The Bulletproof Musician

There are a lot of reasons why someone might decide to quit music at some point along the way. But could performance anxiety be one of them?Indeed, performance anxiety can feel pretty uncomfortable! And it’s one thing if we still sound pretty good on stage regardless, and have a positive experience of performing overall. But when we get nervous and sound like just a shell of ourselves in performance, it could make us wonder why we keep putting ourselves up there...So I was intrigued by a 2025 study which looked to see if deliberate practice might play a role in this equation between performance anxiety and performance success and thoughts about quitting. Check out the episode to see what they discovered!Additional linksDeliberate practiceSelf-regulated learningPractice That Sticks (self-paced course)ReferencesHash, P. M. (2021). Student Retention in School Bands and Orchestras: A Literature Review. Update: Applications of Research in Music Education, 40(3), 11-19. https://doi.org/10.1177/87551233211042585Hatfield, J. L., & Williamon, A. (2025). Competitiveness and performance anxiety as predictors of performance success and intent to quit playing: deliberate practice as mediator and moderator. Music Education Research, 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1080/14613808.2025.2543376Hernández, S. O., Zarza-Alzugaray, F. J., & Casanova, O. (2018). Music performance anxiety. Substance use and career abandonment in Spanish music students. International Journal of Music Education, 36(3), 460–472. https://doi.org/10.1177/0255761418763903Zimmerman, B. J. (2002). Becoming a Self-Regulated Learner: An Overview. Theory Into Practice, 41(2), 64–70. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15430421tip4102_2More from The Bulletproof Musician Get the free weekly newsletter, for more nerdy details and bonus subscriber-only content. Pressure Proof: A free 7-day performance practice crash course that will help you shrink the gap between the practice room and the stage. Learning Lab: A continuing education community where musicians and learners are putting research into practice. Live and self-paced courses

Worrying is never much fun, but it’s especially not fun in the leadup to a performance or audition. And even more so when we get stuck in a “worry loop” and can’t seem to get ourselves out of it.It’s a little like the time my family visited Paris when I was a kid, and my dad got stuck in the roundabout around the Arc de Triomphe. I don’t know how long we drove around and around, but I do know that I fell asleep at some point, and when I woke up, we were still looping around. 🤣🥲So what causes these worry loops? And is there a way to stay in a better headspace in the leadup to performances?Additional LinksDavid Juncos & Elvire de Paiva e Pona: On ACT and a New Approach to Overcoming Performance AnxietyA Simple Strategy for Reducing Worries and Practicing With More FocusReferencesDavey, G. C., Eldridge, F., Drost, J., & MacDonald, B. A. (2006). What ends a worry bout? An analysis of changes in mood and stop rule use across the catastrophising interview task. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 45(6), 1231–1243. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brat.2006.08.024Davey, G. C., & Meeten, F. (2016). The perseverative worry bout: A review of cognitive, affective and motivational factors that contribute to worry perseveration. Biological Psychology, 121, 233–243. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsycho.2016.04.003More from The Bulletproof Musician Get the free weekly newsletter, for more nerdy details and bonus subscriber-only content. Pressure Proof: A free 7-day performance practice crash course that will help you shrink the gap between the practice room and the stage. Learning Lab: A continuing education community where musicians and learners are putting research into practice. Live and self-paced courses

Are you a regular napper? Or maybe not such a fan?Either way, given that today is National Lazy Day, I thought it would be the perfect time to look at a couple studies which suggest that naps could play a significant role in accelerating the learning of physical skills.Check out the episode for all the nerdy details about how long of a nap might be best and who perhaps should not try this.ReferencesMilner, C. E., Fogel, S. M., & Cote, K. A. (2006). Habitual napping moderates motor performance improvements following a short daytime nap. Biological Psychology, 73(2), 141–156. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsycho.2006.01.015Morita, Y., Ogawa, K., & Uchida, S. (2016). Napping after complex motor learning enhances juggling performance. Sleep Science, 9(2), 112–116. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.slsci.2016.04.002More from The Bulletproof Musician Get the free weekly newsletter, for more nerdy details and bonus subscriber-only content. Pressure Proof: A free 7-day performance practice crash course that will help you shrink the gap between the practice room and the stage. Learning Lab: A continuing education community where musicians and learners are putting research into practice. Live and self-paced courses

Ignasi Cambra, a renowned concert pianist and educator from Spain, opens up about the unique challenges blind musicians face in learning and performing music. He discusses the intriguing nuances of Braille music notation and how tactile methods influence interpretation. Cambra also shares insights on mastering memorization through mental clarity, emphasizing personal expression over perfection. With a refreshing perspective, he encourages musicians to embrace freedom in their performances, transforming mistakes into opportunities for genuine artistry.

