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PODCAST

The Bulletproof Musician

Ever wonder why you can practice for hours, sound great in the practice room, and still be frustratingly hit or miss on stage? Join performance psychologist and Juilliard alumnus/faculty Noa Kageyama, and explore research-based “practice hacks” for beating anxiety, practicing more effectively, and playing up to your full abilities when it matters most.

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All Episodes

5:54

How to Use Focus Cues to Play More Freely on Stage

The Bulletproof Musician ·

2025/09/28

A pianist once told me the last thing their teacher said at their final lesson after years of study: “Now forget everything I ever told you.” Not exactly the parting wisdom you’d expect, right? But hidden in that odd-sounding advice is an important mental shift that could help you play with more freedom and confidence under pressure. Get all the nerdy details in today's episode. Or, get the text version with references, links, and other details right here: How to Use Focus Cues to Play More F...

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11:28

Is There Hope for the Most Anxious Performers?

The Bulletproof Musician ·

2025/09/21

One of the questions that I'm often asked, is the question of whether performance psychology can be helpful to those whose performance anxiety is a little more severe than most. Well, a 2023 study looked at that exact question actually. And it even gives us some insight into which specific mental skills or strategies might be most helpful to work on in cases like this. Get all the nerdy details in today's episode. Or, get the text version with references, links, and other details right here:...

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9:10

How to Get Your Mind in the Right Place Before Going...

The Bulletproof Musician ·

2025/09/14

Staying in a good mental and emotional state before performances is critical to playing up to our abilities when it counts. And we're probably going to be less likely to shy away from performance opportunities too, if we have more control over how we feel in the leadup to auditions and concerts. But how does one do this? What can we do in the hours and minutes before a performance to get into a good headspace? Get all the nerdy details here: How to Get Your Mind in the Right Place Before Goin...

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55:23

Graham Fitch: On Playful Practice and Muscle Memory...

The Bulletproof Musician ·

2025/09/07

When you think of practicing your instrument, what are some of the first words that come to mind? Are the words “fun” or “playful” anywhere on your list? 🤣 For most of my life, practicing felt an awful lot like memorizing my multiplication tables. A lot of mind-numbing repetition, and not much fun. We know that mindless drudgery doesn’t make for very effective learning, of course - but what is the alternative? What might more playful practice actually look like? Enter today’s guest, Graham

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9:40

Does Aiming for Perfection Actually Hurt Performance?

The Bulletproof Musician ·

2025/08/31

Ever worry that excellent performance might not be “good enough?” And maybe you've assumed that aiming for perfection is a safer bet? You’re not alone, for what it's worth! But it's always interesting to get some actual data on this sort of thing, so a team of researchers conducted a series of studies to see if striving for perfection had benefits beyond aiming for excellence. The results might surprise you. Get all the nerdy details: Does Aiming for Perfection Actually Hurt Performance...

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9:35

Could Performance Anxiety Be Causing Students to Quit?

The Bulletproof Musician ·

2025/08/24

There are a lot of reasons why someone might decide to quit music at some point along the way. But could performance anxiety be one of them? Indeed, performance anxiety can feel pretty uncomfortable! And it’s one thing if we still sound pretty good on stage regardless, and have a positive experience of performing overall. But when we get nervous and sound like just a shell of ourselves in performance, it could make us wonder why we keep putting ourselves up there... So I was intrigued by a 20...

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9:30

Worried About a Performance? 4 Reasons Why (And How...

The Bulletproof Musician ·

2025/08/17

Worrying is never much fun, but it’s especially not fun in the leadup to a performance or audition. And even more so when we get stuck in a “worry loop” and can’t seem to get ourselves out of it. It’s a little like the time my family visited Paris when I was a kid, and my dad got stuck in the roundabout around the Arc de Triomphe. I don’t know how long we drove around and around, but I do know that I fell asleep at some point, and when I woke up, we were still looping around. 🤣🥲 So what

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7:35

Double Your Practice Gains With a Nap?

The Bulletproof Musician ·

2025/08/10

Are you a regular napper? Or maybe not such a fan? Either way, given that today is National Lazy Day, I thought it would be the perfect time to look at a couple studies which suggest that naps could play a significant role in accelerating the learning of physical skills. Check out the episode for all the nerdy details about how long of a nap might be best and who perhaps should not try this. References Milner, C. E., Fogel, S. M., & Cote, K. A. (2006). Habitual napping moderates motor per...

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45:35

Ignasi Cambra: On Learning, Memorizing, and...

The Bulletproof Musician ·

2025/08/03

I never got all that serious about playing the piano, but I did take lessons for a number of years and remember the many challenges I ran into as the number and density of black dots on the page increased. Mostly I remember how dependent I was on my vision. On the violin, I didn’t look at my fingers or music much at all. But on the piano, I was constantly looking at either the music or my hands (I know, I know, I probably shouldn’t have let myself do that...). But have you ever wondered what ...

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7:41

Notes First or Music First? Which Leads to Better...

