The Bulletproof Musician

Ever have one of those days where you just can't get yourself to practice? Or maybe that's a little bit how every day feels? Turns out there's an intriguing motivation "hack" of sorts that could make it easier to start practicing, and naturally increase your motivation to do so. It even has a cool name - the "Zeigarnik effect." How to Get Yourself to Practice When You Don't Feel Like ItMore 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 in the middle of a practice session, take a moment to check your texts, and then realize an hour has gone by as you got sucked down some random internet rabbit hole or another? Why does this happen? And what can you do to prevent this without resorting to the nuclear option of airplane mode or an app that blocks you from the internet for a set period of time? Why You Get Sucked Down the YouTube Rabbit Hole When Practicing (And How to Prevent This Without Having to Break Up With YouTube)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 wonder what's going through the mind of a conductor, in rehearsal or in a performance? Conductor Joshua Weilerstein shares his own journey from violinist to conductor, and sheds some light on what a conductor is thinking about in the practice room, in rehearsal, and in performance. And why it might be kind of awesome if every musician had a chance to conduct for a day. Joshua Weilerstein: On a Conductor’s Journey, and Why It Might Be Awesome if Every Musician Spent a Day in a Conductor’s ShoesMore 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

Learning a bunch of practice strategies can elevate the effectiveness of your practice, but a 2015 study of college music students suggests that supplementing this with additional self-regulation strategies can elevate your practice effectiveness even more! And what are self-regulation strategies, exactly? Check out the episode to learn more about a couple simple and effective - but easy to neglect - self-regulation strategies. Research-Tested Practice Strategies That Will Help You Learn New Pieces FasterMore 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 all have an inner voice. Sometimes it's a supportive presence, but often, it can be pretty critical and even a little abusive at times. Research suggests that the way we talk to our students and provide feedback may actually be able to shape their inner dialogue - for better, or for worse. How the Things You Say to Your Students Can Change the Positivity (Or Negativity) of Their Inner VoiceMore 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 a lot of articles on the internet suggesting that perfectionism "kills" creativity. But is that really true? A team of Canadian researchers were curious about this exact question, and put together a study to find out if there was anything to this. And if so, what a better, creativity-optimizing alternative might be. Does Perfectionism Really “Kill” Creativity? If So, What’s the Alternative?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

Do you get bored of doing lots and lots of repetition in the practice room? The good news is that there's a better (and more interesting) way to get your repetitions in. A way that at least in one 2016 study led to a 2x performance improvement in the same amount of time! A Practice Strategy That Could Potentially Be Twice as Effective as Regular Practice?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

Looking for some new ways to freshen up your practice routine, get off of a plateau, or find some new inspiration for 2022? Try some of these tips and insights from 2021's podcast guests - Kristian Steenstrup, Vivian Hornik Weilerstein, Merry Peckham, Daniel Matsukawa, Ann Bergeron, Natasha Brofsky, Roger Tapping, Lori Schiff, Timothy Kantor, Paul Kantor, Virginia Weckstrom, Astrid Schween, and Kris Chesky. How to Be a Little More Awesome in 2022? Try These Top Tips and Insights From 2021.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

I stumbled across a home video of me practicing as a young child the other day and was horrified to hear how completely unorganized, unthoughtful, and un-deliberate my practice was at that age. Which made me wonder - can young kids be trusted to practice effectively? A 2010 study provides some clues on what happens at home during the week between lessons, and a couple things teachers can do to make sure this time is being spent making things better, not worse! Why Practicing Practicing from an Early Age is So ImportantMore 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

Some people seem to have a really easy time with memorizing new pieces. Or at least, they seem to be really confident and secure in their memory. Is there something they know that we don't? Are they doing anything differently in the practice room? https://bulletproofmusician.com/musicians-seem-memorization-naturals-can-become-oneMore 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