Delve into a fascinating debate on whether musicians should prioritize technical skills or expressiveness in their practice. Discover insights from a study examining how introducing expressiveness early can boost emotional impact in performances. Explore the unique challenges artists face transitioning from practice to the stage and learn about resources to manage performance anxiety effectively. Also, find out how to assess your mental skills to improve your performance consistency.

It can be pretty uncomfortable to play for others and ask for feedback. I mean, putting ourselves out there to be judged and evaluated is never much fun, right?But what if there's a different way to approach this? A way where you come out of the experience feeling less judged, and more supported instead? With concrete and useful advice that you can act on to get better, rather than a list of things that sound good or bad to stew on and feel crummy about?A Harvard Business School study identified a simple strategy that could help you get more useful feedback. Get all the nerdy details right here:A Way to Get More Useful Performance Feedback?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 performance practice crash course that will help you shrink the gap between the practice room and the stage. Learning Lab: A continuing education community where musicians and learners are putting research into practice. Live and self-paced courses

Ineffective practice can be discouraging on so many levels. For one, practicing for time or repetitions is not much fun. And negative practice experiences can make students want to avoid practicing, or assume that they aren't very talented when improvement is slow or inconsistent.But what if your students were already more savvy and capable practicers than they realize? What if we just need to create the conditions for these abilities to emerge?Get all the nerdy details (and download the full case study) here:How to Unlock Your Students’ Hidden Practice AbilitiesMore from The Bulletproof Musician Get the free weekly newsletter, for more nerdy details and bonus subscriber-only content. Pressure Proof: A free 7-day performance practice crash course that will help you shrink the gap between the practice room and the stage. Learning Lab: A continuing education community where musicians and learners are putting research into practice. Live and self-paced courses

“If I didn’t have the harp, I wouldn’t be me.”Internationally renowned harpist Judy Loman remains an active practicer, performer, and teacher at 89 years of age - and still clearly enjoys and loves what she does.So how does one maintain motivation and a sense of joy in making music through life’s ups and downs, good and bad practice days, and peak and not-so-peak performances?In this episode, you’ll hear the five pieces of advice she would offer to an aspiring harpist (they’re applicable to singers and other musicians too), learn how to approach pieces that you might not like, and find out the two things she would do if she had only 20 minutes to practice today.Get the full transcript and watch the video version of the full interview right here:Judy Loman: On the Best Advice For an Aspiring Harpist (or Musician)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 performance practice crash course that will help you shrink the gap between the practice room and the stage. Learning Lab: A continuing education community where musicians and learners are putting research into practice. Live and self-paced courses

We learned last week that having more to say expressively with the music we’re playing could increase the likelihood of experiencing more flow states in performance (here, in case you missed it). But this study looked at a bunch of different strategies and classes that were spread out over 6 months.Are there faster ways to help students play more expressively?Like, what about the sorts of things that our teachers did for us when we were students? Like demonstrating certain passages in lessons, so we’d have a clearer model to aim for (or having us listen to recordings, or encouraging us to go to concerts).Or using metaphors or images to help us understand the mood or character of a particular moment more clearly.Or simply telling us what to do - like explaining how short the dots should be, or where exactly the accelerando should start, etc.Well, lucky for us, a 2006 study compared these strategies to see if they worked - and if any of them was more effective than the others.Get all the nerdy details (and musical examples and links to additional resources and related podcast episodes not included in the audio version) here:A Comparison of Three Approaches to Teaching ExpressivenessMore from The Bulletproof Musician Get the free weekly newsletter, for more nerdy details and bonus subscriber-only content. Pressure Proof: A free 7-day performance practice crash course that will help you shrink the gap between the practice room and the stage. Learning Lab: A continuing education community where musicians and learners are putting research into practice. Live and self-paced courses

You know those really good days on stage? Where you’re totally present and in the moment, at one with your instrument, locked in on the music, not worried at all about what anyone might think, and just have this feeling that everything is going to work out, because playing just feels so easy and effortless?Would be nice if we could have more of those kinds of days, no? 😅Are these good days a function of simply practicing more? And making sure our technique is totally secure and solid so we have total confidence in our ability to play accurately and consistently? Or could it be that there’s something more involved?Get all the nerdy details and learn more about the aspect of practice that could enhance your ability to get into flow states in performance:The Overlooked Skill That Could Make Performing More EnjoyableMore from The Bulletproof Musician Get the free weekly newsletter, for more nerdy details and bonus subscriber-only content. Pressure Proof: A free 7-day performance practice crash course that will help you shrink the gap between the practice room and the stage. Learning Lab: A continuing education community where musicians and learners are putting research into practice. Live and self-paced courses