It's human nature to want to be liked and accepted by others. But while some seem to have a knack for it, for many of us, fear of rejection or fear of negative evaluation can get in the way.

Whether it's walking into a room for a job interview or college/grad school audition, playing in a new ensemble for the first time, or meeting your partner's family for the first time, how can we increase our chances of being liked and accepted?

A 2009 study suggests that our mindset could play a role in this.

Get all the nerdy details here:

How to Increase the Likelihood of Being Accepted by Others

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Have you ever wondered why it is exactly that things often sound better at home than they do on stage?

If you’ve been confused (and frustrated) by the inconsistency of your performances, I put together a FREE 4-minute quiz called the Mental Skills Audit, which will help you pinpoint your mental strengths and weaknesses, and figure out what exactly to adjust and tweak in your preparation for more consistently optimal performances.

It’s 100% free, takes only 4 minutes, and you’ll get a downloadable PDF with a personalized breakdown of where you stand in six key mental skill areas. You'll also get the Pressure Proof Practice Challenge, a free 7-day email course where you'll learn specific practice strategies that will help you perform your best, even under pressure.

Take the quiz here: bulletproofmusician.com/msa

Have you ever had one of those "aha" moments when a solution to a problem spontaneously popped into your head?

Wouldn't it be nice if we could have those moments more often? 

Well, a 2012 study suggests that you may be able to cultivate these kinds of moments and increase your creative problem-solving abilities by taking a short break from the task. But not any old break will do - it has to be a specific type of break!

Get all the nerdy details here:

Stumped by a Problem in the Practice Room? Try an “Incubation” Break 

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Have you ever wondered why it is exactly that things often sound better at home than they do on stage?

If you’ve been confused (and frustrated) by the inconsistency of your performances, I put together a FREE 4-minute quiz called the Mental Skills Audit, which will help you pinpoint your mental strengths and weaknesses, and figure out what exactly to adjust and tweak in your preparation for more consistently optimal performances.

It’s 100% free, takes only 4 minutes, and you’ll get a downloadable PDF with a personalized breakdown of where you stand in six key mental skill areas. You'll also get the Pressure Proof Practice Challenge, a free 7-day email course where you'll learn specific practice strategies that will help you perform your best, even under pressure.

Take the quiz here: bulletproofmusician.com/msa

Ever notice how some folks seem to learn faster than others? What’s their secret? Is it just natural ability? Sure, maybe there’s some of that.

But could it also be that they’re doing something different in the practice room? Like is there some sort of newfangled cutting-edge practice strategy they’re using that you’re not?

Well, these faster learners may be doing something quite different than what you’d expect. As a 2014 Harvard study found when they tested a strategy utilized by…birds. 🤔

Get all the nerdy details here:

Perfect Shmerfect. Could More “Mistakes” Accelerate Learning?

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Have you ever wondered why it is exactly that things often sound better at home than they do on stage?

If you’ve been confused (and frustrated) by the inconsistency of your performances, I put together a FREE 4-minute quiz called the Mental Skills Audit, which will help you pinpoint your mental strengths and weaknesses, and figure out what exactly to adjust and tweak in your preparation for more consistently optimal performances.

It’s 100% free, takes only 4 minutes, and you’ll get a downloadable PDF with a personalized breakdown of where you stand in six key mental skill areas. You'll also get the Pressure Proof Practice Challenge, a free 7-day email course where you'll learn specific practice strategies that will help you perform your best, even under pressure.

Take the quiz here: bulletproofmusician.com/msa

Ever notice how mean the voice in your head can become on stage? Where it generates YouTube comment section-like levels of criticism and abuse?

Or maybe you haven’t even gotten on stage yet. But as you’re waiting your turn, you overhear the person playing right before you, who sounds amazing? And then the voice suddenly makes you question and doubt everything?

Yeah, the voice that lives in our head is not always such a good friend. But what can we do about it? How can we turn that off when it’s not helping us?

In this month’s episode, flutist Carolyn Christie explains how she overcame her own experience with “terrifying” nerves when she was a member of the Montreal Symphony, and shares other insights on practice planning, how to avoid overthinking, and staying in a more positive headspace with “clinical” self-evaluation.

