Here are some practice tips from one of my favorite teachers, Polly van der Linde (who runs the Sonata and Sonatina piano camps for adults and kids in Bennington Vermont). These are winners, precisely because they engage deep processing of the sort that cognitive scientists have been showing in recent decades is so important for […]
Just discovered this site — seems to have a wealth of useful advice and wisdom. Primary focus on helping musicians deal with performance anxiety, and also on more effective practice. But lots of other areas of advice as well. The Bulletproof Musician Posted with Blogsy
A nice article on the advantages of mindful (deliberate) practice. Posted with Blogsy
A plausible argument (with some research, though mostly not about music practice) for using random rather than blocked (massed) practice. “Why the Progress You Make in the Practice Room Seems to Disappear Overnight.” Posted with Blogsy
Some tips from a fabulous teacher and experienced performer – Polly van der Linde — on how to prepare for performance. Polly runs a piano camp that has been in her family for over 40 years: summer camp for kids, and 4 and 10 day sessions for adults year round.
Noe Kageyama is a Juilliard-trained violinist who is now a sport and performance psychologist. He discusses the famous work by Ericsson and subsequent scholars on deliberate practice — there seem to be hundreds of blog and popular press articles that do this — but then goes on to give specific advice with rich, sophisticated examples […]
From Scientific American: Scientific evidence suggests that even a little music training when we’re young can shape how brains develop, improving the ability to differentiate sounds and speech. Christie Wilcox, “Even a few years of music training benefits the brain“, 21 August 2012
A bit of inspiration for all of us sitting long hours at the keyboard, struggling to make progress: Nicholas McCarthy, born with only a left hand, just graduated from London’s Royal College of Music (piano performance).
Well, this is pretty cool. I’m probably the last pianist on the web to discover this, but: the Weill Music Institute at Carnegie Hall has put some master classes online, with video, scores, some other supplementary material. They are organized into topics so you can experience them organized around the piece in question, or by […]
Tagged Learning, online, teachingCognitive psychologists have found that one process in human learning is automatizing: complex tasks, when practiced or rehearsed enough, become automatic, so they can be performed using little or none of a very scarce resource: conscious attention. Anyone who drives a car is familiar with discovering one has been daydreaming and not consciously paying attention, […]
Tagged books, practice