Paperback book and CD set. Effortless Mastery: Liberating the Master Musician Within is a book for any musician who finds themselves having reached a plateau in their development. Werner, a masterful jazz pianist in his own right, uses his own life story and experiences to explore the barriers to creativity and mastery of music, and in the process reveals that "Mastery is available to everyone," providing practical, detailed ways to move towards greater confidence and proficiency in any endeavor. While Werner is a musician, the concepts presented are for every profession or life-style where there is a need for free-flowing, effortless thinking. Book also includes an audio CD of meditations narrated by Kenny to help the musician reach a place of relaxed focus.
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.5 / 5.0
Mastery through Practice:
There are a lot of good reviews for this book and there is also a very good Wikipedia article on it which will give the reader a quick take on what this is about. Everyone probably takes something different from it. For me, it was useful in creating practice time that was much more focused and enjoyable. The aim of the technique is to cultivate instinct & commitment to presence in performance - whether that's in front of an audience or just in practice. It's also about quieting the critic, reducing... more info
please get this book for your promising student or yourself!:
I first read this book about 10 years ago on the recommendation of a friend of mine who like me is a professional jazz musician and music teacher. He had been to Kenny Werner workshops and discovered the book that way. I've bought several copies of this book for friends and students who suffer from any number of issues relating to feeling that their playing isn't up to par. It's basically a book, based on a personal accounting of the author's own struggles with self confidence as a piano,a young adult... more info
Keep an open mind about this one:
I have to admit that after first reading the book and trying the meditations, I did not fully appreciate what all the 5-star reviews here at Amazon were going on about. My first reaction was "Yea, some of this is useful (though not new) and yea, maybe the meditations could be useful, but this cat really is over the top." Some of the self-empowering parts of the meditations seem corny and unconvincing. HOWEVER, after a little time (few months) passed, I find myself using parts of the meditations and... more info
Wonderful:
Brilliant. I'm glad I was able to find this book. I was especially glad to get the book so soon after I ordered it as well.
