I was listening to National Public Radio and heard about something called “The Traneumentary.” I thought, If I could tell people one thing they should take a look at, it’s this. I say this for two reasons: First, we can learn from John Coltrane, and second, we can learn about learning to do something well.

“The Traneumentary:  Celebrating the Artistry and Recordings of John Coltrane” is a podcast project in which great jazz players are interviewed about Coltrane’s influence on them. Some played with Coltrane, some learned to play when he was alive and dominant, some have grown up listening to him. The podcasts are updated regularly (http://traneumentary.blogspot.com/), accompanied by links to Coltrane recordings mentioned during the show. It makes a better case for itself than I can. I want to talk about the second reason I thought people should visit “The Traneumentary”: the unique opportunity it affords to hear technically skilled, passionate artists talk about how they learn. Because when artists talk about influence, they talk about learning.  

I don’t believe, however, that artistry is limited to artists. If you’re starting out in any discipline, practice or occupation, listen to how people talk about what they don’t do — not because it’s what novices do, but because that’s what experts do. The educational psychologists Carl Bereiter and Marlene Scardamalia have named that tendency “the leading edge.” Experts maximize opportunities to learn. Presented with something new, they recognize the uniqueness of the problem as an opportunity to get better at what they do. It means, however, that you need to be more attentive to what you take for granted.

At restaurants, when gourmet meals arrive at your table, ask yourself, How do chefs decide what good is? How do they know when they are finished? How did they do that? How do they think they did that?

Listen to the people who make the things your field values and ask, What skills or formal knowledge — procedures; facts and data; ways of thinking about things — do they value? What do they think is a good problem worth solving? What do they do to get good work done?

Of course, the next step is to do what you see, even if you simply begin by speculating on the paths to complete a project. Remember, we are talking about how things get made: The “thing” may be an essay, concept, plan, design, meal or radio show. One way or another, you have to think about making choices and doing things.

Which brings me to my wife and father.  She runs a day care; he runs a shirt company. I have learned as much from them as I have from writers and teachers about how to deal with uncertainty, how to respond to changes, and how to develop strong craft and intuition. She’s been taking care of children for almost 20 years and has a college degree. He’s been in the garment industry since he was 19 and didn’t graduate from high school. I listen closely when they talk. I’ve learned that what makes them different — what makes them artists, in my mind — is how they learn. It’s routine for them to stop and reflect on why things work and how they fit together. They are also always on the lookout for a good problem to solve, since a good problem is often key to deeper understanding.  

So all this is to say, if you see other people as artists — resourceful, hardworking, practical, interested, motivated, thoughtful and passionate about doing their work well — you can begin to see yourself that way. And that will make you better at everything you do.

Robert Danberg is an assistant professor of writing.
E-mail him at rdanberg@ithaca.edu.