Episodes
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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 Abilities
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Want to perform up to your full abilities more consistently? Learn how with evidence-based strategies that will accelerate your learning, help you manage nerves, focus, and play more confidently.Check out the live online mental skills “Essentials” course which begins July 22nd, 2025: bulletproofmusician.com/essentials
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“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)
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Want to perform up to your full abilities more consistently? Learn how with evidence-based strategies that will accelerate your learning, help you manage nerves, focus, and play more confidently.Check out the live online mental skills “Essentials” course which begins July 22nd, 2025: bulletproofmusician.com/essentials
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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 Expressiveness
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Want to perform up to your full abilities more consistently? Learn how with evidence-based strategies that will accelerate your learning, help you manage nerves, focus, and play more confidently.Check out the live online mental skills “Essentials” course which begins July 22nd, 2025: bulletproofmusician.com/essentials
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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 Enjoyable
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Want to perform up to your full abilities more consistently? Learn how with evidence-based strategies that will accelerate your learning, help you manage nerves, focus, and play more confidently.Check out the live online mental skills “Essentials” course which begins July 22nd, 2025: bulletproofmusician.com/essentials
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Effective practicers tend to be more motivated, empowered, and persistent, whereas less effective practicers tend to feel more helpless and lower self-efficacy.
But what do they actually do differently?
One of the big differences between better and worse practicers in a 2021 study was the time spent in "non-playing" practice activities. Like, those periods between the playing and repetitions where our fingers aren't moving and making sounds come out of our instruments.
And what exactly is happening in those quiet moments? Get all the nerdy details in this week's episode, with links to additional resources here if you'd like to explore this further:
How Do Effective Practicers Make the Most of Their Practice Time?
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Want to perform up to your full abilities more consistently? Learn how with evidence-based strategies that will accelerate your learning, help you manage nerves, focus, and play more confidently.Check out the live online mental skills “Essentials” course which begins July 22nd, 2025: bulletproofmusician.com/essentials
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You're probably heard the quote "Genius is 1 percent inspiration and 99 percent perspiration."
But what do you think?
Both play some role of course, but which do you think is more important for achieving success - innate ability or effortful training?
What would you say if I said that you might be fooling yourself? Where even if you think that you believe effort and training to be more important, deep down, you might actually favor natural ability over hard work?
Are we all biased against effort without realizing it?
Get all the nerdy details here:
Do We Unconsciously Favor Talent Over Effort?
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Want to perform up to your full abilities more consistently? Learn how with evidence-based strategies that will accelerate your learning, help you manage nerves, focus, and play more confidently.Check out the live online mental skills “Essentials” course which begins July 22nd, 2025: bulletproofmusician.com/essentials
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Cellist Yumi Kendall has been the assistant principal cellist of the Philadelphia Orchestra since 2004, serves on the faculty of the Curtis Institute of Music, co-hosts the Tacet No More podcast with bassist Joseph Conyers, and is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania’s Master of Applied Positive Psychology program.
In this episode, we explore…
Yumi’s early musical influencesWhat effective practice really means (and looks like)How Yumi balances competing demands and sets practice goals and intentionsWhen is something good enough, and it’s time to move on?Biggest takeaways from her studies in the University of Pennsylvania’s positive psychology programSelf-compassion, positive teaching, overcoming negative self-talkIdentity and habit formationYumi’s experience with performance anxiety and how she learned to get past this in the early part of her careerDealing with shaky bowWhat change would she love to see in the music industry?For the complete transcript and other notes and links, visit:
Cellist Yumi Kendall: On Becoming a More Positive (And Effective) Practicer
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Want to perform up to your full abilities more consistently? Learn how with evidence-based strategies that will accelerate your learning, help you manage nerves, focus, and play more confidently.Check out the live online mental skills “Essentials” course which begins July 22nd, 2025: bulletproofmusician.com/essentials
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We all have a voice in our head, that can sometimes get pretty loud and awfully critical.
Ever wonder where this voice and all that negativity comes from? And why it can suddenly become more critical at certain times more than others?
A 1990 study provides some intriguing clues!
Get all the nerdy details right here:
How to Keep Your Inner Critic From Getting the Better of You
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Want to perform up to your full abilities more consistently? Learn how with evidence-based strategies that will accelerate your learning, help you manage nerves, focus, and play more confidently.Check out the live online mental skills “Essentials” course which begins July 22nd, 2025: bulletproofmusician.com/essentials
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There's a famous quote attributed to Heifetz (or any number of different folks) - that if I don't practice one day, I know it; two days, the critics know it; three days, the public knows it.
So does that mean that we can't afford to take any days off, if we're truly serious about our craft? And what does it mean if we start to feel burned out and stale?
Well...it could be my imagination, but I swear I once saw a video in which Heifetz said that he always took one day off from practicing a week. And I've heard a number of well-known musicians encourage students to take a day, or at least 24 hours off every week.
