I would strongly recommend this book to anyone who plays or listens to any form of music.

 The authors are well-known musicians and this book draws on their experience of learning, teaching, practising and performing music in order to create a useful guide to both life and music. It is concise, clear and accessible to non-musicians as well as those with an interest in music. 



Reading this as an amateur musician (classical guitar), I found much in this book that resonated with me. Lessons I learned included, among other things, how to improve my own music practice and learning by focusing on what matters, realising where I need to improve and avoiding unnecessary repetition. Consequently, I believe that my own performance has improved. With further thought, I realised that there are many other situations in which this is valuable advice. Indeed, this is a major feature of the book which ensures it becomes a self-help book as well as a fascinating read.



Another theme that I found useful is that I should play for others. This is something I tend to avoid. I began to understand that this may be due, in great part, to a fear of failing and making mistakes. Since being more ready to share my music, I believe my focus has improved and playing to others adds an extra dimension. It didn’t take me long to realise that this applies outside music as well.


Each of the 17 chapters deals with a different aspect of music learning, teaching or playing. At the same time the authors make clear how the lessons learned affect not just musical performance but also daily life. Each chapter ends with a succinct and useful summary. I found it useful to revisit the preceding chapter to see how this summary linked with the text and to spend a few minutes considering its wider application.



I had initial reservations because my interests lie mainly with classical music and, as might be expected from these two authors, jazz is a strong theme in the book. However, the scope widens to include many musical genres. each with its own interest and contribution.

I received What You Learn Learning Music by Mike Shaw and Kevin Bales as an ARC via NetGalley (thanks to Histia Books for the approval). I gave it a solid 4 out of 5 stars.
The title made me expect a formal, straight-laced how-to guide—the kind of earnest instructional book that old Disney Goofy shorts or How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying loved to poke fun at. I was pleasantly surprised to discover it’s actually a relaxed, back-and-forth conversation between the two authors. That format quickly became my favorite part: warm, honest, and full of rapid-fire little anecdotes that feel like they could each spin off into their own full books.
It’s not a dense method book at all, which turned out to be exactly what I needed. Instead, you get genuine stories and reflections on the real joys and struggles of learning music—the small breakthroughs, the frustrations that sneak up on you, and how the whole process shifts the way you hear the world. I found myself nodding along and smiling at so many moments. By the end, it left me genuinely motivated to dust off an instrument and give it another go. A really solid, engaging read that I’d happily recommend to anyone curious about music.