The Bulletproof Musician

Eliminating nerves, or staying positive and turning your inner critic into an optimist can be difficult, frustrating, and exhausting. But what if we didn't have to? What if there were another way, another path to performing optimally where we didn't have to fight our nerves quite so much? Today's guests share insights into a relatively new approach to managing nerves and performance...

There are quite a few studies that have looked at the practice habits of top performers, but there are few that have looked at the practice habits of the top performers who also improve at the greatest rate. Today's study does just that and identifies one key practice process that's associated with the most growth and improvement.  Optimizing Practice: 2 Things That the Best Performers D...

Ever wonder why ear training is such an emphasis in the standard music curriculum? How important is it that we be good at it? What does it actually help us with? A 2004 study of pianists provides some answers!  Why Ear Training Might Matter More Than You Think More from The Bulletproof Musician Get the free weekly newsletter , for more nerdy details and bonus subscriber-only content. Pressure Proo...

Turns out what we think about right before we start playing can have a significant effect on how well we perform! So if your brain tends to suddenly imagine worst-case scenarios, or blank out, or get distracted, a recent tennis study provides some clues on what would be more helpful to keep our mind focused on instead.  Two Helpful Things to Think About on Stage, Right Before You Start Playing Mor...

Could clutter be affecting your ability to focus in the practice room? Research suggests that it could - and potentially affecting your learning as well!  If You Have Difficulty Staying Focused While Practicing, Could Clutter Be a Factor? More from The Bulletproof Musician Get the free weekly newsletter , for more nerdy details and bonus subscriber-only content. Pressure Proof : A free 7-day perfo...

Ever find yourself reacting negatively to certain pieces or orchestral excerpts, not because you can't play it, but because there's still some mental or emotional "baggage" lingering in the background from previous negative experiences? Recent research suggests that it may be possible to "edit" or update these memories so that they don't carry so much weight.  Me...

Ever find yourself struggling to help a student play more expressively. With so many different approaches to choose from - e.g. imagery/metaphors to instructions to demonstrations/listening assignments, is there one that works best?  Three Ways to Teach Students How to Play More Expressively (Is There a “Best” Way?) More from The Bulletproof Musician Get the free weekly newsletter , for more nerdy...

Ever worry that the mistakes you inadvertently make in the practice room could come back to bite you in the butt in performance? Turns out you may not have to worry as much as you'd think - as long as you're making mistakes the right way. Wait...what does that even mean?! More details in today's episode. =)  How Making Mistakes Can Accelerate Learning More from The Bulletproof Music...

I think we've all wondered what the most effective strategies for memorization might be. But have you ever wondered what the most efficient strategy might be? The one that gets you the furthest in the least amount of time? In today's episode, we'll explore four strategies for memorizing - all of which work, but two of which get you to the same place in much less time than the others...

Did you enjoy music theory in school? Or did it just make your head hurt and wish you could be almost anywhere else instead? If you were never especially fond of music theory, this episode is for you. =) I'm joined by music theory professor Brian Alegant, and guest co-host violist Molly Gebrian (who taught music theory classes in her previous faculty position). We won't talk about sevent...

Ever wonder why your playing or singing (or that of your students) tends to be less expressive under pressure? A 2015 study provides some clues on what exactly happens to the expressiveness of our playing when we're on stage, and even some details on what exactly happens with a particular aspect of expressiveness - phrasing that makes it sound less musical. Why Your Playing (or Singing) Tends...

Whether in music, sports, fitness, or in business, there’s often a tendency for us to assume that the best performers in any domain have the most valuable advice to offer. Of course, there’s a common counter-narrative which suggests that sometimes the best athletes, the top performers at work, and the most shredded folks at the gym, don’t necessarily make the best teachers. So…which is it? Is a pe...

Ever find yourself getting sucked into mindless repetitions, despite your best intentions to practice more thoughtfully and efficiently? Research suggests that thinking out loud could enhance problem-solving, essentially making you a more efficient and effective practicer. Why Thinking Out Loud Could Help You Become a More Efficient Practicer More from The Bulletproof Musician Get the free weekly...

