The Bulletproof Musician

How should musicians actually practice to improve faster? In this conversation with researcher and trumpet professor Micah Killion, we explore what expert musicians do differently in the practice room and what research reveals about effective practice.

Micah Killion is Assistant Professor of Trumpet and Brass Coordinator at Montclair State University and former principal trumpet of the United States Air Force Band in Washington, D.C...

One of my teachers often used to say that no matter what you’re playing, when you’re on stage, the beginning of a piece is always the hardest part.

Not because the opening is more difficult technically, but because we’ve generally been sitting around for a little while, so we’re feeling kind of cold, a little disconnected from our instrument, and nervous and jittery.

And it often takes us a minute or two to get warmed up and really h...

In some years it feels easier to begin the new year with a lot of energy and enthusiasm. Other years, it can be difficult to get going and build up those new habits that we’d love to develop.

Whichever kind of year this is shaping up to be for you, I have a few things planned these next few weeks to help make it a productive one.

Today, I have a couple studies to share that look at a popular technique for getting started when your mo...

We all get stuck on problem passages from time to time. And it can be very natural to simply throw more repetitions at it, in hopes that this will eventually unlock something.

But in doing so, we end up accumulating more and more incorrect repetitions and reinforcing mistakes. So what’s the alternative?

A new study took a rare, close-up, repetition by repetition look at how artist-level musicians practice difficult passages. And it i...

The voice in our head can be an asset at times - but also kind of a jerk at the worst possible moments. And like that one person in the “quiet car” of the train that doesn’t seem to understand the rules, it never seems to be quiet when we need it to.

A 2014 study identified a self-talk strategy that led to improved performances, and less post-performance shame and rumination.

And it doesn’t require us to shush the inner critic entire...

A few months ago, when a sportswriter published an article in The New York Times about an unusual and “revolutionary” practice method that NBA star Victor Wembanyama and other elite athletes and teams (like the World Series-winning LA Dodgers) were utilizing, I started getting emails from musicians, asking if this method, known as the “constraints-led approach,” might apply to practicing music too.

So what is the constraints-led app...

A friend recently asked if it's true that becoming a virtuoso performer requires being a perfectionist.

Well, spoiler alert, it's not a simple yes or no answer. And there are a lot of fascinating nuances to explore. 

One of which involves performance anxiety, and the question of whether perfectionism increases or decreases nerves.

Get all the nerdy details and find out how much perfectionism might work best:

How Much Perfecti...

Playing for other people, whether it’s an audience of one, a dozen, or several hundred, can be a stressful thing! So it’s easy to focus on the negative aspects of performance, like how to manage nerves and avoid mistakes.

But performing can also be a real thrill, and one of the most satisfying and meaningful things we do in music. So I thought it might be fun to explore performing and practicing from this more positive angle as well...

Sleep and recovery is an aspect of preparation that athletes prioritize, with teams hiring sleep consultants, and many athletes going to great lengths to ensure they’re getting enough sleep.

And studies suggest that this investment of time is very much worth their while, when it comes to high-level performance.

But how much of a difference would an additional 90 minutes of sleep make when it comes to music performance?

Get all the ner...

I remember a lesson many years ago, when my teacher told me that her job was to teach me how to teach myself. So that I would one day no longer need a teacher.

I couldn’t have been more than 9 or 10 at the time, so the notion of me teaching myself was hard to fathom. It was difficult enough to just play in tune, never mind come up with my own bowings and fingerings, or making decisions about phrasing and all the musical details and ...

Whether we’re baking a cake, driving to a new restaurant, or putting together a puzzle, we can usually get to the goal more efficiently and effectively if we have a clear idea what the destination looks like.

I think we all know that the same is true for learning a new piece of music too - but often, this is not actually what our practice looks like. While we might have a pretty good idea what we don’t want something to sound like, ...

This episode with violinist Ida Kavafian is packed with key points about effective practice, plus fascinating nerdy details about bowing and fingering principles, references to specific passages in the Sibelius concerto, Schubert Fantasy, Beethoven’s Kreutzer sonata, a clever hack for playing fifths in tune, and so much more.

And if you’re not a string player, don’t worry - many of the principles are equally applicable to other inst...

One of the arguments often made for why we should memorize music, is that performing from memory facilitates more expressive performances. But is that really true?

There's not a lot of direct data that speaks to this question, but there are some clues here and there, suggesting that the answer might be a little more nuanced than a simple yes or no. 

Get all the nerdy details right here:

Can Memorizing Music Make You a More Expres...

Memory can often feel like a mysterious, unknowable phenomenon. Something that happens magically by itself at times, with great effort at others, and sometimes deceives us by abandoning us suddenly when we need it most!

We’ve worked on unpacking various aspects of memory over the last couple weeks - with Jane Ginsborg two episodes here and why pianists can have more difficulty than other musicians here.

And today, we’ll be looking at...

Mistakes on stage are never fun, but missing a note here or there, or playing out of tune is over and done with pretty quick. Having a memory slip on stage is a whole other level of discomfort. 😳 It’s one of the things that makes many musicians most anxious about performing.

Researchers have taught us a ton in the last couple decades about how the best memorizers memorize music. And so I thought it’d be worth taking a loo...

Talk to anyone who has ever performed from memory, and you’ll probably get a story of a time when their memory failed them. For instance, I remember a time, perhaps in elementary school, when I got lost in a piece on stage, and rather than stopping and looking over the pianist’s shoulder to see where I was, just started making stuff up, until I could figure out where I was. It wasn’t a very fun experience for me, but I think it act...

A pianist once told me the last thing their teacher said at their final lesson after years of study: “Now forget everything I ever told you.”

Not exactly the parting wisdom you’d expect, right?

But hidden in that odd-sounding advice is an important mental shift that could help you play with more freedom and confidence under pressure.

Get all the nerdy details in today's episode. Or, get the text version with references, links, an...

One of the questions that I'm often asked, is the question of whether performance psychology can be helpful to those whose performance anxiety is a little more severe than most.

Well, a 2023 study looked at that exact question actually. And it even gives us some insight into which specific mental skills or strategies might be most helpful to work on in cases like this.

Get all the nerdy details in today's episode....

Staying in a good mental and emotional state before performances is critical to playing up to our abilities when it counts. And we're probably going to be less likely to shy away from performance opportunities too, if we have more control over how we feel in the leadup to auditions and concerts.

But how does one do this? What can we do in the hours and minutes before a performance to get into a good headspace?

Get all the nerdy ...