As a teacher, I think it's really important that
we understand how our brains learn because that's
what you're doing as a teacher, right? And as
a musician, we spend so much time on our own
in the practice room trying to improve. And if
you understand how your brain works, then you
can do that much more efficiently. And yeah,
I mean, I think that's all of our goals, right?
Like practice efficiently and get better. The
mindset, especially in classical music of...
You need to practice as many hours as you can
possibly cram in the day. And you need to practice
for as long as you can possibly. tolerate it
like three hours, four hours at a time, right?
And that's just like so not how the brain works.
That's so not what the research shows. And so
I'm very happy to help dispel those myths because
it's just not how it works. Join the premiere
of this incredible and educational episode, Unlocking
the Brain, Neuroscience and Music Practice, featuring
Dr. Molly Gabrian, violist, neuroscience researcher,
and author of Learn Faster and Perform Better.
This episode is packed with practical wisdom
and deep insight from a professional musician
who has dedicated her research to helping us
understand how our brains truly work when we
practice. She shares tools that can reshape how
we learn, teach, and perform, grounded in science,
but tailored for real musicians. All of us as
musicians have had this experience too, of feeling
like you practiced really well, and then you
go the next day to practice the same music. again.
And you feel like you have to redo all of your
work that nothing really stuck with you from
the previous day. Or like, you know, if you made
10 steps forward yesterday, you have to go eight
steps back today, you like basically have to
go back to the beginning and like do it all over
again. And like, that's really frustrating. And
it feels like it just feels like a real waste
of time. How many times have all of us gotten
on stage, not played well, and been like, if
I could just do that again, that would be so
much better if I was given a second chance, right?
Because it's much easier to do it a second time
when you've just done it. It's really hard to
just do it on the first try. And I mean, I think
there's so many things that go into preparing
for performance. And the biggest game changer
for me with bridging that gap of, okay, I sound
fine in the practice room and I feel confident.
And then I go out on stage and like, it's a disaster.
It's like, what's happening? The biggest change
for me and the thing that I've seen be a really
huge change for my students too is... Want to
find out what neuroscience is all about and how
it gave Dr. Molly Gabriel the tools to transform
her own practice and teaching? Tune in Tuesday,
April 22nd at 8 p .m. Eastern Time on our YouTube
channel or listen wherever you get your podcasts.
Are you a VIP Substack member? The full audio
episode is yours one day early on Monday, April
21st at 8 p .m. Eastern Time. For the rest of
our TPP community, see you Tuesday.