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Summary: The "magic ingredient" to make any other music book work
Review: I love this book! It cuts to the heart of the matter of being a great musician, dealing with, in extremely practical terms, how we "get in the way" of our own music, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. It points the way, in perfectly clear terms, how to have "soul" behind technique.
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Summary: Kenny's Really Got It!
Review: I read Kenny's book while I was at sea for 3 months, and listened to the CD many times. My playing has really opened up, and I think he's right about all of it. When asked about effortless mastery, Bird said,(paraphrased) "Learn all the technical stuff and then forget it,just play!" That is strictly analogous to practicing correctly, and entering the space. Werner's remarks about the importance of learning the melody, how our minds ruin it for us because we continually rush through the music thereby missing what in fact we are after, practicing up-tempos by just "wiggling your fingers", his observations RE: Bill Evans and Horowitz videos, his "get real time" approach to self-assessment about how to really improve, how to practice, the distinction familiar and unfamiliar as opposed to easy and difficult, and his concept of the Learning Diamond...it is lovingly written... it encourages and shows how to give ourselves permission to really play from our hearts...and effortless mastery emerges from that...boldly insightful and generous.
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Summary: A Big Disappointment
Review: I was so disappointed in this book that I didn't even keep it. I'd recommend "The Inner Game of Music" or "A Soprano on Her Head" instead.
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Summary: Art - the way it should be.
Review: If you are in the arts - it makes no difference just substitute the word music in this book with your art form and you have a book that will change your life. Have friends in the arts that have not read this book? Buy it for them it's the best gift you could ever give, I promise.
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Summary: Great
Review: If you want to that last push to take your playing to the next level or if you have hit a flat spot in your growth read this book.
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Summary: effortless master
Review: If you're an avid but stumbling musician this book will delight you.The spiritual aspect is difficult to absorb if you're a non-believer but the persuasive power of the man and his technique are tremendous.I've listened to lots of self-improvement and self-hypnosis/meditation type recordings but the accompanying cd is phenomenal -you could probably benefit enormously even if you didn't read the book but then you'd miss out on something immense if you didn't.
Given me lots of ideas and makes me want to move of in many new directions.I haven't heard his music but as a motivator/instructor/guide this man's wonderful!
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Summary: Extremely worthwhile and provocative!
Review: Kenny's story alone makes it worth the price of admission! He's a very compassionate man, and a darn good writer! There's so much of yourself to recognize and relate to in this book, I would recommend it highly to anyone involved in creative pursuits. There's courage and inspiration in the pages - can't ask for more than that for twenty bucks!
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Summary: Indispensible and Brilliant from Start to Finish
Review: One night I had a terrible, terrible time in my beginner's jazz ensemble class. Every note I played sounded more horrible than the one before. I distinctly remember, as I was walking toward the train station from the New School in Greenwich Village, New York City, eying every dumpster I saw and thinking -- I could toss my flute in one of those, and I would never have to think about music ever again. But I couldn't quite bear to throw thousands of dollars away, so I didn't throw my flute into the trash. Fortunately, also that night in class, the teacher recommended Effortless Mastery by Kenny Werner to another student who was also floundering. The title stuck with me, so the next day I went out and bought the book. I immediately read the book at least four times through, and I did the meditations daily for over a month. The book and meditations cured my feelings of inadequatecy and rid me forever of the stage fright that had been a problem too. If it hadn't been for this book, I would have quit playing music, and missed out on thousands of hours of joy as a musician, a composer, a band member and as a jazz performer in the very same New York City neighborhood where I took my first jazz ensemble classes. Warmest heartfelt thanks, Kenny Werner, for keeping me playing.
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Summary: New look at a timeless concept
Review: Outstanding. As a musician and teacher (of band and orchestra), I can barely express my gratitude to the author. My outlook on teaching and musicianship has changed drastically for the better since reading this book. After reading it through once and practicing a few of the "steps," I am now re-reading more thoroughly. The students I teach are already benefiting from my more realistic and relaxed approach to their music education. Every music teacher and musician should read this!!!
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Summary: Thinking about our playing takes no effort!
Review: Since chapter one, I got a surprise. I read the first chapter and went out to think about what I had just read. I realized my life was pretty much like Werner's. And just as his life had changed, my life should change too. I always had the urge to take courses on music and read more and more books on technique and some other technical aspects of music. And what I'd always get were 'new toys' for playing, but as I didn't learn how to play with them, I'd be frustrated. Reading Effortless Mastery helped me gain the courage to look within myself and I happened to undertand why I'd felt like that all this time. This is an amazing book for musicians! I couldn't play one more note on my keyboard until I really discovered the secret for mastery. And now I know what it is. If you want to get the idea, READ ON!
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