The Bulletproof Musician

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 [https://bulletproofmusician.com/what-changes-when-a-student-selects-their-own-repertoire-a-case-study/] * * * Want to perform up to your full abilities more consistently? Learn how with evidence-based strategies that will accelerate your learning, help you manage nerves, focus, and play more confidently. Check out the live online mental skills “Essentials” course which begins July 22nd, 2025: bulletproofmusician.com/essentials [https://bulletproofmusician.com/essentials]

“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) [https://bulletproofmusician.com/judy-loman-on-the-best-advice-for-an-aspiring-harpist-or-musician/] * * * Want to perform up to your full abilities more consistently? Learn how with evidence-based strategies that will accelerate your learning, help you manage nerves, focus, and play more confidently. Check out the live online mental skills “Essentials” course which begins July 22nd, 2025: bulletproofmusician.com/essentials [https://bulletproofmusician.com/essentials]

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 [https://bulletproofmusician.com/a-comparison-of-three-approaches-to-teaching-expressiveness/] * * * Want to perform up to your full abilities more consistently? Learn how with evidence-based strategies that will accelerate your learning, help you manage nerves, focus, and play more confidently. Check out the live online mental skills “Essentials” course which begins July 22nd, 2025: bulletproofmusician.com/essentials [https://bulletproofmusician.com/essentials]

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 making sure our technique is totally secure and solid so we have total confidence in our ability to play accurately and consistently? Or could it be that there’s something more involved? Get all the nerdy details and learn more about the aspect of practice that could enhance your ability to get into flow states in performance: The Overlooked Skill That Could Make Performing More Enjoyable [https://bulletproofmusician.com/the-overlooked-skill-that-could-make-performing-more-enjoyable/] * * * Want to perform up to your full abilities more consistently? Learn how with evidence-based strategies that will accelerate your learning, help you manage nerves, focus, and play more confidently. Check out the live online mental skills “Essentials” course which begins July 22nd, 2025: bulletproofmusician.com/essentials [https://bulletproofmusician.com/essentials]

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 moving and making sounds come out of our instruments.  And what exactly is happening in those quiet moments? Get all the nerdy details  in this week's episode, with links to additional resources here if you'd like to explore this further: How Do Effective Practicers Make the Most of Their Practice Time? [https://bulletproofmusician.com/how-do-effective-practicers-make-the-most-of-their-practice-time/?utm_source=buzzsprout] * * * Want to perform up to your full abilities more consistently? Learn how with evidence-based strategies that will accelerate your learning, help you manage nerves, focus, and play more confidently. Check out the live online mental skills “Essentials” course which begins July 22nd, 2025: bulletproofmusician.com/essentials [https://bulletproofmusician.com/essentials]