like if you have a plumber come in to work on your house and he understands architecture and the need for water pressure and everything, but he doesn't know how to use the wrench. You know, it's all going to be for naught.

So I think an important part of this, and what you see really good pros understand and focus on is one particular instrument. Whether they play, they might play five, but on whatever instrument they're playing and becoming proficient on it and becoming a pro on, they really understand the technical nuances and skills that are important for that instrument. And on the most basic level to explain that, a vocalist is going to spend a lot of time and grit and work on intonation, whereas a pianist is not going to necessarily spend a lot of time on that outside of calling. a piano tuner because it's not, but as pianists, we spend more time on independence of the hands, independence of the finger, something a singer. So, you know, violent, every instrument has its own challenges.

The more you're in tune with that, the more you're willing to have some grit and really achieve something with your technical level, the better. I mean, it's like, you know, I'm joking about being a basketball or whatever. If I spend most of my time, you know, lifting weights and doing long-term aerobics and stuff and not enough shooting, yeah, all those are important, but like what's specific to that endeavor that I'm willing to commit to a pro level at. Yeah, you have to commit to those technical factors. Drop down and give me a commitment. Deploy commitment. This guy loves his platitudes. So those were our seven essential skills to being a pro musician. Hey, if you want to learn more about some of these

skills, you can go to Open StudioJazz.com. Do you know we have this thing called the piano access pass? We do. Do you know that it starts at $30 a month? 30? That's kind of a lot. lot, actually. Oh, wait, I'm not supposed to say that, right? That's not bad. That's not, for what you get, are you kidding me? You get literally hundreds, thousands of lessons at this point. Don't overwhelm them. It's pretty amazing. Go to openstudiojazz.com and check out the piano access pass today. What's our bonus, Peter? Oh, bonus. A bonus of our seven essential skills for pro musicians is a little showmanship. Okay, a little flare, a little flair for entertaining. So this is something that I love throwing into the pro level because, you know, whether you can play really good or not, You know, this was not, the reason it's a bonus is not necessarily mandatory. Like if you're so good that you can't. Yeah, exactly. Circus. If you're not quite at the level, this becomes more important. It's sort of a gradation. But I mean, look, all the great players had had that entertainment element, not front of mind, but front of something that they're doing. Not necessarily in that way. I think you read that comment

about me being a little annoying and playing behind you. Yeah. I'm really taking that. He's trying to be entertaining here. Well, till tomorrow, you'll hear it.