Notes First or Music First? Which Leads to Better Performance?
Whether learning a new sport or playing an instrument, traditionally, we're often taught to start by building up some fundamental skills first, before we start adding in expression.But there are others who argue that we should start with expression from the very beginning, rather than waiting.Who's right? Which ultimately leads to better performances?Get all the nerdy details, including the instructional videos used in the study right here:Notes First or Music First? Which Leads to Better Performance?* * *Have you ever wondered why it is exactly that things often 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. 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. You'll also get the Pressure Proof Practice Challenge, a free 7-day email course where you'll learn specific practice strategies that will help you perform your best, even under pressure. Take the quiz here: bulletproofmusician.com/msa
--------
7:41
--------
7:41
A Way to Get More Useful Performance Feedback?
It can be pretty uncomfortable to play for others and ask for feedback. I mean, putting ourselves out there to be judged and evaluated is never much fun, right?But what if there's a different way to approach this? A way where you come out of the experience feeling less judged, and more supported instead? With concrete and useful advice that you can act on to get better, rather than a list of things that sound good or bad to stew on and feel crummy about?A Harvard Business School study identified a simple strategy that could help you get more useful feedback. Get all the nerdy details right here:A Way to Get More Useful Performance Feedback?* * *Have you ever wondered why it is exactly that things often 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. 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. You'll also get the Pressure Proof Practice Challenge, a free 7-day email course where you'll learn specific practice strategies that will help you perform your best, even under pressure. Take the quiz here: bulletproofmusician.com/msa
--------
7:35
--------
7:35
How to Unlock Your Students’ Hidden Practice Abilities
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* * *Have you ever wondered why it is exactly that things often 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. 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. You'll also get the Pressure Proof Practice Challenge, a free 7-day email course where you'll learn specific practice strategies that will help you perform your best, even under pressure. Take the quiz here: bulletproofmusician.com/msa
--------
7:56
--------
7:56
Judy Loman: On the Best Advice For an Aspiring Harpist (or Musician)
“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)* * *Have you ever wondered why it is exactly that things often 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. 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. You'll also get the Pressure Proof Practice Challenge, a free 7-day email course where you'll learn specific practice strategies that will help you perform your best, even under pressure. Take the quiz here: bulletproofmusician.com/msa
--------
36:17
--------
36:17
A Comparison of Three Approaches to Teaching Expressiveness
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* * *Have you ever wondered why it is exactly that things often 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. 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. You'll also get the Pressure Proof Practice Challenge, a free 7-day email course where you'll learn specific practice strategies that will help you perform your best, even under pressure. Take the quiz here: bulletproofmusician.com/msa
Ever wonder why you can practice for hours, sound great in the practice room, and still be frustratingly hit or miss on stage? Join performance psychologist and Juilliard alumnus/faculty Noa Kageyama, and explore research-based “practice hacks” for beating anxiety, practicing more effectively, and playing up to your full abilities when it matters most.
Portugal