Category :Uncategorized

Priorities: There’s an Exception to Every Rule

Priorities: There’s an Exception to Every Rule In a previous post (Motivation: Parenting and Practicing), I wrote, “If we have to choose between baseball practice and a piano lesson, piano

The Musician’s Brain

The Musician’s Brain Science is confirming the “Mozart Effect” through new advances in brain imaging. When I was a music student (not so very long ago!) nobody knew much about the effect

How We Learn – applications for musicians

I just finished reading How We Learn: The Surprising Truth About When, Where, and Why It Happens by Benedict Carey, 2014. From a musician’s perspective, it has obvious applications for practice.

Mental Practice

Mental practice can be as effective as physical practice in music. That sounds crazy, right?! You wouldn’t train for a marathon by sitting on your couch and thinking about running 26.2 miles.

Concentration Exercises for Musicians

Concentration Exercises for Musicians The prevailing wisdom for many years was that our minds could handle about seven things at once. This was supported by research in 1956 that showed people

Sight Reading Tips

Sight Reading Tips and Three Activities for Improving Eye Tracking I was teaching a lesson with a 9 year-old student this week when I asked her to do some sight

Bite Sized Pieces (Woodshedding technique)

BITE SIZE PIECES – technique exercise This blog post is part of a series on woodshedding. For more ideas on how to invigorate your practicing with new and creative ideas, check

Woodshedding: Grouping Game

GROUPING GAME for your Woodshedding arsenal. Woodshedding is the process of isolating a difficult section of music and practicing it until the technical issues are resolved. In other blog posts,

Rhythm Spinner Game

The Rhythm Spinner Game is an excellent tool for woodshedding difficult passages. Like the Articulation Game, the Rhythm Spinner adds an element of chance to spice up your practicing. For

Temptation Bundling in the Practice Room

What is “temptation bundling” and how can we use it in the practice room? Temptation bundling is when we take something that we’re not excited about doing and pair it