Don’t feel like practicing? That’s acceptable every once in a while. (For our purposes, “once in a while” is defined as “once every fifty years”.) If you’ve already used up your 100-year allowance, as I have, try these. The time frames are merely my suggestions. Tip: add a book to your Amazon Wish List, then later search for it at your local library.
For beginners or first year students:
First, Learn to Practice, by Tom Heany
The Little Book of Talent, by Daniel Coyle
The War of Art, by Steven Pressfield
Grit, by Angela Duckworth
For second year students:
The Practice of Practice, by Jonathan Harnum
The Talent Code, by Daniel Coyle
Mastery, by George Leonard
Turning Pro, by Steven Pressfield
For third year students and beyond:
The Practicing Mind, by Thomas Sterner
The Musician’s Way, by Gerald Klickstein
The Artist's Journey, by Steven Pressfield
Do the Work, by Steven Pressfield
Peak: Secrets from the New Science of Expertise, by Anders Ericsson and Robert Pool
Art and Fear: Observations on the Perils (and Rewards) of Artmaking, by David Bayles and Ted Orland
Other resources I have used and recommend to anyone who is new to music theory and principles:
Understanding the Fundamentals of Music, by Prof. Robert Greenberg for The Great Courses
The Vaughn Cube for Music Theory, by Dean Vaughn is apparently now out of print. The link here is to the first of the few lessons available on YouTube. In its place, I recommend the two-volume set from Berklee:
Berklee Music Theory - Book 1, and Berklee Music Theory - Book 2.
And for those who want to dig deeper:
How Music and Mathematics Relate, by Prof. David King for The Great Courses
