Anyone Can Play Music

Praise

“The best presentation of a well-organized, practical method that can help the reader develop into a better musician that I have ever encountered.”—Dan Miller, Bluegrass Unlimited

“In this mind-bending guide, neuroscientist and physician Josh Turknett reveals how anyone can hack their brain to learn music at any age. With the precision of a neurosurgeon and the soul of a banjo player, Turknett shows how imperfection can be beautiful, struggles are stepping stones, and your best days of learning may still lie ahead. Whether you’re 15 or 85, this book hands you the neural keys to unlock your inner musician—and help you with any kind of learning. A masterclass in brain plasticity disguised as a music lesson.”—Barbara Oakley, PhD, creator of Learning How to Learn, one of the world’s most popular online courses, and author of A Mind for Numbers

“This book should be a vital part of everyone’s musical learning experience. You can be a better musician, and what’s in this book will ensure that.”—Bryan Sutton, 10-time IBMA Guitar Player of the Year and Grammy Award winner

“In the ten years I have known him, Dr. Josh Turknett has completely changed the way I think about the brain. This book masterfully breaks down the simple, but sometimes counterintuitive, ways that we can leverage the unique properties of the human brain to learn anything we put our minds to.”—Tommy Wood, MD, PhD

“Neurologist, musician, and educator Josh Turknett is uniquely qualified to help his followers reach their musical goals by leveraging the brain’s lifelong capacity to change and employing simple but effective practice strategies. This book is the great equalizer that so many musicians and musicians-to-be have been waiting for.”—Adam Hurt, champion banjo and fiddle player

“Read this book and learn how to change your brain with deliberative practice at any age.”—Ken Ford, founder and CEO of The Institute for Human and Machine Cognition

“As a professional musician, some of these techniques, such as visualization, I’ve discovered through years of practice. But many of the time management and optimization methods in the book have allowed me to focus less on ‘staying in shape’ and more on growing as a player.”—Graham Sharp, singer, songwriter, and banjo player for Steep Canyon Rangers