There's a lot of mystery around why some musicians get ahead and why others don't.

We might think it's about having a natural & untouchable talent... but that's simply not true.

• It's not about having the fastest chops or most brilliant technique [Yes, we need to have great control over our instrument — but technique is only a vehicle for delivering our musical ideas, and that is influenced more by what we hear than how fast we can play.]

• It's not about spending 8 hours a day in the practice room [For every great musician who spend eight hours a day practicing, there are countless others who get further with only one or two hours of practice. It's about optimizing your time, focus, and being efficient away from the instrument.]

• It's not about having a music degree OR natural talent [Even those with music degrees often miss out on building the skills that sustain a long-term music career. And natural talent? Every professional started as a beginner, period.]

We know that superior results are the accumulation of doing the right things every day.

And yet...

Conventional wisdom often makes what the great musicians do seem mythical and unachievable.

• [News flash: They learned the same way everyone learns— with time, dedication, and great mentorship.]

Even worse, this draws attention away from what really makes them great.

The asset that...

...makes them first-call players,

...drives all of their playing choices,

... builds their musical confidence,

...and is 100% achievable by everyone:

It's no secret that it's harder than ever to be a professional musician these days.

Whether you're a classical, jazz, pop, or even Balkan-folk musician, the demands placed on you are already overwhelming enough:

... to play with flawless technique and perfect intonation

... to sight-read well, even if it's atonal and in an odd meter

...and to be able to get outside of your own head, playing 100% in the moment while supporting the other musicians around you.

That's a tall order. And let's be real:

To be a competitive musician at the highest level, that's just the start.

On top of playing with a high level of expression and authenticity, there's also the daily practice: scales, arpeggios, etudes, learning repertoire... you know the drill.

Easy stuff, right? 🙄

It's almost as if there's not enough time to work on our ears, or focus on "creative" activities like composing and improvising...

(or maybe you believe it's *just* for jazz musicians)

Either way... there's just so much to digest!

Not to mention mastering repertoire for the big orchestral audition, rehearsals with your band, finishing that composition commission... or memorizing jazz standards for your next gig.

We're constantly spinning our wheels... and worse, even when we follow our practice plans to a T, the individual pieces often don't come together and give us the freedom to play that we want.

In fact, all of the practice we do mostly leads to more thinking on the gig — and LESS freedom.

And if there's one thing we want, it's the ability to play without worry.

What's ironic is that the one thing that will help us the most — saving time and playing with more confidence — with this is the thing we actually neglect:

Our ears.

Of course, there are shortcuts: the iReal pro, an iPad full of notation, or just avoiding opportunities that would force you to rely on your ear.

And then, it inevitably happens where you don't have the sheet music and are forced to play something entirely by ear.

Maybe one tune is okay, but eventually you get lost... and it's totally obvious to everyone.

Panic.

And of course, we all know that when the oh s**t feeling sets in, it becomes even MORE difficult to hear what's happening and support the musicians around you.

Your sound suffers and you lose confidence, clearly broadcasting your discomfort. Fear blocks your listening skills.

Yeah... everybody knows.

And then on to the next piece.

It doesn't matter if it's at a coffee shop gig or on stage with the New York Philharmonic... this can and DOES happen to a lot of musicians.

Maybe it's already happened to you, or you have your own version of this story.

(I know I've TOTALLY been in those situations.)

Often times, these experiences encourage people to finally confront their aural skills.

They'll try memorizing chord changes with flash cards, learning more theory, use ear training apps, or even take classes at a local school.

(And I applaud these efforts!)

But somehow, these things just don't translate to being more comfortable and confident when actually performing.

It's like music only makes sense when you think about it... but not when you play or listen to it.

And, it makes it feel more impossible to get to a point of better ears.

Maybe you're asking "What's wrong with using sheet music? Do I really need better ears?"

The issue is that the using an aid like the Real Book, or constantly relying on sheet music turns our ears off... and we never learn to engage them the way we need to.

It stops our creativity. Our flow. Our ability to connect to the musicians around us.

Learning music solely from notation is like using a dictionary to learn a second language. It tells what to say, but it doesn’t tell us how to comprehend, listen, or interact — the most critical pieces of playing.

And the ear-training apps, YouTube lessons, and flash cards? They're only treating symptoms without actually addressing the root issue.

You can practice those skills until you're blue in the face, but they won't ever translate to live musical situations.

Focusing on intervals and other broken-down skills to develop your ears is like learning to recognize the taste of cake by eating flour, sugar, water, oil, and eggs separately.

There's good news, though. Just in the way that everyone is wired to learn a language, everyone can learn to listen at a deep level...

... at the level needed to create music that is stimulating and fun.

You need a path that breaks down things the right way from the beginning... and doesn't leave any gaps throughout the journey.

You need a path that doesn't delay learning music, or offer bridges"to learning repertoire when you're ready.

Rather than spending nine months with an app studying intervals and chords... imagine learning and a concerto by ear, or learning 50 jazz standards from recordings without notation OR your instrument.

Now, imagine performing them in front of a full audience, knocking it out of the park.

Even if you feel like it’s too late for you to achieve goals like that, or that you’re “just an amateur” so top bookings are never going to happen for you... it's never too late.

This reality is possible for you. There IS a way.