8 Things I Would Do Differently if I Had to Start Over 🚀
This week I found myself telling many of my students stories about how I didn’t have very good practice habits when I started out and how...
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Four Biases That Make Us Repeat Mistakes 🚀
In a previous post on Strategic Practice, we looked at strategic, problem-solving steps needed to overcome challenges and correct...
Two Strategies for Faster Memorization 🚀
My two favorite memorization strategies when learning a new piece of music are “Chunking and Chaining” & “Mental Practice.” Combined, they
Fast vs. Slow Practice: Which is Better? 🚀
Fast Practice Vs. Slow Practice: Which is Better? In a previous post titled "How Many Repetitions Should You Do?," I mentioned that we...
How Many Repetitions Should You do? 🚀
How Many Repetitions Should You Do to Improve? When I was starting out, and for many years after that, I asked all of my teachers this...
Make Practice More Effective with This Simple Strategy 🚀
When trying to improve a musical phrase, a common approach is to repeat that phrase the same way many times, day after day, until it’s...
How to Practice Musical Expression Before it's Too Late 🚀
One of the most important elements of musical performance is musical expression. Without it, performances can sound bland regardless of...
How Spaced Practice Helps us Improve 🚀
When I started learning guitar, my intuitive approach to practice was to cram in as much as possible in whatever time I had available....
How Errors & Frustration Help us Improve 🚀
Two of the most common assumptions I hear about practice are 1) that effective practice means lots of repetitions, and 2) that effective...
Alertness & Focus for Faster Learning 🚀
There’s plenty of research out there (e.g., Aspen Brain Institute, 2022, Marzo et al., 2009, Eschenki & Sara, 2008, Kuo et al., 2007)...
Stop Making Mistakes in Performance: Part 3 🚀
In my last newsletter on How to Stop Making Mistakes in Performance (Part 2), I covered performance preparation using Performance...
Stop Making Mistakes in Performance: Part 2 🚀
Strategic & Deliberate Practice are key components of performance preparation but if we only spend all of our time in either or both of...
Stop Making Mistakes in Performance: Part 1 🚀
Most of us have had the experience of playing to “near perfection” in the practice room and then making plenty of mistakes while playing...
Why Do I Keep Making Random Mistakes?!?
Have you ever sat down to practice something you’ve played dozens of times before only to hear yourself make a bunch of random mistakes...
How Much Do I Need to Practice to Get Good?
This is almost always the first question about music practice that students ask me. And with busy schedules loaded with school, work,...
MPE, MME & SIOs: Strategies for Better Performance & Successful Practice
MPE, SIOs, and MME When I first became interested in Spanish guitar, one of the details that stood out to me most when I watched live...
What activity can increase your motor skill development by 20-40%?
What if I told you there was a strategy you could implement right now that could increase both the strength and speed of your...
Is your practice as efficient as possible?
Whether you want to be a concert musician or just play for fun, if you want your guitar playing to get to the next level, one of the most...
Get better, faster by...slowing down?
This week I want to recommend a "simple" but extremely important change in mindset that will dramatically and ironically improve your...
11 Reasons You Can't Memorize Your Music!
In this video, I cover 11 science-based reasons we have trouble memorizing music in the practice room as well as strategies that we can...
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