Explore every episode of the podcast The Bulletproof Musician
| Title | Pub. Date | Duration | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nathan Cole: Lessons From 20 Years of Concertmaster Auditions | 01 Sep 2024 | 00:54:54 | |
Have you ever wondered...how to develop true confidence in yourself and your abilities amidst setbacks? What the right mindset is for auditions? How much of your expressive playing should be planned out, and how much is instinct? How to recover from very direct, critical audition feedback? And how do you stay in the present moment, instead of stressing out about nerves and all the bad things that could happen when you’re on stage?
Nathan will also be teaching a live, 4-day, guided (and free) practice workshop on the Scheherazade solos from September 19-22, 2024 (at 4pm Eastern). Whether you’re aspiring to take concertmaster auditions yourself, or simply want to learn some of Nathan practice techniques and strategies for better intonation, sound, and expressive clarity that you can apply to other music that you’re working on, this will be a great way to jumpstart your fall practice with some new tools.
You can also study with Nathan through his online group learning program - Daily Virtuoso - where each quarter, he leads an in-depth study of a new set of masterworks from the repertoire. You’ll learn how to approach both the technical and musical challenges in each piece through live calls, practice assignments, and video lessons, alongside a supportive community of fellow learners.
More from The Bulletproof Musician
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| An Ironic Strategy to Stay Calmer and Avoid Rushing on Performance Days | 25 Aug 2024 | 00:08:01 | |
Whether it's picking a tempo that's too fast, or rushing a shift, it's easy for things to feel sped up on concert days when the adrenaline kicks in, and the butterflies are fluttering about. More from The Bulletproof Musician
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| Is It Better to Perform With Eyes Open or Closed? | 23 Jun 2024 | 00:06:59 | |
Do you tend to play with your eyes open? Or do you sometimes close them? More from The Bulletproof Musician
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| Wish You Could Memorize Better? Why a Little Bit of "Verbalization" Might Be the Missing Ingredient. | 11 Sep 2022 | 00:07:34 | |
Fear of memory slips is a common issue for many musicians. But I don't know that many of us have ever been taught specifically how to memorize either... Turns out there's a relatively simple strategy we can use to significantly improve how much of the new music we're learning "sticks" in our memory. Wish You Could Memorize Better? Why a Little Bit of "Verbalization" Might Be the Missing Ingredient. More from The Bulletproof Musician
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| David Juncos & Elvire de Paiva e Pona: On ACT and a New Approach to Overcoming Performance Anxiety | 04 Sep 2022 | 00:51:41 | |
Eliminating nerves, or staying positive and turning your inner critic into an optimist can be difficult, frustrating, and exhausting. But what if we didn't have to? What if there were another way, another path to performing optimally where we didn't have to fight our nerves quite so much? Today's guests share insights into a relatively new approach to managing nerves and performance stress that is gaining increasing interest in both sport and music circles - ACT. David Juncos & Elvire de Paiva e Pona: On ACT and a New Approach to Overcoming Performance Anxiety More from The Bulletproof Musician
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| Optimizing Practice: 2 Things That the Best Performers Do & 1 Thing That the Best “Improvers” Do | 28 Aug 2022 | 00:10:29 | |
There are quite a few studies that have looked at the practice habits of top performers, but there are few that have looked at the practice habits of the top performers who also improve at the greatest rate. Today's study does just that and identifies one key practice process that's associated with the most growth and improvement. Optimizing Practice: 2 Things That the Best Performers Do & 1 Thing That the Best “Improvers” Do More from The Bulletproof Musician
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| Why Ear Training Might Matter More Than You Think | 21 Aug 2022 | 00:06:59 | |
