Originally Posted By: Notes Norton

I have some recommendations for every musician who plays in a modern, pop music of any kind.
  1. Learn how to read music
  2. Learn basic music theory
  3. Learn to play drums, at least the first dozen or so rudiments. That will tell you how to listen to drums, which will help you play all other instruments in a group
  4. Learn to play and memorize at least these scales and their arpeggios on your chosen non-drum instrument: major, natural minor, harmonic minor, melodic minor, major pentatonic and minor pentatonic. If you are not playing a transposing instrument like a guitar, learn them in all 12 keys. Since music is made from segments of these, when playing, your fingers will find these without a lot of brain work from you.
  5. Listen to singers in all genres of music. Not the words but the inflections, pitch bends, dynamics and so on. This will teach you how to sing on your instrument.
  6. Listen to different genres of music.
  7. Listen to each instrument in a great song from start to finish. When you have that down, listen to how the parts each musician plays interacts with each other.
  8. Find a good teacher when starting out, who will teach you the right (easy) way to play your instrument. Learning bad habits is a lot easier than breaking bad habits so you can play better.
  9. Have fun when playing. OK, practice is not work, but it's repetition and not nearly as much fun as playing the song. But once you learn the song, and it's 'under your fingers', turn the language part of your brain off, and just have fun. If you are having fun, the audience will hear that. They don't call it playing music for nothing.

An overwhelming list for sure and one that can extend beyond anyone's lifetime. I guess that's one point, that the study of music can (should?) be a lifelong endeavor. So it comes down to prioritizing given that we all have limited time. I particularly like 1, 2 7 and 9.

PS> Many thanks to to all who have responded; it's been a good flood. I'm trying to reply to most but I can't keep up due to my current schedule . . . but I'm trying smile

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For me there’s no better place in the band than to have one leg in the harmony world and the other in the percussive. Thank you Paul Tutmarc and Leo Fender.