The Bulletproof Musician Noa Kageyama

Whether it's running through a piece in your head to see if it's memorized, or imagining different fingering options while taking a practice break, you've probably used mental imagery to supplement your physical practice at one point or another.

Research in this area suggests that mental practice can indeed enhance learning and performance beyond physical practice alone, but how do we know if we're doing it right?

A 2015 study (Debarnot et al.) identified two things that boosted the effectiveness of participants' mental practice pretty substantially. And it wasn't anything crazy that would require much time or effort. Just a couple simple tweaks that you could use to level up your mental practice this week.

Get all the nerdy details here: How to Make Mental Practice Even More Effective

====
Why do things sound better at home than they do on stage?

If you’ve been confused (and frustrated) by the inconsistency of your performances, I put together a FREE 4-minute quiz called the Mental Skills Audit, which will help you pinpoint your mental strengths and weaknesses, and figure out what exactly to adjust and tweak in your preparation for more consistently optimal performances.

You can take the Mental Skills Audit online at bulletproofmusician.com/msa. It’s 100% free, takes only 4 minutes, and you’ll get a downloadable PDF with a personalized breakdown of where you stand in six key mental skill areas, plus curated articles that will help you adjust and tweak your preparation for more consistently optimal performances.

Take the quiz here: bulletproofmusician.com/msa

Whether it's manipulating our air, making embouchure adjustments, or learning to use the weight of our arm to produce a beautiful sound, we spend a lot of time working really hard to get things just right.

We ask for feedback and suggestions from our teachers, we watch YouTube videos of our favorite musicians, and get tips from instructional videos on the correct way to perform a skill. All of which are invaluable parts of the learning process.

But there's another approach, that we rarely (if ever) utilize, which may be even more effective than the traditional approach. And what strategy is that?

Intentionally getting things wrong.

Like, producing a thin, weak sound instead of a clear, full, resonant sound. Or a harsh, gritty attack, instead of a smooth, velvety start.

Turns out, practicing the wrong way may lead to better learning and enhanced performance than only practicing the right way.

Get all the nerdy details here: The Superiority of Intentionally Imperfect Practice?

====
Why do things sound better at home than they do on stage?

If you’ve been confused (and frustrated) by the inconsistency of your performances, I put together a FREE 4-minute quiz called the Mental Skills Audit, which will help you pinpoint your mental strengths and weaknesses, and figure out what exactly to adjust and tweak in your preparation for more consistently optimal performances.

You can take the Mental Skills Audit online at bulletproofmusician.com/msa. It’s 100% free, takes only 4 minutes, and you’ll get a downloadable PDF with a personalized breakdown of where you stand in six key mental skill areas, plus curated articles that will help you adjust and tweak your preparation for more consistently optimal performances.

Take the quiz here: bulletproofmusician.com/msa

Have you ever watched your favorite musician perform, and wondered what goes through their head on stage?

Like, what are they thinking about? Do they ever worry? What do they worry about? Is playing as easy as it looks? Or do they have bad days too? Does it ever get easier? How do they deal with criticism or bad reviews or even the critic in their own head? How similar is their experience in performance to ours?

As you may have heard, renowned pianist Menahem Pressler passed away last weekend at the age of 99. A founding member of the Beaux Arts Trio, his performing career spanned over seven decades, and he taught generations of pianists who have gone on to hold teaching positions around the world and win prizes in all of the major competitions.

I got to know Mr. Pressler a tiny bit during my time at Indiana University, as he was my wife's teacher, and kindly included me in studio parties and events. He was also curious and encouraging of my interests in psychology at a time when I had no idea how things would pan out, which I always appreciated.

So in the summer of 2012, I reached out to see if I might ask him some questions about practicing and performing. He was very open about his mental experience on stage, his own doubts and fears at various points in his life, and what success and failure meant to him, as well as the more practical aspects of how he prepares for performance.

I hope you find it as insightful and inspiring a conversation as I did.

Note: This episode was recorded over the telephone/Skype, and I’ve done my best to clean up the audio, but if you would like a transcript, you can download one at:
https://bulletproofmusician.com/menahem-pressler-on-following-your-heart/

====
Why do things sound better at home than they do on stage?

If you’ve been confused (and frustrated) by the inconsistency of your performances, I put together a FREE 4-minute quiz called the Mental Skills Audit, which will help you pinpoint your mental strengths and weaknesses, and figure out what exactly to adjust and tweak in your preparation for more consistently optimal performances.

