Liberating the Master Musician Within - Book & CD - Effortless Mastery

Wonderful book, every musician should read it. I strongly recommend it! Kenny guides us through the problems of disfunctional praticing and playing and teaches us to come back to that first feeling we had when we played our instruments for the very first time.

After only reading the first few pages of this book, I had already discovered my life's purpose. This is a wonderful book for musicians who are self-conscious of their skills or who have low self-esteem. I highly recommend it!

I recommend this book to anyone looking to refresh his practice and approach to study music. To some it may seem a bit abstract or esoteric but I think those concepts are very well exposed and taken to the world of interpreting music.

Although the book does start slow and just give you background, it does help a musician get over a hump of not playing well. The book also gives one a new way to think about playing. So if you're a player in a rut of your playing this book is a good read and will help get you out of it.

Kenny Werner looks beyond the physical properties of playing music, and offers a new (for me) perspective on playing music, why we do it, and what we are doing. This foundational perspective is like a paradigm switch which changes how we can go about the pursuit of making music, and provides the grounds for feeling great in the process. Included in this is his definition of "mastery", and believing that it is available to us humans. He guides the reader with practical exercises and inspiring examples. I am glad I found this book.

Werner explains everything here !
He knows all the pain that happens in
a musician's mind and how crazy can
we go.
A great pathway for being happy and
creative with your music and your life.

Kindle version is not complete: the book should have an attachment CD with meditation. If somebody would explain how to get it I would be glad to give more stars. This question with this book came up also in the forum.

This is a terrific text potentially capable of guiding the reader through improvement of his/her performance. However, it is wothless without the CD. I received the book all right, but WITHOUT the crucial part for practicing and/or meditation - the CD.
The the store did not specify that the book includes the CD and did not forwarn the purchaser before finishing the sale that this particular book is missing this important intrinsic part.
The book without the CD is useless. I wasted my money.
I would change my opinion of the store and the book should Amzon complete the package and forward to me the missing item.

Essentially this author wants you to practice meditation. Every bit of advice in the book pushes towards that--it struck me as far more about meditation than about improving improvisation skills. As worthy as that is, it's not for me.

Maestro Werner has shed a bright light on an area of art-making (and creativity in general) that has remained in the dark for far too long. I often read self-help books with a pencil in hand, ready to underline any particularly interesting notion or potentially helpful advice-- I found myself underling nearly EVERYTHING in Effortless Mastery. The book contains far too many deep insights to provide even a semi-intelligble outline of them here, but one of the most salient ones for me involves the very common, creativity-killing feeling/belief among many artists that "the greats" possess some magical essence unattainable by us "mere mortals;" Kenny assures us that this is not at ALL the case and lays out a methodical program for attaining the mastery we so admire in our heroes. He is, however, careful to explain that there are no shortcuts to achieving mastery and that, as much of a game-changer as his insights are, internalizing them and being transformed by them will require a great deal of dedication, time, and patience. What he does NOT endeavor to explain is how many legendary artists (especially in the world of jazz) managed to achieve mastery (which Kenny insists is only possible by divesting oneself of ego and deliberately and consistently entering a zen-like state of detachment) without employing ANY kind of similar methodology (much less the kind of quasi-spiritual one we find in Effortless Mastery); one is left to ponder such mysteries on one's own (How DID/DO so many ego-driven, anti-spiritual, non-meditating, and/or seriously drug-addicted jazz musicians attain(ed) such a high level of mastery?? We find no answers in Effortless Mastery.). This may prove to be a flaw or drawback for some. Another possible flaw or drawback (one with which I find myself grappling) is that Maestro Werner insists that each step of his Four Steps method MUST be mastered before moving on to the next one while, as far as I can tell, providing no great clue as to how one can be certain this mastery has been achieved (He DOES explain that mastering each step takes "as long as it takes" and that one should avoid placing any pressure-- including the pressure of a deadline-- on oneself while mastering each step. But, as far as providing "signposts of mastery" indicating that one is ready to tackle the next step goes, there don't seem to be any, particularly with regard to Step One. As far as I can tell, one could spend the rest of one's LIFE on just Step One, doing nothing more than first "centering" oneself in "The Space," then slowly and robotically articulating a series of individual notes... lather, rinse, repeat!). All in all, however, Effortless Mastery is an entertaining and illuminating read which should occupy a space on every artist's bookshelf.