The Bulletproof Musician ·

2025/07/27

Whether learning a new sport or playing an instrument, traditionally, we're often taught to start by building up some fundamental skills first, before we start adding in expression. But there are others who argue that we should start with expression from the very beginning, rather than waiting. Who's right? Which ultimately leads to better performances? Get all the nerdy details, including the instructional videos used in the study right here: Notes First or Music First? Which Leads to Better...

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7:35

A Way to Get More Useful Performance Feedback?

The Bulletproof Musician ·

2025/07/20

It can be pretty uncomfortable to play for others and ask for feedback. I mean, putting ourselves out there to be judged and evaluated is never much fun, right? But what if there's a different way to approach this? A way where you come out of the experience feeling less judged, and more supported instead? With concrete and useful advice that you can act on to get better, rather than a list of things that sound good or bad to stew on and feel crummy about? A Harvard Business School study ident...

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7:56

How to Unlock Your Students’ Hidden Practice Abilities

The Bulletproof Musician ·

2025/07/13

Ineffective practice can be discouraging on so many levels. For one, practicing for time or repetitions is not much fun. And negative practice experiences can make students want to avoid practicing, or assume that they aren't very talented when improvement is slow or inconsistent. But what if your students were already more savvy and capable practicers than they realize? What if we just need to create the conditions for these abilities to emerge? Get all the nerdy details (and download the fu...

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36:17

Judy Loman: On the Best Advice For an Aspiring...

The Bulletproof Musician ·

2025/07/06

“If I didn’t have the harp, I wouldn’t be me.” Internationally renowned harpist Judy Loman remains an active practicer, performer, and teacher at 89 years of age - and still clearly enjoys and loves what she does. So how does one maintain motivation and a sense of joy in making music through life’s ups and downs, good and bad practice days, and peak and not-so-peak performances? In this episode, you’ll hear the five pieces of advice she would offer to an aspiring harpist (they’re applicable t...

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8:12

A Comparison of Three Approaches to Teaching...

The Bulletproof Musician ·

2025/06/29

We learned last week that having more to say expressively with the music we’re playing could increase the likelihood of experiencing more flow states in performance (here, in case you missed it). But this study looked at a bunch of different strategies and classes that were spread out over 6 months. Are there faster ways to help students play more expressively? Like, what about the sorts of things that our teachers did for us when we were students? Like demonstrating certain passages in lesso...

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7:35

The Overlooked Skill That Could Make Performing More...

The Bulletproof Musician ·

2025/06/22

You know those really good days on stage? Where you’re totally present and in the moment, at one with your instrument, locked in on the music, not worried at all about what anyone might think, and just have this feeling that everything is going to work out, because playing just feels so easy and effortless? Would be nice if we could have more of those kinds of days, no? 😅 Are these good days a function of simply practicing more? And making sure our technique is totally secure and solid so we

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9:13

How Do Effective Practicers Make the Most of Their...

The Bulletproof Musician ·

2025/06/15

Effective practicers tend to be more motivated, empowered, and persistent, whereas less effective practicers tend to feel more helpless and lower self-efficacy. But what do they actually do differently? One of the big differences between better and worse practicers in a 2021 study was the time spent in "non-playing" practice activities. Like, those periods between the playing and repetitions where our fingers aren't moving and making sounds come out of our instruments. And what exactly ...

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12:13

Do We Unconsciously Favor Talent Over Effort?

The Bulletproof Musician ·

2025/06/08

You're probably heard the quote "Genius is 1 percent inspiration and 99 percent perspiration." But what do you think? Both play some role of course, but which do you think is more important for achieving success - innate ability or effortful training? What would you say if I said that you might be fooling yourself? Where even if you think that you believe effort and training to be more important, deep down, you might actually favor natural ability over hard work? Are we all biased again...

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49:45

Cellist Yumi Kendall: On Becoming a More Positive...

The Bulletproof Musician ·

2025/06/01

Cellist Yumi Kendall has been the assistant principal cellist of the Philadelphia Orchestra since 2004, serves on the faculty of the Curtis Institute of Music, co-hosts the Tacet No More podcast with bassist Joseph Conyers, and is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania’s Master of Applied Positive Psychology program. In this episode, we explore… Yumi’s early musical influencesWhat effective practice really means (and looks like)How Yumi balances competing demands and sets practice goals...

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8:14

How to Keep Your Inner Critic From Getting the Better...

The Bulletproof Musician ·

2025/05/25

We all have a voice in our head, that can sometimes get pretty loud and awfully critical. Ever wonder where this voice and all that negativity comes from? And why it can suddenly become more critical at certain times more than others? A 1990 study provides some intriguing clues! Get all the nerdy details right here: How to Keep Your Inner Critic From Getting the Better of You * * * Have you ever wondered why it is exactly that things often sound better at home than they do on stage? If you’...

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7:38

Pre-Performance Apathy (and the Importance of...

The Bulletproof Musician ·

2025/05/18

There's a famous quote attributed to Heifetz (or any number of different folks) - that if I don't practice one day, I know it; two days, the critics know it; three days, the public knows it. So does that mean that we can't afford to take any days off, if we're truly serious about our craft? And what does it mean if we start to feel burned out and stale? Well...it could be my imagination, but I swear I once saw a video in which Heifetz said that he always took one day off from practicing a wee...

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398 results

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