112: Becoming an Expert Learner, with Josh Plotner - a podcast by Musical U
from 2018-10-02T07:00
Today we're talking with Josh Plotner, a man who plays seemingly pretty much every woodwind instrument, from saxophones to flutes to recorders to clarinets - and a ton of world instruments you may never have heard of.
Josh works on Broadway and also provides recording and arranging services both in person and online, drawing on his amazingly broad wind skills. And he came across our radar because he also produces two fantastic kinds of YouTube video, one in which he very punchily explains the must-know rules for arranging for particular instruments in a sensible way, and the other in which he arranges popular music such as TV themes for a variety of instruments - and then plays every part himself!
We wanted to know what had gone into the music education of a person who could do all this, and the conversation was truly enlightening. You’re going to hear about:
• Josh’s early days and the surprising attitude that let him quickly learn more instruments than most of us have dreamed of ever playing
• The one critical thing Josh says is the essence of his attitude to learning and which is simple - though perhaps not easy.
• And the amount of daily practice it took to juggle an endless array of ensembles and groups during his high school years, as well as the way he thinks about practicing now that lets him stay in shape on all those instruments.
We know you’re gonna enjoy this episode and we think it might provoke you to think differently about your own route in learning music - or to better understand the route you have chosen. And we must insist that you go immediately after finishing listening, and check out some of Josh’s YouTube videos. We’ll have a few recommended favourites in the shownotes for this episode.
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Full Show Notes and Transcript: Episode 112
Links and Resources
• Game of Thrones Theme - Woodwinds Only
• This is Halloween - Woodwinds Only
• How to Write for Clarinet in 2 Minutes
• Mindset: The New Psychology of Success, by Carol Dweck
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