Ever wonder why ear training is such an emphasis in the standard music curriculum? How important is it that we be good at it? What does it actually help us with? A 2004 study of pianists provides some answers! Why Ear Training Might Matter More Than You Think More from The Bulletproof Musician
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| Two Helpful Things to Think About on Stage, Right Before You Start Playing | 14 Aug 2022 | 00:07:47 | |
Turns out what we think about right before we start playing can have a significant effect on how well we perform! So if your brain tends to suddenly imagine worst-case scenarios, or blank out, or get distracted, a recent tennis study provides some clues on what would be more helpful to keep our mind focused on instead. Two Helpful Things to Think About on Stage, Right Before You Start Playing More from The Bulletproof Musician
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| If You Have Difficulty Staying Focused While Practicing, Could Clutter Be a Factor? | 07 Aug 2022 | 00:08:39 | |
Could clutter be affecting your ability to focus in the practice room? Research suggests that it could - and potentially affecting your learning as well! If You Have Difficulty Staying Focused While Practicing, Could Clutter Be a Factor? More from The Bulletproof Musician
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| Memory Reconsolidation: A Way to Dump Your Negative Audition and Performance Baggage? | 31 Jul 2022 | 00:10:41 | |
Ever find yourself reacting negatively to certain pieces or orchestral excerpts, not because you can't play it, but because there's still some mental or emotional "baggage" lingering in the background from previous negative experiences? Recent research suggests that it may be possible to "edit" or update these memories so that they don't carry so much weight. Memory Reconsolidation: A Way to Dump Your Negative Audition and Performance Baggage? More from The Bulletproof Musician
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| Three Ways to Teach Students How to Play More Expressively (Is There a “Best” Way?) | 24 Jul 2022 | 00:09:02 | |
Ever find yourself struggling to help a student play more expressively. With so many different approaches to choose from - e.g. imagery/metaphors to instructions to demonstrations/listening assignments, is there one that works best? Three Ways to Teach Students How to Play More Expressively (Is There a “Best” Way?) More from The Bulletproof Musician
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| How Making Mistakes Can Accelerate Learning | 17 Jul 2022 | 00:08:12 | |
Ever worry that the mistakes you inadvertently make in the practice room could come back to bite you in the butt in performance? Turns out you may not have to worry as much as you'd think - as long as you're making mistakes the right way. Wait...what does that even mean?! More details in today's episode. =) How Making Mistakes Can Accelerate Learning More from The Bulletproof Musician
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| The Two Most Efficient (and Two Least Efficient) Memorization Strategies | 10 Jul 2022 | 00:10:45 | |
I think we've all wondered what the most effective strategies for memorization might be. But have you ever wondered what the most efficient strategy might be? The one that gets you the furthest in the least amount of time? In today's episode, we'll explore four strategies for memorizing - all of which work, but two of which get you to the same place in much less time than the others. The Two Most Efficient (and Two Least Efficient) Memorization Strategies More from The Bulletproof Musician
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| A Teaching Method That Creates Smarter Practicers | 16 Jun 2024 | 00:09:47 | |
I remember my teacher saying to me quite early on in my studies, that her job was not to tell me what to do, but to teach me how to teach myself. More from The Bulletproof Musician
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| Brian Alegant: On the Difference Between MUSIC Theory and Music THEORY | 03 Jul 2022 | 00:50:24 | |
Did you enjoy music theory in school? Or did it just make your head hurt and wish you could be almost anywhere else instead? If you were never especially fond of music theory, this episode is for you. =) I'm joined by music theory professor Brian Alegant, and guest co-host violist Molly Gebrian (who taught music theory classes in her previous faculty position). We won't talk about seventh chords or modes, but instead, have a chat about how we can make it feel more like MUSIC theory than music THEORY.
