The Bulletproof Musician

Is It Really so Bad to Frown After Making a Mistake?


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My daughter loved playing card games as a young child. And what was fun about playing with her was how completely transparent she was. Anytime she got a good hand, or picked up a special card, the glee was written all over her face. Her eyes lit up, and I knew something unfortunate was about to happen to me. 😆

This sort of emotional expressivity is an important part of communicating from the stage - but there’s a negative side of this too, of course.

Because I'm guessing we've all been told by a teacher at some point that we should walk out on stage confidently, with a smile. And that we should avoid frowning or expressing frustration when the performance isn’t going well.

Yet...how much does this really matter? Does any of it make a difference, as long as we play well?

A 2017 study by previous podcast guests Aaron Williamon and George Waddell provide some surprising answers.

Get all the nerdy details here:
Why Every Performer Needs a Good Poker Face

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The Bulletproof MusicianBy Noa Kageyama

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