I bought this book because the promising title and its overwhelmingly positive reviews intrigued me. I even was aware of an 'Effortless Mastery' study group on a piano forum I occasionally follow. Unfortunately, it was not what I expected.

I came away from reading 'Effortless Mastery' with one single substantive idea, and Mr. Werner withholds it until the end. If you want to spare yourself from wading through his insights on life and culture (and a whole lot of warm and fuzzy new age touchy-feely 'wisdom'), I can distill the crux of Mr. Werner's practical advice into a concise paragraph.

In a nutshell, this is it. When learning a piece of music, there are three interdependent factors - speed, accuracy, and the length of the segment being practiced - and one can maintain two of those elements simultaneously but never all three. So if your concern is strict accuracy, for example, (1) you may practice at the target tempo just a brief fragment, or (2) you may practice a lengthy passage but only at a slow tempo. One factor must always be sacrificed for the other two until mastery is achieved ('effortless' or otherwise!).

Unless you're interested in esoteric musings and advice about meditation, there's nothing else here. It also bears mentioning that the quality of this book's binding was truly rock-bottom. By the time I was finished reading, nearly every page had become completely unglued from the spine. I would happily donate or resell it, but it's just a sheaf of loose pages now.

The ideas in this book about self-awareness and practicing music are so profound -- and so true -- I've read this book three times this year.

Werner describes the thought process behind becoming a jazz musician. No one has previously described the mental pitfalls and hangups more clearly, sometimes it's like he has transcribed dialogue from ones own head. This book has made a difference in my playing and outlook, and for some of my friends.

For these reasons, I can't recommend this book enough (even if I disagree with him that meditation is the primary solution to the problems he describes).

Effortless Mastery is a wonderful book. So many great insights that really cut to the core of why we all play and love music. Werner's thoughts on practicing have profoundly helped me.

The basic idea, when it comes to practicing is to get control of your focus and be patient. We all feel like we have a ton of things to work on and frequently our mind rushes us through ten things without absorbing anything at all. Werner's approach is to work for short bursts on something basic to your playing, like a rhythm or a technique or the form of a tune, all the while remaining detached and not even trying to play correctly. In fact, your mind should go the other way while practicing, "I hope I play it wrong."

Every mistake that you make shows you where the problems in your playing lie. You then keep reducing the material until you can effortlessly play something or in other words until it is mastered. And this micro practicing has a macro effect as confirmed by my own experiences and also elaborated on in the book.

I give this book and cd my highest of recommendations to all musicians who are looking for more depth, enjoyment, confidence, ease of playing, and well, mastery in their musical careers. It has brought all of these things to me (and more) at a time when I most needed them.

It's so easy - as most of us know - to let that little voice in our head tyrannize and corrupt our musical experiences; whether it's during performance, recording, composing, practicing, or even when teaching and listening. This little voice, and the mindset to which it can lead, can transform what should be an ecstatic and fulfilling musical experience to one of trepidation, discomfort, and even fear.

But if this sounds all too familiar, fret not! Kenny has laid out a clear and simple plan for us to follow with which we can end all of the anxiety and learn to play music from what is known as "the space." This is the mindset (demonstrated by such legends as Miles Davis, Count Basie, and Itzhak Perlman) of total relaxation and focus that is free of judgment, expectation, and essentially any thought process whatsoever - opening us up like an empty vessel to receive a never-ending supply of ideas and inspiration. You could also refer to "the space" as the meditative state brought to a particular task - in this case, playing a musical instrument. It is that place that exists just behind our mind (and all of its ceaseless 'noise') where perfection and joy is a constant.

It is from this space that we must learn to practice and perform music for us to truly achieve what Kenny calls 'effortless mastery,' which he describes as one being able to play the material perfectly (whether it's jazz, classical, etc.) every time and without thought; to the point where the music plays itself and we just stay out of the way. Once we reach this point, he explains, we can experience the bliss, depth of sound, perfection, and everything else we think that only the elite few are 'entitled' to experience. Effortless mastery is, in fact, available to all of us if only we will open ourselves up to it. Kenny Werner will show you the way with this beautiful book and cd package.