Ever wonder what it is that makes for great ensemble "chemistry"? Like, what are the underlying skills that make some musicians especially easy and fun to play with? Peter Keller is a trombonist/composer-turned-music psychologist, who studies the neural and behavioral bases underlying effective ensemble playing. In this episode, he shares some insights from cognitive science that could e...

Ever find yourself wishing you could get better at something, but getting stuck somewhere along the way? And facing a lot of internal resistance to doing the uncomfortable, awkward things that you know would help you get there? A recent study provides some insights on why this is, and what we can do about it. An “Awkward” Way to Increase Motivation and Make More Progress Towards Your Goals. More f...

Ever notice how mean and distracting (and unhelpful) your inner critic can be on stage? Previous research has found that writing out our worries right before a test (as counterintuitive as that sounds) can help to improve test performance. But would something like this work with musical performance as well? How to Clear Your Mind of Worries Before a Big Performance (revisited) More from The Bullet...

Anecdotally at least, fear of memory slips seems to come up more often for pianists than for some other instruments. Is this because of how many notes they have? Or is there something else about the instrument itself that contributes to an increased risk of memory slips in performance (unless one adjusts their practice habits to account for this)? Evidence That Performing From Memory May Be More C...

Memory slips can be a scary thing and a major cause of anxiety on stage. But it's not a skill that we tend to think of much in our daily practice... We know from previous research that mental practice plus physical practice leads to better learning than physical practice alone. Could the same thing be true for memory too? Like, could substituting a bit of mental practice for physical practice...

As instinctive and natural a process as breathing is in our moment-to-moment existence, breathing efficiently and effectively so as to produce a beautiful sound that projects, clear articulation, smooth, connected phrases, etc. can be a real challenge (or so I hear)! In Part 2 of my chat with flutist Keith Underwood, we get into the topic of breathing, and Keith explains and demonstrates a whole r...

Flutist and educator Keith Underwood shares insights on what (and how) we can learn from our favorite musicians so as to level up our playing in some pretty transformative ways. And how doing so can potentially make practicing and recording way more fun as well! Keith Underwood (Part 1): On the Art of Imitation, and How to Glean Insights From Great Musicians to Level Up Your Playing. More from The...

You know how some musicians seem to be almost "psychic" in their ability to play together and be totally in sync with one another? Ever wonder how they do this? Is it just experience, or something else? A couple imagery studies provide some intriguing clues on what they might be doing, that facilitates next-level ensemble coordination. How Mental Imagery Can Help You Become a Better (Or...

How much emotion should we be feeling internally for a musically effective performance? Is there such a thing as feeling too much emotion when performing? And is playing more musically something we can learn, or is it something innate? How Does One Learn to Play More Musically? More from The Bulletproof Musician Get the free weekly newsletter , for more nerdy details and bonus subscriber-only cont...

Ever notice how after performances, your family, friends, and teachers seem to think that the performance went better than you thought it went? Is this just because they're being nice, or is this a real thing? As in, is there something about being on stage that makes us perceive our own playing differently than how others perceive our playing? Do We Really Sound as Terrible on Stage as We Som...

Ever notice how nerves can make us feel pressure to rush into the opening of a performance, and start before we feel truly settled and ready? Turns out that one of the keys to starting off more effectively may have to do with our eyes, and what we look at or focus on in the moments right before beginning. How so? A 2014 study gives us some intriguing clues... "Quiet Eye": A Technique to...

When it comes to getting things done, do you find it helpful to set deadlines? And if so, do shorter deadlines work better, or longer ones? Research suggests that in some cases, no deadline could be best (what?!). And at other times, the wrong kind of deadline can make us more, not less, likely to procrastinate. Prone to Procrastinating? Why the Way You Set Deadlines Could Make Things Worse, Not B...