In the chapter I just read (ch. 2) he talks about enrolling & finding his niche at Berklee. Perhaps he studied both places?

For those of us who are choosing to read together, Chaper One is also titled Introduction, and is only 2 pages long. How about us reading through Chapter Two for discussion Monday. And since this isn't the sort of book that can have spoilers, I was hoping maybe a few preliminary observations might motivate others to buy/dig out copies and read/re-read along with us.

My first observation is that I am in a much better place to appreciate this book than I was during my first read. Chapter 2 is about his early musical journey, and I'm finding that some of his early satoris are very resonant with the personal shifts of viewpoint which seem to have triggered my current musical "renaissance".

For me this is mainly stuff about learning to disregard the insecure & self-judging mental chatter which has in the past obscured my deeper personal connection the music. I've been doing a lot of mindfulness meditation & awareness work over the past couple of years, learning to derail my negative mental noise by keeping my awareness present in the here and now. This is now bearing fruit in helping me stay present with my music, instead of ruminating over what a hopeless musician i am.

This chapter also generated thoughts related to things I've been thinking about after reading other recent threads in the ABF, and I'm in the process of digesting all this into a new thread topic, more of a question to the forum at large.

Hi Tangleweeds,

I realized that last night-that ch1 was only one page and made a point to tell everyone to read ch1 and ch2! So, thank you for pointing that out.

I have the same issue with the mental chatter (not just in music but other areas of my life as well) and because of books like this and all the wonderful people on PW I am learning to overcome a lot of my "issues".

I also and re-reading this book from a different perspective now and I am really looking forward to taking this journey with all of you. There is one specific thing in the book that made a huge difference for me and my approach to music. But I will touch on that when we get to the chapter.

I could really relate to a lot of what he said about school and how he sort of zoned out. That's pretty much what I did but unfortunately I wasn't quite as talented has he was-he he.

Anyway, look forward to chatting with you all again on Monday.

I am not trying to hijack this thread, but folks interested in Effortless Mastery might also want to check this book out:

http://www.amazon.com/Musicians-Way-Practice-Performance-Wellness/dp/0195343131

Hey Rocket88,
Thanks for the suggestion. I take it you've read the book? How did you like it? Maybe that can be next on the book club list.

I read (some of) the artists way years ago and enjoyed it. So, I was intrigued by this book.

Hi Kymber:

It is one of the best books I have ever read regarding many aspects of practicing, playing, and performing.

Hi Kymber and all, Count me in. I just got the book with CD and have had to stop myself reading it. This may be "just what the doctor ordered" for me. Is there some kind of schedule for discussing the chapters? Thanks!

Perhaps a new thread for each chapter. eg

"The EM Book Club Threads: Chpt 1 & 2"

Rocket88: cool, I will definitely have to check it out when I'm finished with this. And then we can start a book club for that one

CMohr: Glad you'll be joining us. I thought we would do about a chapter a week. This week we are going to read ch1 and ch2 by Monday the 27th (ch1 is only one page). But if you can't have it done by then no worries. You can jut join in when you're ready.

Stanza: Thanks for the suggestion. I was tossing that idea around. Wasn't sure if we should have a separate thread for each chapter or if we should keep it all contained in one thread (in case someone misses a week or something everything will be in one place so they can review previous discussions and not have to search for them). At the least I might start a separate thread for the discussion section.

What do others think? One thread for all discussions or a separate thread for each chapter?

I vote for all one mega-thread, because:

- It's worked for the Alfred's books

- I'm pretty certain that many of my comments will be relevant to various aspects of different chapters

- Easier to find, less fuss & muss

- People can chime in as they come along

ETA:

- Easier to reflect on earlier comments, and weave them back into the discussion

OTOH I'd be into doing a separate thread each potential future book.

I'm into the idea of maybe following up with the book that Rocket88 suggested.

I agree with you, Tangleweeds. One thread, less confusing. Looking forward to the discussion!

Hello
I'm just returning to learning, need to start from scratch again! I read this book a few years ago. It's a matter of sifting out what suits you as an individual, but I found much of the advice made me really think about how I was playing and helped give me more confidence.
I welcome the opportunity to re-read this book and to share ideas with others.
Thank you so much for bringing up this topic.

Oh, and one single thread would be much easier to find. cheers.

Welcome to the forum, choshi, and welcome to the thread too.

It's funny, I also feel kind of like I'm re-starting from scratch, having played only in short and not terribly productive spurts since I quit smoking back in 2010. As I start up again I keep being surprised by how many things I've forgotten! But it feels great returning to the piano after working through the impressively distracting life (& musical!) issues that surfaced after I quit using cigarettes to suppress them.

I have a strong intuition that working through this book right now will be very helpful to me as I re-commence my musical journey. I hope it will be the same for you!

quite a challenge!! It's a whole page!

Welcome choshi: looking forward to our discussion. As tangleweeds said I think going through this book together and sharing our thoughts and experiences will help us all along our musical journey.

can you handle it? Lol. Just kidding.

ch 1&2 by Monday. Then we can decide as we go along if we want to do 1 or 2 chapters a week.

I've just finished Chap 3 of this book from the library. While I find the link to religion slightly off-putting, it makes for a good read.

Hi Saucermancer: a lot off people were out off by that as well.
We'll be chatting more tomorrow. Hope you will join the discussion.

Hi All,
I just started a new thread called "Effortless Mastery Discussion Group".
See you all there.