Get all the nerdy details and learn how to cultivate these essential mental skills for performance:
Carolyn Christie: On Overcoming Nerves With Healthier Internal Dialogue - and Phrasing!

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Have you ever wondered why it is exactly that things often sound better at home than they do on stage?

If you’ve been confused (and frustrated) by the inconsistency of your performances, I put together a FREE 4-minute quiz called the Mental Skills Audit, which will help you pinpoint your mental strengths and weaknesses, and figure out what exactly to adjust and tweak in your preparation for more consistently optimal performances.

It’s 100% free, takes only 4 minutes, and you’ll get a downloadable PDF with a personalized breakdown of where you stand in six key mental skill areas. You'll also get the Pressure Proof Practice Challenge, a free 7-day email course where you'll learn specific practice strategies that will help you perform your best, even under pressure.

Take the quiz here: bulletproofmusician.com/msa

I came across a study years ago which found that fear of negative evaluation was one of the key drivers of performance anxiety in musicians. Which of course makes perfect sense, as we're being evaluated all the time. Often, with meaningful consequences attached.

But that doesn't mean it's helpful - or very pleasant to experience either! So is there anything we can do to be less sensitive to what others around us might be thinking about us? At least in rehearsals, auditions, performances, or even dates for that matter, when it's way more useful for us to focus on the things that we can actually control?

A 2007 study provides some clues on how we could potentially reduce our stress levels, increase self-esteem, exude more confidence in public, and even perform more effectively, by working on a particular kind of focus in our daily lives.

Get all the nerdy details and learn how to start working on this particular kind of selective attention right here:
Can We Train Ourselves to Worry Less About Others’ Opinions?

* * *
Have you ever wondered why it is exactly that things often sound better at home than they do on stage?

If you’ve been confused (and frustrated) by the inconsistency of your performances, I put together a FREE 4-minute quiz called the Mental Skills Audit, which will help you pinpoint your mental strengths and weaknesses, and figure out what exactly to adjust and tweak in your preparation for more consistently optimal performances.

It’s 100% free, takes only 4 minutes, and you’ll get a downloadable PDF with a personalized breakdown of where you stand in six key mental skill areas. You'll also get the Pressure Proof Practice Challenge, a free 7-day email course where you'll learn specific practice strategies that will help you perform your best, even under pressure.

Take the quiz here: bulletproofmusician.com/msa

Have you ever had one of those days on stage where you suddenly can't seem to do a thing that normally is never an issue?

Or maybe it's one of those days where everything just spontaneously falls apart? And for seemingly no reason at all, even though you were as prepared as you've ever been?

Athletes call this "choking." Or the "yips" (which I think is funner to say). There's actually been quite a bit of interesting research on why this happens. And the answer is way more interesting than "nerves" or "pressure."

Get all the nerdy details on why this happens and what you can do about it here:
What Causes "Choking" Under Pressure? And What Can We Do About It?

* * *
Have you ever wondered why it is exactly that things often sound better at home than they do on stage?

If you’ve been confused (and frustrated) by the inconsistency of your performances, I put together a FREE 4-minute quiz called the Mental Skills Audit, which will help you pinpoint your mental strengths and weaknesses, and figure out what exactly to adjust and tweak in your preparation for more consistently optimal performances.

It’s 100% free, takes only 4 minutes, and you’ll get a downloadable PDF with a personalized breakdown of where you stand in six key mental skill areas. You'll also get the Pressure Proof Practice Challenge, a free 7-day email course where you'll learn specific practice strategies that will help you perform your best, even under pressure.

Take the quiz here: bulletproofmusician.com/msa

Taking breaks in the middle of practice or study sessions can be a pain. Often, it's a lot easier and more convenient to just power through and get it over with.

But what price do we pay by not spacing out our learning, over multiple days, or with practice or study breaks? Does this really make that much of a difference?

Two studies from the literature suggest that spaced learning can make quite a significant difference, actually. And one study explains why, highlighting the very different things that happen in the brain when we take breaks vs when we don't.

Get all the nerdy details and references here:
The Truth About Cramming: Why Your Brain Needs Breaks

* * *
Have you ever wondered why it is exactly that things often sound better at home than they do on stage?

