What if one of the most overlooked factors affecting memory consolidation, emotional regulation, practice efficiency, and performance consistency wasn’t a new practice strategy - but sleep? Dr. Joanna Fong-Isariyawongse is a triple board-certified neurologist, sleep specialist, and epileptologist at the University of Pittsburgh, where her work focuses on cognitive performance, sleep, and neurological recovery under high-demand conditions. In addition to her clinical and academic work, she con...

Have you ever had the experience of fixing something in the practice room…only to have it come back in performance? Maybe it’s a passage where tension creeps back in. Or a section where your fingers revert to an old fingering. Or some aspect of your technique that you’ve worked hard to fix - until it shows up again at exactly the wrong moment. Why does this happen? In this month's episode, cognitive psychologist Paul Baxter explains why bad habits are so persistent, and shares a little-known ...

How should musicians actually practice to improve faster? In this conversation with researcher and trumpet professor Micah Killion, we explore what expert musicians do differently in the practice room and what research reveals about effective practice. Micah Killion is Assistant Professor of Trumpet and Brass Coordinator at Montclair State University and former principal trumpet of the United States Air Force Band in Washington, D.C. A Yamaha Performing Artist with degrees from Juilliard, Tea...

One of my teachers often used to say that no matter what you’re playing, when you’re on stage, the beginning of a piece is always the hardest part. Not because the opening is more difficult technically, but because we’ve generally been sitting around for a little while, so we’re feeling kind of cold, a little disconnected from our instrument, and nervous and jittery. And it often takes us a minute or two to get warmed up and really hit our stride. Which might not be the end of the world if yo...

In some years it feels easier to begin the new year with a lot of energy and enthusiasm. Other years, it can be difficult to get going and build up those new habits that we’d love to develop. Whichever kind of year this is shaping up to be for you, I have a few things planned these next few weeks to help make it a productive one. Today, I have a couple studies to share that look at a popular technique for getting started when your motivation isn’t quite there. Then, Coworking Week begins Mond...

We all get stuck on problem passages from time to time. And it can be very natural to simply throw more repetitions at it, in hopes that this will eventually unlock something. But in doing so, we end up accumulating more and more incorrect repetitions and reinforcing mistakes. So what’s the alternative? A new study took a rare, close-up, repetition by repetition look at how artist-level musicians practice difficult passages. And it identified some key similarities in how they approach problem...

The voice in our head can be an asset at times - but also kind of a jerk at the worst possible moments. And like that one person in the “quiet car” of the train that doesn’t seem to understand the rules, it never seems to be quiet when we need it to. A 2014 study identified a self-talk strategy that led to improved performances, and less post-performance shame and rumination. And it doesn’t require us to shush the inner critic entirely (whew, because that’s really difficult!). It’s just a sma...

A few months ago, when a sportswriter published an article in The New York Times about an unusual and “revolutionary” practice method that NBA star Victor Wembanyama and other elite athletes and teams (like the World Series-winning LA Dodgers) were utilizing, I started getting emails from musicians, asking if this method, known as the “constraints-led approach,” might apply to practicing music too. So what is the constraints-led approach? And is it relevant to musicians? Spoiler alert - yes, ...

A friend recently asked if it's true that becoming a virtuoso performer requires being a perfectionist. Well, spoiler alert, it's not a simple yes or no answer. And there are a lot of fascinating nuances to explore. One of which involves performance anxiety, and the question of whether perfectionism increases or decreases nerves. Get all the nerdy details and find out how much perfectionism might work best: How Much Perfectionism Do You Really Need to Succeed? References Racine, P., Laf...

Playing for other people, whether it’s an audience of one, a dozen, or several hundred, can be a stressful thing! So it’s easy to focus on the negative aspects of performance, like how to manage nerves and avoid mistakes. But performing can also be a real thrill, and one of the most satisfying and meaningful things we do in music. So I thought it might be fun to explore performing and practicing from this more positive angle as well. My guest today is pianist Pallavi Mahidhara. A prizewinner ...