How To Make A Demo Grammy-Worthy | John Leventhal

Free skills assessment with a Sonora mentor: https://www.learnwithsonora.com/yt/82xn?d=1 Six-time Grammy Award winner and legendary producer John Leventhal joins Playback Sessions in New York for a rare look behind 40 years of instinct-driven production. A masterclass on restraint and finding your musical identity, he breaks down the hard lessons he learned along the way. 🚀 Book a Free Skills Assessment with Sonora. https://www.learnwithsonora.com/yt/82xn?d=1 👇 Want to go deeper? Join the Playback Sessions community for tabs, breakdowns, and more. https://www.skool.com/playback-community-9570 ⏱️ Free Tool for looping videos on YouTube and Instagram https://www.learnwithsonora.com/yt/82xn/looper?d=1 00:00 – Intro 1:19 — The Hardest Record He's Ever Made 5:01 — Making a Solo Album During the Pandemic 7:42 — Being the Artist for the First Time 9:05 — Why He Deleted His Best Guitar Take 13:11 — How He Learned to Do Less 18:39 — Performance: Original Hymn 25:40 — I Never Practiced 29:44 — The Epiphany That Changed His Career 35:28 — Why Chasing Hits Always Fails 40:04 — Hybrid Picking and Vintage Acoustics 45:36 — Good Time Trumps Everything 52:22 — Playing Behind Ry Cooder 1:00:38 — The 8-Year Broadway Musical That Got Killed 1:03:08 — Thoughts on AI and Modern Music 🎸 Follow Playback Sessions on socials: -Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/playbacksessions/ -Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/playbacksessions -YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Playback-Sessions -Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@playbacksessionspodcast -Spotify: @ Playback Sessions Podcast 🎥 Host: Spencer Handley Guest: John Leventhal Editor: Carl Reeverts, Clayton Hopkins, Evan Bowser Executive Producer: Spencer Handley Camera/Sound: Moti Margolin #JohnLeventhal #PlaybackSessions #SpencerHandley #CarterVintageGuitar #SonoraGuitarIntensive #MusicProduction #Songwriting #AcousticGuitar #VintageGuitar #RosanneCash #ShawnColvin #AmericanaMusic #GuitarLesson #MusicTheory