If you’ve been confused (and frustrated) by the inconsistency of your performances, I put together a FREE 4-minute quiz called the Mental Skills Audit, which will help you pinpoint your mental strengths and weaknesses, and figure out what exactly to adjust and tweak in your preparation for more consistently optimal performances.

It’s 100% free, takes only 4 minutes, and you’ll get a downloadable PDF with a personalized breakdown of where you stand in six key mental skill areas. You'll also get the Pressure Proof Practice Challenge, a free 7-day email course where you'll learn specific practice strategies that will help you perform your best, even under pressure.

Take the quiz here: bulletproofmusician.com/msa

Ever had one of those “I’m a total failure, and I’m never going to be invited to play with these folks again” moments?

In this month’s chat, pianist Orli Shaham shares a deeply personal story about a performance at the Spoleto Festival in Italy, where rehearsals went so badly, that the piece she prepared was pulled from the program. It felt like a “complete failure” at the time, but the experience prompted her to evaluate her preparation process. Which eventually led to one of her career highlights - a performance of John Adams’s first piano concerto, in Carnegie Hall, where Adams came onstage during the applause and gave her the greatest compliment she could have asked for, as he said “You got it. You really got it.”

If you’ve ever struggled with feeling out of your depth, this episode is for you.

Get all the nerdy details right here:
Orli Shaham: On Overcoming Setbacks and Learning to Trust the Process

* * *
Have you ever wondered why it is exactly that things often sound better at home than they do on stage?

If you’ve been confused (and frustrated) by the inconsistency of your performances, I put together a FREE 4-minute quiz called the Mental Skills Audit, which will help you pinpoint your mental strengths and weaknesses, and figure out what exactly to adjust and tweak in your preparation for more consistently optimal performances.

It’s 100% free, takes only 4 minutes, and you’ll get a downloadable PDF with a personalized breakdown of where you stand in six key mental skill areas. You'll also get the Pressure Proof Practice Challenge, a free 7-day email course where you'll learn specific practice strategies that will help you perform your best, even under pressure.

Take the quiz here: bulletproofmusician.com/msa

Maybe you've set some goals for the coming year, but you're not quite sure where to start, and feeling a little overwhelmed? Or maybe you have a history of setting goals but not following through?

A 2017 study looked at a "backwards" strategy for goal-setting and found that this increased motivation, follow-through, and actual performance as well!

Get all the nerdy details here:
A Backward Strategy for Enhanced Goal-Setting Success

* * *
Have you ever wondered why it is exactly that things often sound better at home than they do on stage?

If you’ve been confused (and frustrated) by the inconsistency of your performances, I put together a FREE 4-minute quiz called the Mental Skills Audit, which will help you pinpoint your mental strengths and weaknesses, and figure out what exactly to adjust and tweak in your preparation for more consistently optimal performances.

It’s 100% free, takes only 4 minutes, and you’ll get a downloadable PDF with a personalized breakdown of where you stand in six key mental skill areas. You'll also get the Pressure Proof Practice Challenge, a free 7-day email course where you'll learn specific practice strategies that will help you perform your best, even under pressure.

Take the quiz here: bulletproofmusician.com/msa

Are you a little overwhelmed by all of the different year-in-review and goal-setting methods you're getting in your inbox?

If you're confused by the variety and range of approaches out there and just want a bare-bones minimalist option to ensure that you actually do it, a 2006 study of four different goal-setting strategies provides some simple, clear guidelines.

Get all the nerdy details here:
4 Approaches to Goal Setting (And Which Works Best)

* * *
Have you ever wondered why it is exactly that things often sound better at home than they do on stage?

If you’ve been confused (and frustrated) by the inconsistency of your performances, I put together a FREE 4-minute quiz called the Mental Skills Audit, which will help you pinpoint your mental strengths and weaknesses, and figure out what exactly to adjust and tweak in your preparation for more consistently optimal performances.

It’s 100% free, takes only 4 minutes, and you’ll get a downloadable PDF with a personalized breakdown of where you stand in six key mental skill areas. You'll also get the Pressure Proof Practice Challenge, a free 7-day email course where you'll learn specific practice strategies that will help you perform your best, even under pressure.

Take the quiz here: bulletproofmusician.com/msa