The Bulletproof Musician Noa Kageyama

This episode is for all of the parents out there who worry when their kids don't practice, or who aren't sure how much to push when the child says they want to quit. There isn't one single correct way to approach any of this, of course, but if you've ever wondered how professional musicians might handle these situations, here is one family's recollection of how they navigated this tricky path.

You've probably heard that it's helpful to make your own test questions when studying for a test or exam. But is this actually true?

A recent study suggests that there are a couple study strategies that could be more effective than the standard approach of reading/rereading/reviewing your notes and assigned readings for a class.

You've probably heard the saying that "practice doesn't make perfect; perfect practice makes perfect."

But is that true? Or just a myth?

Research on errors in learning suggest that error-free practice might actually hinder the learning process, and that how we respond to errors might be the more interesting factor to consider.

Ever have one of those performances that makes you cringe to think of it, even years after the fact? And discover that it still continues to affect you a little bit even in performances today?

A recent study identified a strategy that may not wipe your memory clean of the negative performance, but could help you move past it a bit more effectively.

The "memory palace" or method of loci technique, is a strategy often used by memory champions to achieve some pretty impressive feats of memory. Like being able to memorize the order of a deck of cards in less than a minute, for instance.

Typically though, memory athletes are asked to recall the information relatively soon after encoding the information into memory.

So...does this strategy work for more long-term memory too? And could it be used for music too?

Ever find yourself in a conversation that you think should have ended some time ago, but you're still hanging in there because you think the other person wants to continue, and you don't want to be rude? What if that person actually wished the conversation were over too, but is sticking around so as not to be rude to you?

A new study suggests that this sort of thing might be happening more than you'd think - and that we may all be a lot worse at knowing when to end conversations than you'd think.