More from The Bulletproof Musician
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| Why Your Playing (or Singing) Tends to Become Less Musically Expressive on Stage | 26 Jun 2022 | 00:08:42 | |
Ever wonder why your playing or singing (or that of your students) tends to be less expressive under pressure? A 2015 study provides some clues on what exactly happens to the expressiveness of our playing when we're on stage, and even some details on what exactly happens with a particular aspect of expressiveness - phrasing that makes it sound less musical. Why Your Playing (or Singing) Tends to Become Less Musically Expressive on Stage More from The Bulletproof Musician
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| Do the Best Performers Also Provide the Best Advice? | 19 Jun 2022 | 00:09:41 | |
Whether in music, sports, fitness, or in business, there’s often a tendency for us to assume that the best performers in any domain have the most valuable advice to offer. Of course, there’s a common counter-narrative which suggests that sometimes the best athletes, the top performers at work, and the most shredded folks at the gym, don’t necessarily make the best teachers. So…which is it? Is a person’s performance a pretty good predictor of the quality of their advice? Or are performance and advice-giving two very different things? Do the Best Performers Also Provide the Best Advice? More from The Bulletproof Musician
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| Why Thinking Out Loud Could Help You Become a More Efficient Practicer | 12 Jun 2022 | 00:08:32 | |
Ever find yourself getting sucked into mindless repetitions, despite your best intentions to practice more thoughtfully and efficiently? Research suggests that thinking out loud could enhance problem-solving, essentially making you a more efficient and effective practicer. Why Thinking Out Loud Could Help You Become a More Efficient Practicer More from The Bulletproof Musician
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| Peter Keller: On Becoming More Skilled Ensemble Musicians with Insights from Cognitive Science | 05 Jun 2022 | 00:49:22 | |
Ever wonder what it is that makes for great ensemble "chemistry"? Like, what are the underlying skills that make some musicians especially easy and fun to play with? Peter Keller is a trombonist/composer-turned-music psychologist, who studies the neural and behavioral bases underlying effective ensemble playing. In this episode, he shares some insights from cognitive science that could enable us to be more effective musical collaborators, whether playing in a duo, quartet, or orchestra. More from The Bulletproof Musician
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| An “Awkward” Way to Increase Motivation and Make More Progress Towards Your Goals | 29 May 2022 | 00:09:19 | |
Ever find yourself wishing you could get better at something, but getting stuck somewhere along the way? And facing a lot of internal resistance to doing the uncomfortable, awkward things that you know would help you get there? A recent study provides some insights on why this is, and what we can do about it. An “Awkward” Way to Increase Motivation and Make More Progress Towards Your Goals. More from The Bulletproof Musician
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| How to Clear Your Mind of Worries Before a Big Performance (revisited) | 22 May 2022 | 00:10:03 | |
Ever notice how mean and distracting (and unhelpful) your inner critic can be on stage? Previous research has found that writing out our worries right before a test (as counterintuitive as that sounds) can help to improve test performance. But would something like this work with musical performance as well? How to Clear Your Mind of Worries Before a Big Performance (revisited) More from The Bulletproof Musician
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| Evidence That Performing From Memory May Be More Challenging for Pianists Than Others (What?!) | 15 May 2022 | 00:07:40 | |
Anecdotally at least, fear of memory slips seems to come up more often for pianists than for some other instruments. Is this because of how many notes they have? Or is there something else about the instrument itself that contributes to an increased risk of memory slips in performance (unless one adjusts their practice habits to account for this)? Evidence That Performing From Memory May Be More Challenging for Pianists Than Others (What?!) More from The Bulletproof Musician
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| Do You Struggle With Unreliable Memory on Stage? Perhaps Your Memorization Strategy is Missing This Key ingredient... | 08 May 2022 | 00:07:10 | |
Memory slips can be a scary thing and a major cause of anxiety on stage. But it's not a skill that we tend to think of much in our daily practice... We know from previous research that mental practice plus physical practice leads to better learning than physical practice alone. Could the same thing be true for memory too? Like, could substituting a bit of mental practice for physical practice lead to more reliable memory than physical practice alone? More from The Bulletproof Musician
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| Keith Underwood (Part 2): On Breathing and the Problem With Thinking of Air as the Solution to Everything. | 01 May 2022 | 00:51:21 | |