Best wishes--

Great, but watch out for negative programming.
While I highly recommend this book, I would caution you about what I perceive as blunders during the guided meditations.
I believe Mr Werner intentions are honest and that that he lays down an excellent plan
for any musicians. (Jazz or not, by the way. Yes Mr Werner speak of Jazz greats, but the principles discussed here can apply to any music or even art form, for that matter). The" talk "parts of the book are excellent, dissecting the various dysfunctions that hold so many musicians in there practice, relationship with the Self, the Ego. This book can really make a difference setting up a fresh new perspective and work ethic to propel you and your Music to new heights.
However, and this breaks my heart because I really wanted to give this 5 stars, what I consider blunders in the actual guided meditations:
As you might know, the mind and the subconscious only work with positives:
I mean DO NOT picture a pink elephant...What shows up? a pink elephant.
Tell a kid don' t eat the cookies, and you just gave the kid the idea of eating the cookies.
Instead: Picture a gray elephant, and let's keep the cookies for desert.
This is a basic Neuro-linguistic reprogramming/ hypnosis/ Affirmation/ Buddhist Intention/ what ever you call it, the mind works better with positives than negatives. It is a basic fact that I wish would have been acknowledged before the printing of this book.
If you "tell you subconscious" the music you play is ...NOT JAZZ, jazz will show up.
If you "tell you subconscious" I don' t need to prove that I am great" proving that I am great shows up...
In one meditation, another blunder (p 93): After a few relaxing, closed eyes moment you hear:
"Let this moment be a holiday from perpetual discomfort." Hello?! That statement implies that I was and will be in "perpetual discomfort", before and after the meditation!. That one really aggravated me. Further, in that same guided meditation, after a very relaxing sentence, Mr Werner enumerate a list of fears:' fear of people...of playing...of sounding bad...of not surviving..of not being well thought of..." Talk about relaxing. It made me conceptualize fears I did not have. I believe this is fine during the speech part but not during the meditation part.
When you guide trusting people, and yourself, to a journey within with your words, your words need to be fool proof. Don't take my word for it , and see what your research will yield. Speaking of research, Mr Werner quotes various inspiring books well worth reading as well, so thank you for that.
So I still recommend the book, but rewrite and re record the CD with all positives, and, while you are at it, a more tailored fashion.

As someone who is "new" to jazz, I started becoming overwhelmed when I looked at ALL the material there was. How to create lines, different new chords, all the tunes, ETC etc.. It all seemed like so much there was no way i was going to learn all of it and in a proficient way as to be a good player! Well Kenny gave me a great insight through his book on how to "not care". And through not caring about how to play "valid jazz" I was free to create the music I heard in my head! I also always found my playing was either WONDER-FULL or was in a rut.. and if it Was wonderful it was probably about to be in a rut and Kenny showed me why that is. This book has so many great things to offer, philisophical insights, tips on HOW to practice which was great for me, different meditations, etc.. And whenever I lose sight of what my real goal is in playing music (connecting with my inner self) I go back and read different parts of the book again (step 1-4) and it sparks something. I really wish to go to a seminar givin by Werner someday just so I can thank him for writing such a great book! JUST BUY THIS BOOK

This is a truly a great book...it indentifies, and deconstructs fear and inadequacy in the realm of music performance...Werner explains the many reasons why musicians do not play up to their potential...he offers a direct access to applied musical experience and virtuosity by way of 1.) establishing a new rapport with the music/ instrument <THE SPACE> 2).honest self-realization (getting rid of the need to sound good, the necessity of being detached, so that "...we can be honest without becoming depressed". 3). New practice techniques <THE FIVE MINUTE TECHNIQUE> 4).Affirmations <MUSIC IS EASY/THERE ARE NO WRONG NOTES/EVERY NOTE I PLAY IS THE MOST BEAUTIFUL SOUND I HAVE EVER HEARD, I AM GREAT, I AM A MASTER, and a bonus CD, which is a guided meditation of all of the above. He talks about the "Monk Principle", and facilitates shifts in thinking, like, MUSIC IS NOT HARD, JUST UNFAMILIAR. He has many inciteful suggestions, "Mimic Playing", and "PLAYING FAST" to name a couple, all of which are designed to "rewire" the way we view ourselves. In short, he shows us how to give ourselves permission to be great musicians. Add this book to your regime, and I guarantee, you'll be cookin'! Thanks Kenny!