Now and then, take a day off. It will give you better results than playing 365 days a year.

Miles Davis was known for being able to tell a story in 2 notes that would take another musician 20 notes. Doing more with less is a mark of musical maturity.

To go the full measure in protecting your ears, explore having custom "Musician's Earplugs" molded for you at a reputable Audiologist's office. Most have interchangeable filters that allow you to hear a certain degree of sound, while blocking out harsh noises.

Jamey Abersold has been known to say that in jazz, you are never more than a half step away from a note in the scale of the particular chord change that is being played.

When making the landmark jazz-fusion recording "Bitches' Brew", guitarist John McLaughlin said that trumpeter Miles Davis told him to "Play like you don't know how to play." In other words, play as if it is the first time you have ever picked up a guitar. McLaughlin played simply, using many open strings. Sometimes a fresh, or even restrictive approach to your instrument or voice can produce innovative sounds.

Some musicians rely almost completely on the written page. Some rely fully on memory. Wherever you are on that spectrum, try doing the opposite, or both extremes.

Read music? Great! Ever tried learning AND PERFORMING a song completely by ear? It can be a truly magical experience for a reader if you let yourself go. That means never even looking at a single note or chord change on paper. Listen to a recording or the rest of your group that already know the song and play by trial and error.

Ever play and/ or sing in the dark? It can really get you to focus on the sound of your music.

Does a lot of your improvisation sound the same? Try learning some new scales and new rhythmic patterns. They'll slowly make their way into your improvisation vocabulary.

Don't practice to the point of physical or mental exhaustion if possible. Take frequent, small rests, and at some point, leave it alone and come back to it fresh tomorrow.

Music is a language that is made to evoke emotion. Are you evoking emotion from your listeners?

Common courtesy goes a long way in the music business. If you aren't courteous and friendly, someone you want to collaborate with will find someone else who is.

If you are trying to make headway in the music business, be aware that many people you may want to partner with, business-wise or musically, are not going to understand your music. Be prepared to move on to the next prospect. At the same time, don't overlook sensible criticism.

Rest assured that there are ways in this day and age to connect to a widespread audience without going through a record label. Explore social media and electronic distribution to create and audience and get your music to them. Use the marketing services of marketing firms or one-horse marketing shops.

In twitter, more than anything, try to stand apart - make your tweets interesting so that people who actually read posts from the people they follow will read them! These are the only people on twitter you are concerned with anyway.

In twitter, use @ replies to open dialogue with listeners or other musicians.

Go easy on tweeting links to your music sites. Twitter users are already conditioned to be suspicious of spammers. If they are interested in you, they will look for a link in your bio.

Make sure that in twitter you don't follow a tremendously higher ratio of people as compared to those that follow yourself. This identifies you as a spammer.

In twitter, be sure to tweet about what you are doing - not just gigs, but rehearsals, what you are listening to, and even some of your personal life to spice things up.

When starting your twitter account, it may be tempting to find random musicians and music lovers to follow. You don't know them from Adam. Start by following people that you know. You can add them automatically by giving twitter your email address and password.