As instinctive and natural a process as breathing is in our moment-to-moment existence, breathing efficiently and effectively so as to produce a beautiful sound that projects, clear articulation, smooth, connected phrases, etc. can be a real challenge (or so I hear)! In Part 2 of my chat with flutist Keith Underwood, we get into the topic of breathing, and Keith explains and demonstrates a whole range of concepts that will help you play more effortlessly, and better understand how to "play on the breath, not with the breath." More from The Bulletproof Musician
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| The Subtle Habit That Might Be Undermining Your Confidence | 09 Jun 2024 | 00:08:40 | |
You know how people say that little kids don’t have a filter? How they just blurt out whatever thoughts pop into their minds? Well, the voice in our head can kind of be like that unfiltered 1st grader. Because we often say some rather unkind and borderline abusive things to ourselves quite automatically. We might not truly believe the mean and discouraging thoughts we think to ourselves - at least at first. But if you’ve ever found yourself struggling with confidence, and started questioning yourself, and wondering if maybe your inner critic was right, you’re not alone. A 1977 study (it’s an oldie, but goodie) explains why this happens - and gives us some clues on how we might interrupt the automatic habit that often undermines our confidence. More from The Bulletproof Musician
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| Keith Underwood (Part 1): On the Art of Imitation, and How to Glean Transformative Insights From Great Musicians to Level Up Your Playing. | 24 Apr 2022 | 00:49:50 | |
Flutist and educator Keith Underwood shares insights on what (and how) we can learn from our favorite musicians so as to level up our playing in some pretty transformative ways. And how doing so can potentially make practicing and recording way more fun as well! More from The Bulletproof Musician
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| How Mental Imagery Can Help You Become a Better (Or More "Psychic") Chamber Music Partner | 17 Apr 2022 | 00:07:22 | |
You know how some musicians seem to be almost "psychic" in their ability to play together and be totally in sync with one another? Ever wonder how they do this? Is it just experience, or something else? A couple imagery studies provide some intriguing clues on what they might be doing, that facilitates next-level ensemble coordination. How Mental Imagery Can Help You Become a Better (Or More "Psychic") Chamber Music Partner More from The Bulletproof Musician
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| How Does One Learn to Play More Musically? | 10 Apr 2022 | 00:10:14 | |
How much emotion should we be feeling internally for a musically effective performance? Is there such a thing as feeling too much emotion when performing? And is playing more musically something we can learn, or is it something innate? How Does One Learn to Play More Musically? More from The Bulletproof Musician
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| Do We Really Sound as Terrible on Stage as We Sometimes Think We Do? | 03 Apr 2022 | 00:07:50 | |
Ever notice how after performances, your family, friends, and teachers seem to think that the performance went better than you thought it went? Is this just because they're being nice, or is this a real thing? As in, is there something about being on stage that makes us perceive our own playing differently than how others perceive our playing? Do We Really Sound as Terrible on Stage as We Sometimes Think We Do? More from The Bulletproof Musician
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| "Quiet Eye": A Technique to Enhance Performance When You're Nervous | 27 Mar 2022 | 00:08:53 | |
Ever notice how nerves can make us feel pressure to rush into the opening of a performance, and start before we feel truly settled and ready? Turns out that one of the keys to starting off more effectively may have to do with our eyes, and what we look at or focus on in the moments right before beginning. How so? A 2014 study gives us some intriguing clues... "Quiet Eye": A Technique to Enhance Performance When You're Nervous More from The Bulletproof Musician
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| Prone to Procrastinating? Why the Way You Set Deadlines Could Make Things Worse, Not Better. | 20 Mar 2022 | 00:07:36 | |
When it comes to getting things done, do you find it helpful to set deadlines? And if so, do shorter deadlines work better, or longer ones? Research suggests that in some cases, no deadline could be best (what?!). And at other times, the wrong kind of deadline can make us more, not less, likely to procrastinate. Prone to Procrastinating? Why the Way You Set Deadlines Could Make Things Worse, Not Better. More from The Bulletproof Musician
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| Having a Bad Practice Day? Turn It Into a Good One With This 3-Step Self-Coaching Technique. | 12 Mar 2022 | 00:09:06 | |
We've probably all had teachers who told us that their goal is to help us learn how to teach ourselves. But how do we do that exactly? A 2006 study lays out a 3-step self-coaching process that we can use to become better teachers to ourselves. Or even share with our students as kind of a how-to-become-a-better-practicer cheat sheet. Having a Bad Practice Day? Turn It Into a Good One With This 3-Step Self-Coaching Technique. More from The Bulletproof Musician
