Whether it’s the gentle fluttering of butterflies in your tummy that you wake up with on the morning of a performance, or the frantic churning of butterflies that you feel backstage while waiting to play, figuring out how to manage pre-performance nerves can be a real challenge. Source ..read more

I once heard somewhere, years ago, that if you want your kid to eat a new vegetable or unusual food, you have to put it in front of them an average of 16 times before they’ll touch it. Source ..read more

Whether you’re trying to play the clarinet, hit a backhand slice, pull off an omaplata sweep, or flip a pan-sized pancake without a spatula, you’ve undoubtedly heard the phrase “practice makes perfect.” Source ..read more

Whether you’re scrolling through Facebook, Instagram, or Youtube, you’ve probably seen musicians of all ages and levels posting videos of themselves practicing, offering tips and advice on how to overcome common challenges, and sharing clips of performances or stories and behind-the-scenes looks at what it means to be a music student or professional musician. Source ..read more

Whether you’re scrolling through Facebook, Instagram, or Youtube, you’ve probably seen musicians of all ages and levels posting videos of themselves practicing, offering tips and advice on how to overcome common challenges, and sharing clips of performances or stories and behind-the-scenes looks at what it means to be a music student or professional musician. Source ..read more

In theory, piñatas are terrific fun. I mean, what’s not to like? A hanging cornucopia of sweets, opened in spectacular fashion by smashing with a stick while blindfolded? Good times! Of course, the reality of piñatas is never quite as exciting as one might hope. First off, there are tons of complete misses, glancing blows, and weak hits. Then the older siblings get into the act, but to no avail. Source ..read more

There are many stories of athletes who visualized themselves practicing before going to bed, whether it be a baseball player engaging in a little batting practice or a diver rehearsing their dives. But you’ll often hear discrepancies among their accounts of how and what they visualized. Some describe going over the same skill repeatedly to work out some kinks, while others describe imagining a perfect performance, or playing out a realistic match complete with the inevitable ups and downs. I think there is a time and place for each kind of visualization, and the research suggests that visualiz ..read more

One day in 5th grade, instead of going to gym class, my classmates and I were led to the cafeteria, and greeted by a whole collection of shiny band instruments lined up on a table. The band teacher then pitched us on each instrument, hoping to pique our interest in at least one of them. I’ve forgotten most of the details - but I do remember that we all thought it was hilarious when he deliberately made the most horrible sound come out of one of the instruments, and joked that if we chose that instrument, we too could make that sound and annoy our parents anytime we wanted. Source ..read more

When it comes to buying a bathmat, convection oven, or sugar free gummy bears, online reviews can be a real life saver (tip: do not get these gummy bears, aka “Satan bears”). But when it comes to buying violin/viola/cello/bass strings, it’s not quite so straightforward. The right set of strings can make a big difference in how your instrument sounds and plays – but the process of experimenting with various strings to find the right match can be discouraging and costly. Source ..read more

You probably spend a lot of time thinking about how to practice and learn more effectively. You probably also spend a lot of time thinking about how to perform more optimally, and what you have to do in that moment to play your best. But as performance science researcher Aaron Williamon noted in his podcast episode a few months ago, there’s a third element that’s helpful to include in the practice-performance equation. And that’s what we ought to do after a performance - i.e. the post-performance review. Source ..read more