So maybe it doesn't have to be "all gas, no brakes?"
Get all the nerdy details here:
Pre-Performance Apathy (and the Importance of Mentally Disengaging From Practice)
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Want to perform up to your full abilities more consistently? Learn how with evidence-based strategies that will accelerate your learning, help you manage nerves, focus, and play more confidently.Check out the live online mental skills “Essentials” course which begins July 22nd, 2025: bulletproofmusician.com/essentials
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Ever wonder why it's so difficult to do the same thing twice, in exactly the same way?
Like the same exact crescendo or the same exact speed of vibrato?
Do we just need to practice more? Or is there something else involved?
Turns out our brain isn't wired for this kind of consistency. But that's actually a good thing! And it has some interesting implications on how we ought to approach practicing too.
Get all the nerdy details here:
Your Brain Isn’t Built for Consistency - Here’s How to Make That Work for You
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Want to perform up to your full abilities more consistently? Learn how with evidence-based strategies that will accelerate your learning, help you manage nerves, focus, and play more confidently.Check out the live online mental skills “Essentials” course which begins July 22nd, 2025: bulletproofmusician.com/essentials
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I think the last couple decades have seen a growing change in the music community, where there's a greater openness to talking about nerves and certain mental health struggles. But one area that isn't yet being talked about so much is trauma.
What is trauma? What "counts" and what doesn't? How does this happen? How does it affect us? How can we know if a student has experienced trauma? Could we unintentionally (and unknowingly) be causing trauma?
To better understand trauma and its intersection with performance, I spoke with Dr. Mitch Abrams - a forensic and sport psychologist who shares insights on how trauma shows up, and what steps we can begin to take towards healing.
Get a full transcript and all the nerdy details here:
Mitch Abrams: On Trauma and High-Level Performance
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Want to perform up to your full abilities more consistently? Learn how with evidence-based strategies that will accelerate your learning, help you manage nerves, focus, and play more confidently.Check out the live online mental skills “Essentials” course which begins July 22nd, 2025: bulletproofmusician.com/essentials
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When it comes to motivating students, musicians, or even ourselves, we all wonder: is it better to reward effort — or call out mistakes? It turns out, both approaches can work… but they lead to very different kinds of learning.
Get all the nerdy details here:
Reward vs. Punishment: Which Leads to Faster Learning?
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Want to perform up to your full abilities more consistently? Learn how with evidence-based strategies that will accelerate your learning, help you manage nerves, focus, and play more confidently.Check out the live online mental skills “Essentials” course which begins July 22nd, 2025: bulletproofmusician.com/essentials
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It's hard to be a parent and not worry about one's kids. Especially when it comes to public performances, competitions, or auditions, whether big or small.
But doesn't it feel like sometimes a parents' worry is contagious? Where their stress or worry rubs off on their child, and the kid starts worrying or feeling more pressure as the performance approaches too?
The answer is not to tell your students' parents to chill out and stop worrying, of course. Because that's not likely to happen no matter what you say! 😅
But the research suggests that there are better or more productive ways to worry. So if a parent is going to worry, they might as well worry the right way.
Wait...what? There are better and worse ways to worry?
Get all the nerdy details in today's episode. References available here:
One Way Parents Can Help Their Kids Be Less Anxious
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Want to perform up to your full abilities more consistently? Learn how with evidence-based strategies that will accelerate your learning, help you manage nerves, focus, and play more confidently.Check out the live online mental skills “Essentials” course which begins July 22nd, 2025: bulletproofmusician.com/essentials
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My daughter and I have been binge-watching past seasons of The Amazing Race for some months now, and the psychology nerd in me has become increasingly fascinated by one particular aspect of the show.
The participants’ self-talk.
As in, what do participants say when they run into a task that feels impossible or beyond their abilities?
“I can’t”
When participants start saying “I can’t,” they often stop trying and appear to be on the verge of quitting altogether. After all, “can’t” is a pretty disempowering word.
The reality of course, whether it’s eating snake meat or swimming laps in a bog or bungee jumping into a ravine, is that when push comes to shove, they discover that they absolutely can do these things.
So how much of an effect does self-talk like this have on us, actually?
Well, a 2011 study found that when participants replaced the word “can’t” with 🫢🫢🫢🫢, they were eight times more likely to achieve their goals!
Get all the nerdy details here:
A Self-Talk Tweak to Boost the Odds of Achieving Your Goals
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Want to perform up to your full abilities more consistently? Learn how with evidence-based strategies that will accelerate your learning, help you manage nerves, focus, and play more confidently.Check out the live online mental skills “Essentials” course which begins July 22nd, 2025: bulletproofmusician.com/essentials
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Ever get that overwhelmed feeling in the practice room? Where you know there’s a ton of work to be done, but you’re not quite sure where to start or what exactly to do?
Maybe you’re not happy with your sound, or your intonation is sketchy, or perhaps it’s one of those days when it feels like everything needs attention?