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| Adina Mornell: On Learning How to Practice in Such a Way That Performing Can Be Something We Enjoy, Rather Than Fear | 06 Mar 2022 | 01:02:13 | |
Pianist, educator, and music psychology researcher Adina Mornell shares insights on the four component of stage fright (and what to do about each), and describes some of the key takeaways from recent studies she has done on how to not only practice more effectively, but prepare in such a way that we can enjoy ourselves more on stage too. More from The Bulletproof Musician
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| How to Get Your Brain to Do More Learning BETWEEN Practice Sessions | 27 Feb 2022 | 00:08:25 | |
When we think of optimizing learning, we tend to think of practice strategies and how to make our time in the practice room more effective. But much like working out and building muscle, a good bit of motor learning actually occurs outside of the practice room, BETWEEN practice sessions. So what can we do to maximize the motor learning that occurs between practice sessions? How to Get Your Brain to Do More Learning BETWEEN Practice Sessions More from The Bulletproof Musician
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| How to Get Yourself to Practice When You Don't Feel Like It | 20 Feb 2022 | 00:06:54 | |
Ever have one of those days where you just can't get yourself to practice? Or maybe that's a little bit how every day feels? Turns out there's an intriguing motivation "hack" of sorts that could make it easier to start practicing, and naturally increase your motivation to do so. It even has a cool name - the "Zeigarnik effect." How to Get Yourself to Practice When You Don't Feel Like It More from The Bulletproof Musician
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| Learn More Effectively with This Lesser-Known Mindset Shift | 02 Jun 2024 | 00:06:14 | |
For most of my life, even through college and grad school, regular ol' repetition was probably my most-utilized learning strategy whether I was studying for a test or practicing for my next lesson or performance. More from The Bulletproof Musician
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| Why You Get Sucked Down the YouTube Rabbit Hole When Practicing (And How to Prevent This Without Having to Break Up With YouTube) | 13 Feb 2022 | 00:08:31 | |
Ever find yourself in the middle of a practice session, take a moment to check your texts, and then realize an hour has gone by as you got sucked down some random internet rabbit hole or another? Why does this happen? And what can you do to prevent this without resorting to the nuclear option of airplane mode or an app that blocks you from the internet for a set period of time? More from The Bulletproof Musician
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| Joshua Weilerstein: On a Conductor’s Journey, and Why It Might Be Awesome if Every Musician Spent a Day in a Conductor’s Shoes | 06 Feb 2022 | 00:51:31 | |
Ever wonder what's going through the mind of a conductor, in rehearsal or in a performance? Conductor Joshua Weilerstein shares his own journey from violinist to conductor, and sheds some light on what a conductor is thinking about in the practice room, in rehearsal, and in performance. And why it might be kind of awesome if every musician had a chance to conduct for a day. More from The Bulletproof Musician
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| Research-Tested Practice Strategies That Will Help You Learn New Pieces Faster | 30 Jan 2022 | 00:10:05 | |
Learning a bunch of practice strategies can elevate the effectiveness of your practice, but a 2015 study of college music students suggests that supplementing this with additional self-regulation strategies can elevate your practice effectiveness even more! And what are self-regulation strategies, exactly? Check out the episode to learn more about a couple simple and effective - but easy to neglect - self-regulation strategies. Research-Tested Practice Strategies That Will Help You Learn New Pieces Faster More from The Bulletproof Musician
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| How the Things You Say to Your Students Can Change the Positivity (Or Negativity) of Their Inner Voice | 23 Jan 2022 | 00:07:49 | |
We all have an inner voice. Sometimes it's a supportive presence, but often, it can be pretty critical and even a little abusive at times. Research suggests that the way we talk to our students and provide feedback may actually be able to shape their inner dialogue - for better, or for worse. More from The Bulletproof Musician
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| Does Perfectionism Really “Kill” Creativity? If So, What’s the Alternative? | 16 Jan 2022 | 00:07:48 | |
There are a lot of articles on the internet suggesting that perfectionism "kills" creativity. But is that really true? A team of Canadian researchers were curious about this exact question, and put together a study to find out if there was anything to this. And if so, what a better, creativity-optimizing alternative might be. Does Perfectionism Really “Kill” Creativity? If So, What’s the Alternative? More from The Bulletproof Musician
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| A Practice Strategy That Could Potentially Be Twice as Effective as Regular Practice? | 09 Jan 2022 | 00:08:21 | |
