Learning Strategies For Musical Success

by Michael Griffin

When it comes to musical skill, why is it that some people achieve so much more than others? We are frequently led to believe this is because of a talent hardwired into their DNA. Now, music educator Michael Griffin dismisses that age-old notion in favour of another known factor: practice. His new book, Learning Strategies for Musical Success illustrates how the quantity and quality of practice is the greatest predictor of musical success so that aspiring musicians of all ages and abilities can best bring about expert performance. This inspiring, accessible guide will equip students, teachers, adult learners, and parents with the methods and mindset to improve the likelihood of learning music successfully. Learning Strategies for Musical Success is guided by the philosophy that achievement in music, and, indeed, most other pursuits, is largely a result of intrinsic belief mindsets coupled with the quantity and quality of practice. By creating the optimal circumstances to retain and further accomplishment, any student can further their skills and abilities dramatically. This includes not only effective practice methods, but also the “soft skills” that enhance the process, including motivation, intelligence mindset, and self-discipline. In doing so, Griffin covers all aspects of musical training, from the appropriate age to start learning to the ways that parents can help motivate their children to remain committed to practicing. He distills effective methods of practice, including distribution of time, repetition, sleep learning, chunking, slow play, expression and more. The book then elaborates on the value of soft skills, and how they can create a setting conducive to a student reaching metacognition, or intrinsic motivation. Griffin also thoughtfully assesses playing music with the whole brain; music creativity; as well as the role of music in human intelligence. In addition, the author draws from the lives of highly successful musicians like Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, John Coltrane, and The Beatles, as well as his own personal experience, sports analogies, neuroscience, psychology, and research results. The book also imparts useful facts, such as the direct relationship between musical achievement and hours of practice. An original medley of timeless wisdom, proven strategies, and encouragement, Learning Strategies for Musical Success will provide students of all ages, teachers, and parents with invaluable insight on perspective and practice, the essentials of musical excellence within anyone’s reach. Changing your tune on how you go about it may just change your musical life.

Genres: Music, Education, Nonfiction

200 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 26, 2013

About the author

Michael Griffin B.Ed Music, M.Ed Studies, A.Mus.A (Pianoforte)

Michael Griffin has been involved in music education since 1985. As a conductor Michael and his school ensembles achieved many awards including the Australasian Open Choral Championship in 2004, a first for an Australian secondary school. Michael was awarded the Education and Arts Ministers’ Prize in 2006, and is listed in the Who’s Who SA Edition for 2007 and 2008. He was nominated for a National Teaching Excellence award in 2005.
In recent years, Michael has been based in Dubai and the UK, consulting in schools and at conferences in more than 20 countries. Michael has adjudicated eisteddfods in SA, QLD and the ACT. More recently, Michael has been consulting for Cambridge University Press redesigning music curriculum for Kazakhstan, and is currently Head of Music at CBC in Adelaide.
Michael’s books include ‘Bumblebee: Rounds & Warm-Ups for Choirs’ and ‘Learning Strategies for Musical Success’. Trained as a classical pianist, performance residencies include Dubai’s Burj al Arab and Australia’s Hayman Island.

Reviews

[JJ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Michael Griffin has tried to give us a comprehensive book on musical learning. Even though the book holds many interesting insights, the attempt to be comprehensive also means that he was not able to go in depth in many chapter, or at some places even worse, satisfies himself with saying just the obvious.
The book does a wonderful job in laying out the traps adults and children may face on their musical learning path and can therefore be recommended if you feel unsure about how to stay on the right track throughout the years. This job is achieved within the first three chapters. The last three chapters, which muse about musical education and different types of intelligence, are somewhat redundant, and probably only musical educators will find some added value hidden away in between the paragraphs.
While the writing style is mostly convincing, it derails at times into the style of a pamphlet. The text builds often on quotes of famous thinkers. In the beginning, this is amusing and often also instructive. However, towards the end the text jumps from quote to quote, where the quotes are presented as absolute, beautiful truths, without going into the laborious and tricky work of exploring the thinking behind them.
All in all the book gives the feeling of attending a TED talk, where during the talk you are impressed by the strong and daring statements, but which leaves you behind with an empty feeling when you try to retrieve the key messages, but this time without the rhetoric skills of the presenter. I would nevertheless recommend the book for the strong first three chapters and am grateful that Michael Griffin put his life long experience with musical education down in this book for us to learn from.

[Brandon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Learning Strategies For Musical Success is a wonderful collection of powerful insights and research that absolutely holds the power to provide exactly what the title suggests. Michael Griffin presents a wide array of not-too-long chapters and subheadings that intertwine and support each other in harmonious fashion. Information is sequenced in an order that makes sense and allows the reader to begin tapping into its magic essentially right from the beginning.

I am grateful to all presented and will make sure to delve deeper into some of the references as many seemingly just-as-powerful books were mentioned throughout. The beauty of much of its contents is that it can actually be applied beyond music to general studying and learning. This of course applies beyond academic settings and it more-than-relevant to those who consider themselves to be students of life.

I will be coming back every once-in-a-while to reinforce and integrate the plentiful lessons of this publication. And of course, be practicing my piano!

Five stars!
*****

[Katrina Fox · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very interesting read, with much research-backed advice presented concisely.