The Bulletproof Musician

I never got all that serious about playing the piano, but I did take lessons for a number of years and remember the many challenges I ran into as the number and density of black dots on the page increased.

Mostly I remember how dependent I was on my vision. On the violin, I didn’t look at my fingers or music much at all. But on the piano, I was constantly looking at either the music or my hands (I know, I know, I probably shouldn’t ...

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 th...

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 st...

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 a...

“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 s...

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...

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...

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 mo...

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 a...

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 influences
• What effective practice really means (and looks ...

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

More from The Bulletproof Musician

• Get the free weekly ...

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 v...

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 d...

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 unintentional...

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?

More from The Bulletproof Musician

• Get the free weekly newsletter, for more nerdy details and bonus subscriber-only c...

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...

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 verg...

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, educ...

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 help...