How do you become great at music?

f you want to be great at music, you have to be dedicated to the Art of music. What does that mean? It has to become your personal reality each and everyday. Everyday you have to try to learn something new about the art you’re going to create. 

To me that starts by listening to music. With all the available streams, this is accessible more than ever before. I personally use iTunes. But there are other streaming possibilities to use as well.

My iTunes has all the Jazz greats, my classical hero's, and movie scores that fill my day with so much listening pleasure, that inspires the way I want to play and sound. 

I believe you first have to know how to sound if you want to be that sound. For example, on my classical degree at MSU, when I was assigned a piece of music, I went out and tried to dig up as many recordings of that piece I could find. Then I decided which artist motivated me the most, and I played along with the artist to try to get the sound I was looking for. 

The same with jazz, when learning a tune, go and find at least 3 different versions of the tune. By listening to the tune, one can then figure an approach to learning that has the students ears open and wide.

After listening, your practice should be rounded and balanced. For Trumpet playing that means a student should practice sound, flexibility, articulation, etudes and repertoire. A jazz student should transcribe, play and learn harmony, apply to learning tunes, and improvising every day. 

If you want to be great, you have to immerse yourself in whatever subject matter you pursue. In this world of mediocrity and dumbing down, learn to apply yourself to be as great as you can be.