We only have so much time and energy, so what are we to do?
Flutist Linda Chesis is a soloist, chamber musician, educator, and festival director. She was a student of Jean-Pierre Rampal at the Paris Conservatory, a top prizewinner at the Paris and Barcelona International Competitions, and has been a longtime faculty member at the Manhattan School of Music and Chair of the Woodwind Department.
In this episode, Linda shares insights on how to cultivate a more beautiful sound, walks us through a checklist for what exactly to listen and look for when listening back to recordings of ourselves, and how to manage and organize our practice time when we have too much music to learn and not quite enough time:
Get all the nerdy details and connect with Linda here:
Linda Chesis: On Cultivating a More Beautiful Sound and Becoming a Better Practicer
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Want to perform up to your full abilities more consistently? Learn how with evidence-based strategies that will accelerate your learning, help you manage nerves, focus, and play more confidently.Check out the live online mental skills “Essentials” course which begins July 22nd, 2025: bulletproofmusician.com/essentials
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Even from a young age, I was always confused by the relationship between nerves and performance. There were times, for instance, when I’d be nervous and sound pretty terrible. But then there were other times when I’d be nervous and play better than ever. And then there were times when I’d be calm and sound very uninspired and mediocre.
It all felt like a crapshoot, and none of it ever made sense. Like, why were nerves sometimes helpful and sometimes not helpful? Should I be trying harder to calm down? And even if I could, given some of my subpar calm performances, was that even the answer?
If you’ve ever had questions like this, today’s article has some answers!
Get all the nerdy details and learn where the optimal anxiety level might be:
Finding Your Optimal Anxiety Level: Why Calm Isn’t Always Better
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Want to perform up to your full abilities more consistently? Learn how with evidence-based strategies that will accelerate your learning, help you manage nerves, focus, and play more confidently.Check out the live online mental skills “Essentials” course which begins July 22nd, 2025: bulletproofmusician.com/essentials
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Somewhere along the line we learn that mistakes are bad, and perfect is good - but what if this is actually not true when it comes to learning?
What if mistakes are actually an essential part of learning? And what if we actually learn faster when we're in a challenge "sweet spot" and playing nowhere near perfectly?
If that were true...where might this sweet spot be?
Get all the nerdy details and learn why you don't want practicing to feel too easy right here:
The 70% Rule: Why Practicing Shouldn’t Be Too Easy
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Want to perform up to your full abilities more consistently? Learn how with evidence-based strategies that will accelerate your learning, help you manage nerves, focus, and play more confidently.Check out the live online mental skills “Essentials” course which begins July 22nd, 2025: bulletproofmusician.com/essentials
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When you're practicing sight-reading, how difficult should the music be?
Should it be easy enough that you can read it more or less perfectly, without any mistakes?
Should it be difficult enough that you're making lots of mistakes, and feeling really challenged?
Could there a specific "sweet spot" or Goldilocks zone where your sight-reading skills improve at the fastest possible rate?
Get all the nerdy details here:
Sight Reading: The Ideal Error Rate for Optimal Learning
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Want to perform up to your full abilities more consistently? Learn how with evidence-based strategies that will accelerate your learning, help you manage nerves, focus, and play more confidently.Check out the live online mental skills “Essentials” course which begins July 22nd, 2025: bulletproofmusician.com/essentials
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Have you ever found yourself getting irritated or see your performance get derailed by distractions on stage? Maybe it was noises backstage, or movement in the audience, or people coughing and loudly unwrapping candy in the quiet moments?
These distractions often seem like such trivial things, but sometimes, they can take up more space in our thoughts than they ought to, and lead to little slip-ups. Which can be pretty frustrating, lead to more little mistakes, and then begin to send the whole performance into a downward spiral.
Is there any way to become more distraction-proof on stage? And perform better even when surrounded by unanticipated distractions of various sorts?
Get all the nerdy details here:
Why Practicing While Distracted Is Actually Very Important
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Want to perform up to your full abilities more consistently? Learn how with evidence-based strategies that will accelerate your learning, help you manage nerves, focus, and play more confidently.Check out the live online mental skills “Essentials” course which begins July 22nd, 2025: bulletproofmusician.com/essentials
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A one-hour lesson can often go by really quickly, but also be packed with lots and lots to remember.
Have you ever found yourself repeating yourself from one week to the next? Having to remind students about things you've already talked about in previous lessons?
If you'd like to help students remember more from their lessons (and other classes too), I think you'll be intrigued by the finding of a 2014 study which compared two approaches to learning, and found one that significantly enhanced students' recall.
Get all the nerdy details here:
How to Help Students Remember More From Each Lesson
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Want to perform up to your full abilities more consistently? Learn how with evidence-based strategies that will accelerate your learning, help you manage nerves, focus, and play more confidently.Check out the live online mental skills “Essentials” course which begins July 22nd, 2025: bulletproofmusician.com/essentials
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