Pianist, educator, and music psychology researcher Adina Mornell shares insights on the four component of stage fright (and what to do about each), and describes some of the key takeaways from recent studies she has done on how to not only practice more effectively, but prepare in such a way that we can enjoy ourselves more on stage too.

Adina Mornell: On Learning How to Practice in Such a Way That Performing Can Be Something We Enjoy, Rather Than Fear

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When we think of optimizing learning, we tend to think of practice strategies and how to make our time in the practice room more effective. But much like working out and building muscle, a good bit of motor learning actually occurs outside of the practice room, BETWEEN practice sessions.

So what can we do to maximize the motor learning that occurs between practice sessions?

How to Get Your Brain to Do More Learning BETWEEN Practice Sessions

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• Pressure Proof: A free 7-day performance practice crash course that will help you shrink the gap between the practice room and the stage.
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Ever have one of those days where you just can't get yourself to practice? Or maybe that's a little bit how every day feels?

Turns out there's an intriguing motivation "hack" of sorts that could make it easier to start practicing, and naturally increase your motivation to do so. It even has a cool name - the "Zeigarnik effect."

How to Get Yourself to Practice When You Don't Feel Like It

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Ever find yourself in the middle of a practice session, take a moment to check your texts, and then realize an hour has gone by as you got sucked down some random internet rabbit hole or another?

Why does this happen? And what can you do to prevent this without resorting to the nuclear option of airplane mode or an app that blocks you from the internet for a set period of time?

Why You Get Sucked Down the YouTube Rabbit Hole When Practicing (And How to Prevent This Without Having to Break Up With YouTube)

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• Get the free weekly newsletter, for more nerdy details and bonus subscriber-only content.
• Pressure Proof: A free 7-day performance practice crash course that will help you shrink the gap between the practice room and the stage.
• Learning Lab: A continuing education community where musicians and learners are putting research into practice.
• Live and self-paced courses

Ever wonder what's going through the mind of a conductor, in rehearsal or in a performance?

Conductor Joshua Weilerstein shares his own journey from violinist to conductor, and sheds some light on what a conductor is thinking about in the practice room, in rehearsal, and in performance. And why it might be kind of awesome if every musician had a chance to conduct for a day.

Joshua Weilerstein: On a Conductor’s Journey, and Why It Might Be Awesome if Every Musician Spent a Day in a Conductor’s Shoes

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• Get the free weekly newsletter, for more nerdy details and bonus subscriber-only content.
• Pressure Proof: A free 7-day performance practice crash course that will help you shrink the gap between the practice room and the stage.
• Learning Lab: A continuing education community where musicians and learners are putting research into practice.
• Live and self-paced courses

Learning a bunch of practice strategies can elevate the effectiveness of your practice, but a 2015 study of college music students suggests that supplementing this with additional self-regulation strategies can elevate your practice effectiveness even more!

And what are self-regulation strategies, exactly?

Check out the episode to learn more about a couple simple and effective - but easy to neglect - self-regulation strategies.

Research-Tested Practice Strategies That Will Help You Learn New Pieces Faster

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• Get the free weekly newsletter, for more nerdy details and bonus subscriber-only content.
• Pressure Proof: A free 7-day performance practice crash course that will help you shrink the gap between the practice room and the stage.
• Learning Lab: A continuing education community where musicians and learners are putting research into practice.
• Live and self-paced courses

We all have an inner voice. Sometimes it's a supportive presence, but often, it can be pretty critical and even a little abusive at times.

Research suggests that the way we talk to our students and provide feedback may actually be able to shape their inner dialogue - for better, or for worse.

How the Things You Say to Your Students Can Change the Positivity (Or Negativity) of Their Inner Voice

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• Pressure Proof: A free 7-day performance practice crash course that will help you shrink the gap between the practice room and the stage.
• Learning Lab: A continuing education community where musicians and learners are putting research into practice.
• Live and self-paced courses

There are a lot of articles on the internet suggesting that perfectionism "kills" creativity. But is that really true?

A team of Canadian researchers were curious about this exact question, and put together a study to find out if there was anything to this. And if so, what a better, creativity-optimizing alternative might be.

Does Perfectionism Really “Kill” Creativity? If So, What’s the Alternative?

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• Live and self-paced courses

Do you get bored of doing lots and lots of repetition in the practice room? The good news is that there's a better (and more interesting) way to get your repetitions in. A way that at least in one 2016 study led to a 2x performance improvement in the same amount of time!

A Practice Strategy That Could Potentially Be Twice as Effective as Regular Practice?

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• Learning Lab: A continuing education community where musicians and learners are putting research into practice.
• Live and self-paced courses

Looking for some new ways to freshen up your practice routine, get off of a plateau, or find some new inspiration for 2022? Try some of these tips and insights from 2021's podcast guests - Kristian Steenstrup, Vivian Hornik Weilerstein, Merry Peckham, Daniel Matsukawa, Ann Bergeron, Natasha Brofsky, Roger Tapping, Lori Schiff, Timothy Kantor, Paul Kantor, Virginia Weckstrom, Astrid Schween, and Kris Chesky.

How to Be a Little More Awesome in 2022? Try These Top Tips and Insights From 2021.

More from The Bulletproof Musician

• Get the free weekly newsletter, for more nerdy details and bonus subscriber-only content.
• Pressure Proof: A free 7-day performance practice crash course that will help you shrink the gap between the practice room and the stage.
• Learning Lab: A continuing education community where musicians and learners are putting research into practice.
• Live and self-paced courses