You can take the Mental Skills Audit online at bulletproofmusician.com/msa. It’s 100% free, takes only 4 minutes, and you’ll get a downloadable PDF with a personalized breakdown of where you stand in six key mental skill areas, plus curated articles that will help you adjust and tweak your preparation for more consistently optimal performances.

Take the quiz here: bulletproofmusician.com/msa

If you play a string instrument, you know that the strings you use can make a big difference in how your instrument sounds and feels. But how can you find the combination of strings that makes your instrument sound its best?

Which type of core material produces the type of sound you're going for, as well as the best response? What are the benefits of the different kinds of wraps? What gauge or tension makes your instrument speak best? What mix of string brands will result in the most balanced sound across all the strings?

It can be a time-consuming and expensive process to try each string that's out there. So I thought I'd ask a couple experts what they recommend.

In today's episode you'll hear from a string manufacturer (Markus Lawrenson from D'Addario) and a luthier (Jesse Maschmeyer), who will share time and money-saving tips and insights on how to find the right strings for your level, your playing style, the demands of the kind of playing/performing you do, and of course, your instrument.

If you've been wanting to get a little more out of your instrument, this episode will give you a few new ideas to try!

Get all the nerdy details here: How to Find the Perfect Strings for You and Your Instrument

====
Why do things sound better at home than they do on stage?

If you’ve been confused (and frustrated) by the inconsistency of your performances, I put together a FREE 4-minute quiz called the Mental Skills Audit, which will help you pinpoint your mental strengths and weaknesses, and figure out what exactly to adjust and tweak in your preparation for more consistently optimal performances.

You can take the Mental Skills Audit online at bulletproofmusician.com/msa. It’s 100% free, takes only 4 minutes, and you’ll get a downloadable PDF with a personalized breakdown of where you stand in six key mental skill areas, plus curated articles that will help you adjust and tweak your preparation for more consistently optimal performances.

Take the quiz here: bulletproofmusician.com/msa

It's often said that failure is the best teacher. Or at least, that failure is a better teacher than success.

But how exactly are we supposed to learn from failure without getting discouraged?

And why does success get such a bad rap as a teacher, anyhow? What if the problem is that we haven't been reflecting on our successes in the right way?

A 2014 study provides some clues on how to engage in a systematic post-performance review process that will help you learn better from both successful and unsuccessful performances or auditions.

Get all the nerdy details here: How Exactly to Learn From Failures (And Successes Too)

====
Why do things sound better at home than they do on stage?

If you’ve been confused (and frustrated) by the inconsistency of your performances, I put together a FREE 4-minute quiz called the Mental Skills Audit, which will help you pinpoint your mental strengths and weaknesses, and figure out what exactly to adjust and tweak in your preparation for more consistently optimal performances.

You can take the Mental Skills Audit online at bulletproofmusician.com/msa. It’s 100% free, takes only 4 minutes, and you’ll get a downloadable PDF with a personalized breakdown of where you stand in six key mental skill areas, plus curated articles that will help you adjust and tweak your preparation for more consistently optimal performances.

Take the quiz here: bulletproofmusician.com/msa

Intuitively, I think we approach teaching with the goal of helping students avoid failure. So it's natural to step in if we see students floundering about and approaching a problem the wrong way.

But what if we are hindering students' learning by stepping in too soon? Like stepping in too soon to help with spotting someone at the gym, or helping them too much on that last repetition.

We certainly don't want anyone to get hurt or discouraged, of course! But a 2011 study suggests that too much guidance and instruction in the learning process can lead to the illusion of better performance at first - but significantly "shallower" learning and worse performance in the long run.

Get all the nerdy details here: “Productive Failure”: Why Early Floundering Leads to Better Learning

====
Why do things sound better at home than they do on stage?

If you’ve been confused (and frustrated) by the inconsistency of your performances, I put together a FREE 4-minute quiz called the Mental Skills Audit, which will help you pinpoint your mental strengths and weaknesses, and figure out what exactly to adjust and tweak in your preparation for more consistently optimal performances.

You can take the Mental Skills Audit online at bulletproofmusician.com/msa. It’s 100% free, takes only 4 minutes, and you’ll get a downloadable PDF with a personalized breakdown of where you stand in six key mental skill areas, plus curated articles that will help you adjust and tweak your preparation for more consistently optimal performances.

Take the quiz here: bulletproofmusician.com/msa