Your Smartphone as Mastery Tool

Why Do We Call These Things “Phones” Anyway?

It’s funny that we continue to call smartphones “smartphones.” The original idea of a phone was a tool to make voice calls to someone else so you could hold a conversation without being in the same room with the other person.

These tools we carry in our pockets aren’t just smarter versions of phones. They’re more like digital Swiss army knives – with more functions than we can even count.

Using Your “Phone” to Master Skills

I like to think of my smartphone as a digital mastery tool. It helps me learn new skills and teach skills to others. It aids my memory. Sometimes (maybe less than 5% of the time) it allows me to make phone calls, but that’s getting less and less important.

Here’s how I used my smartphone yesterday:

• Tuner: Used a tuner app to tune a couple guitars and a bass. I use ClearTune, which I recommend. It’s available for Android and for iPhone.
• Metronome: Used a metronome app for my own practicing, to determine the tempo for a song, and to help musicians I was coaching during their lessons. I use Metronome Beats, which is surprisingly only available for Android.
• Texts: Sent and received a dozen text messages. I guess that’s kind of like using a “phone.”
• Reference Recording: While coaching a musician, pulled up YouTube so we could listen to a recording of a song this musician wants to learn. We figured out the tempo, key, and song form so this musician can really start understanding the song when they listen at home, in the car, and wherever else they can hear it.
• Shooting Video: During another music coaching session, my student shot video of me playing a short section of a song on piano so he can see the exact fingering he should use and hear exactly how that section goes. He’ll now have a video to use at home when he practices. Shooting video during lessons and coaching sessions is one of the most important game changers of having a smartphone with you at all times.
• Learn a Language: For ten minutes I used a language app to help me learn French. True to the advice I give everyone else, I’m spending 10 minutes a day learning some French skills. I may not become fluent, and I certainly will never be a simultaneous translator at the UN, but I’m making steady, satisfying progress learning a new skill.

Oh, yeah, I also made one (!) phone call yesterday.

How are you using your smartphone to master skills and learn new ones? Let me know!