The Bulletproof Musician

Ever wonder what role praise and criticism plays in learning? Like, is there an optimal ratio of positive to negative that seems to work best?A 1976 analysis of legendary basketball coach John Wooden's coaching provides some surprising insights into what might actually work best. What Is More Effective for Learning - Praise or Criticism?Also, if you've been wanting to feel more comfortable performing, but aren't sure how to go about it, you might be interested in the live online 4-week class starting in October. Get all the details here: Performance Psych Essentials (for Musicians)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

Ever wish there were a way to be less affected by nerves under pressure. Like, if there could be a flu shot equivalent for nerves to help "inoculate" you to pressure?Researchers have wondered this as well, and a pair of studies suggest that we totally can! Is It Possible to Increase Your “Immunity” to Nerves? The Research Suggests Yes - And Here’s How to Do It.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

Fear of memory slips is a common issue for many musicians. But I don't know that many of us have ever been taught specifically how to memorize either...Turns out there's a relatively simple strategy we can use to significantly improve how much of the new music we're learning "sticks" in our memory. Wish You Could Memorize Better? Why a Little Bit of "Verbalization" Might Be the Missing Ingredient.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

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 stress that is gaining increasing interest in both sport and music circles - ACT. David Juncos & Elvire de Paiva e Pona: On ACT and a New Approach to Overcoming Performance AnxietyMore 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

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 Do & 1 Thing That the Best “Improvers” DoMore 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

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 ThinkMore 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

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 PlayingMore 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

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 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

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. Memory Reconsolidation: A Way to Dump Your Negative Audition and Performance Baggage?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

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 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