When you hear the words “effortless mastery” you may be seeing second word flashing in neon red. It shouts out, “You will never be this good!”

You imagine your favorite fiddle virtuoso, whether Natalie McMasters, Sam Bush or Bruce Molsky. That’s mastery. You ain’t gettin’ there.

This reaction takes “effortless mastery” the wrong way.

I’ve met many fiddlers who can play a  tune in good style. They may not be virtuosi. But, they have mastered that tune the way they play it. When they play it with enjoyment and ease, then it is effortless mastery.

Audiences enjoy the sound and marvel at the ability to produce that sound. They may not think  consciously that the playing shows effortless mastery, but that’s the understanding inside that is not spoken.

If mastering a tune meant only the ability to play it at the highest level  of musicianship and virtuosity, then compared to Liz Carroll, Mark O’Connor, and the like, we all fail. That’s not what effortless mastery is about.

I recently watched the DVD talk by Kenny Werner on effortless mastery. He was talking to dedicated musicians, mostly. The majority were jazz players. What he had to say translates to any music medium.

The DVD presentation strengthened my take on the book. It doesn’t have all the detail of the book, but it hits the main idea very clearly.

If you feel that you are stuck in any sense at all in your musical journey, this may be just the help you need.

He has a very relevant hit on practicing that I am still thinking about. I may write about this again, but why wait. Just get the DVD.

And order something else to bring the total up to $25, so you can get free shipping.