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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

8:57

How a Small Change in Self-Talk Could Improve...

The Bulletproof Musician ·

2025/12/21

The voice in our head can be an asset at times - but also kind of a jerk at the worst possible moments. And like that one person in the “quiet car” of the train that doesn’t seem to understand the rules, it never seems to be quiet when we need it to. A 2014 study identified a self-talk strategy that led to improved performances, and less post-performance shame and rumination. And it doesn’t require us to shush the inner critic entirely (whew, because that’s really difficult!). It’s just a sma...

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10:30

A Learning Method That Outperformed Traditional Practice

The Bulletproof Musician ·

2025/12/14

A few months ago, when a sportswriter published an article in The New York Times about an unusual and “revolutionary” practice method that NBA star Victor Wembanyama and other elite athletes and teams (like the World Series-winning LA Dodgers) were utilizing, I started getting emails from musicians, asking if this method, known as the “constraints-led approach,” might apply to practicing music too. So what is the constraints-led approach? And is it relevant to musicians? Spoiler alert - yes, ...

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8:48

How Much Perfectionism Do You Really Need to Succeed?

The Bulletproof Musician ·

2025/12/07

A friend recently asked if it's true that becoming a virtuoso performer requires being a perfectionist. Well, spoiler alert, it's not a simple yes or no answer. And there are a lot of fascinating nuances to explore. One of which involves performance anxiety, and the question of whether perfectionism increases or decreases nerves. Get all the nerdy details and find out how much perfectionism might work best: How Much Perfectionism Do You Really Need to Succeed? References Racine, P., Laf...

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49:00

Pallavi Mahidhara: On Practicing for Flexibility, Not...

The Bulletproof Musician ·

2025/11/30

Playing for other people, whether it’s an audience of one, a dozen, or several hundred, can be a stressful thing! So it’s easy to focus on the negative aspects of performance, like how to manage nerves and avoid mistakes. But performing can also be a real thrill, and one of the most satisfying and meaningful things we do in music. So I thought it might be fun to explore performing and practicing from this more positive angle as well. My guest today is pianist Pallavi Mahidhara. A prizewinner ...

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6:14

What Happened When Musicians Slept 90 Minutes More

The Bulletproof Musician ·

2025/11/23

Sleep and recovery is an aspect of preparation that athletes prioritize, with teams hiring sleep consultants, and many athletes going to great lengths to ensure they’re getting enough sleep. And studies suggest that this investment of time is very much worth their while, when it comes to high-level performance. But how much of a difference would an additional 90 minutes of sleep make when it comes to music performance? Get all the nerdy details and see what happened when a group of music stud...

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7:46

Why Being Too Quick to Offer Feedback Could Inhibit...

The Bulletproof Musician ·

2025/11/16

I remember a lesson many years ago, when my teacher told me that her job was to teach me how to teach myself. So that I would one day no longer need a teacher. I couldn’t have been more than 9 or 10 at the time, so the notion of me teaching myself was hard to fathom. It was difficult enough to just play in tune, never mind come up with my own bowings and fingerings, or making decisions about phrasing and all the musical details and nuances involved. Of course, she was right. One day I wouldn’...

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7:56

Fewer Repetitions….But More Rapid Progress?

The Bulletproof Musician ·

2025/11/09

Whether we’re baking a cake, driving to a new restaurant, or putting together a puzzle, we can usually get to the goal more efficiently and effectively if we have a clear idea what the destination looks like. I think we all know that the same is true for learning a new piece of music too - but often, this is not actually what our practice looks like. While we might have a pretty good idea what we don’t want something to sound like, our approach to practicing suggests that we are typically muc...

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57:59

Ida Kavafian: Habits That Separate Good Musicians...

The Bulletproof Musician ·

2025/11/02

This episode with violinist Ida Kavafian is packed with key points about effective practice, plus fascinating nerdy details about bowing and fingering principles, references to specific passages in the Sibelius concerto, Schubert Fantasy, Beethoven’s Kreutzer sonata, a clever hack for playing fifths in tune, and so much more. And if you’re not a string player, don’t worry - many of the principles are equally applicable to other instruments too. Get all the nerdy details and learn how to level...

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10:03

Can Memorizing Music Make You a More Expressive...

The Bulletproof Musician ·

2025/10/26

One of the arguments often made for why we should memorize music, is that performing from memory facilitates more expressive performances. But is that really true? There's not a lot of direct data that speaks to this question, but there are some clues here and there, suggesting that the answer might be a little more nuanced than a simple yes or no. Get all the nerdy details right here: Can Memorizing Music Make You a More Expressive Performer? A course on how to develop “bulletproof” me...

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9:49

Two Approaches to Memorization (Beware: One Could...

The Bulletproof Musician ·

2025/10/19

Memory can often feel like a mysterious, unknowable phenomenon. Something that happens magically by itself at times, with great effort at others, and sometimes deceives us by abandoning us suddenly when we need it most! We’ve worked on unpacking various aspects of memory over the last couple weeks - with Jane Ginsborg two episodes here and why pianists can have more difficulty than other musicians here. And today, we’ll be looking at the pros and cons of the two different types of memory that...

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8:40

A Hidden Reason You Forget Music on Stage

The Bulletproof Musician ·

2025/10/12

Mistakes on stage are never fun, but missing a note here or there, or playing out of tune is over and done with pretty quick. Having a memory slip on stage is a whole other level of discomfort. 😳 It’s one of the things that makes many musicians most anxious about performing. Researchers have taught us a ton in the last couple decades about how the best memorizers memorize music. And so I thought it’d be worth taking a look at various aspects of memory in the next couple weeks. Today, we’ll

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56:05

Jane Ginsborg: On Building Stronger and More Reliable...

The Bulletproof Musician ·

2025/10/05

Talk to anyone who has ever performed from memory, and you’ll probably get a story of a time when their memory failed them. For instance, I remember a time, perhaps in elementary school, when I got lost in a piece on stage, and rather than stopping and looking over the pianist’s shoulder to see where I was, just started making stuff up, until I could figure out where I was. It wasn’t a very fun experience for me, but I think it actually freaked the pianist out even more. 😆 One of the

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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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410 results

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