Do you get bored of doing lots and lots of repetition in the practice room? The good news is that there's a better (and more interesting) way to get your repetitions in. A way that at least in one 2016 study led to a 2x performance improvement in the same amount of time! A Practice Strategy That Could Potentially Be Twice as Effective as Regular Practice? More from The Bulletproof Musician
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| How to Be a Little More Awesome in 2022? Try These Top Tips and Insights From 2021. | 02 Jan 2022 | 00:58:30 | |
Looking for some new ways to freshen up your practice routine, get off of a plateau, or find some new inspiration for 2022? Try some of these tips and insights from 2021's podcast guests - Kristian Steenstrup, Vivian Hornik Weilerstein, Merry Peckham, Daniel Matsukawa, Ann Bergeron, Natasha Brofsky, Roger Tapping, Lori Schiff, Timothy Kantor, Paul Kantor, Virginia Weckstrom, Astrid Schween, and Kris Chesky. How to Be a Little More Awesome in 2022? Try These Top Tips and Insights From 2021. More from The Bulletproof Musician
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| Why Practicing Practicing from an Early Age is So Important | 26 Dec 2021 | 00:10:07 | |
I stumbled across a home video of me practicing as a young child the other day and was horrified to hear how completely unorganized, unthoughtful, and un-deliberate my practice was at that age. Which made me wonder - can young kids be trusted to practice effectively? A 2010 study provides some clues on what happens at home during the week between lessons, and a couple things teachers can do to make sure this time is being spent making things better, not worse! Why Practicing Practicing from an Early Age is So Important More from The Bulletproof Musician
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| Two Approaches to Memorization - One of Which Can Leave You Lost and Stranded if You Rely on It Too Much! | 19 Dec 2021 | 00:09:01 | |
Some people seem to have a really easy time with memorizing new pieces. Or at least, they seem to be really confident and secure in their memory. Is there something they know that we don't? Are they doing anything differently in the practice room? https://bulletproofmusician.com/musicians-seem-memorization-naturals-can-become-one More from The Bulletproof Musician
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| Not Sure How to Do Mental Practice? Here's a 7-Point "How-To" Guide | 12 Dec 2021 | 00:09:55 | |
We've all heard stories of athletes and musicians using visualization or mental practice to enhance their learning or performance. But how exactly are we supposed to do it? In this episode, you'll learn about PETTLEP; a 7-point "how-to" set of guidelines, developed by two British researchers, drawing from the research in performance psych and neuroscience. Not Sure How to Do Mental Practice? Here's a 7-Point "How-To" Guide More from The Bulletproof Musician
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| Are You the “Good” or “Bad” Kind of Procrastinator? | 26 May 2024 | 00:07:11 | |
We all procrastinate on things from time to time. And sometimes we pay the price for doing things at the last minute. But then there are times when it actually seems to work out pretty well! More from The Bulletproof Musician
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| Kristian Steenstrup: On Singing, Solfège, and Cultivating a More Efficient Approach to Learning New Music. | 05 Dec 2021 | 00:49:52 | |
Have you ever wondered why solfège is such a constant in most music curricula? Or why teachers often ask us to sing in lessons? And if any of this is ever going to pay off in meaningful ways? A recent Danish study suggests that integrating a bit of singing into one's practice might indeed have some real worthwhile benefits. Lead author and trumpet professor Kristian Steenstrup drops by to chat for a bit and shares more details on what they found, plus an intriguing 4-step process for learning new music a little more efficiently. More from The Bulletproof Musician
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| Struggling to Get a Tricky Passage up to Tempo? Why Slow, Accurate Practice May Actually Be the Problem. | 28 Nov 2021 | 00:17:59 | |
We've all been told that slow practice is important. And while it's certainly an important tool to have in your toolbox, there is research which suggests that slow practice can potentially cause problems too, if we are too focused on slow, accurate playing in the early stages of learning something new. What?! In today's episode, you'll learn why this is, and two strategies to help you learn a new piece at the goal tempo from day 1. More from The Bulletproof Musician
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| Evidence That Too Much Consistency in Practice Could Potentially Hinder the Learning Process (What?!) | 21 Nov 2021 | 00:10:48 | |
The traditional method of learning is to try to learn the correct "textbook" way of performing a skill, and to do lots and lots of repetitions of that exact movement. But there's some increasing research in the last 20 years which suggests that this may not always lead to the best learning or performance. And that doing a bunch of goofy "wrong" repetitions that one would never do in performance could actually lead to more consistently and high-level execution of that skill. What?! More from The Bulletproof Musician
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