
WHAT YOU LEARN
LEARNING MUSIC

Co-authors Kevin Bales and Mike Shaw draw on decades of performing, teaching, touring, and listening to show what music demands beyond talent. From purposeful practice and improvisation to mentorship, audience connection, creative risk, and the real business of making a life in music, they bring lessons from the bandstand into everyday life.
The next time you sit down to play, listen, or create, you may hear possibility differently.
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THE JOY OF PLAYING &
PERFORMING
“I fully endorse this magnificent and much needed book by Kevin Bales and Mike Shaw.”
William Scotty, Barnhart, Director, The Count Basie Orchestra
“What You Learn Learning Music adds support to the view that music is, above all, a powerful tool for social living.”
Samuel Markind, MD, Author of Music Between Your Ears
“Warm, wise, and richly personal, these conversations remind us that music, regardless of genre, is a language of humanity, capable of revealing who we are and bringing us closer to one another.”
William R. Langley, Resident Conductor, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra
“An inspiring book packed with tales and insights, which will enrich the musical lives of all who read it. Bravo!”
Christopher Sutton, Author of Musicality and Founder of Musical U
