Graham Fitch: On Playful Practice and Muscle Memory You Can Trust

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 Fitch. He’s a pianist, but the ideas and concepts that he shares with us in today’s chat can be applied or translated to any instrument.So if you haven’t been learning music or improving overall as quickly as you would like, or your practice has felt stale or stagnant, I think today’s episode will help to revitalize your practice and scooch it a few notches in the direction of fun. 😜Get all the nerdy details on memorization, slow practice, fast practice, metronome practice, hands together vs. separate and more, in this month's episode:​Graham Fitch: On Playful Practice and Muscle Memory You Can TrustAdditional ResourcesGraham mentioned chaining and interleaved practice. Here's more on both of those concepts.How to do chaining: Jason Sulliman: On Why Fast, At-Tempo Practice Can Be More Efficient and Effective Than Slow PracticeHow to do interleaved practice: Why the Progress You Make in the Practice Room Seems to Disappear OvernightMore 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

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?Additional resourcesRobert Duke: On the Value of Errors and How Learning Really WorksHow to Use Positive “Trigger Words” for More Expressive PerformancesIs There a “Best” Way to Teach Students to Play Expressively?ReferencesGaudreau, P., Schellenberg, B. J. I., Gareau, A., Kljajic, K., & Manoni-Millar, S. (2022). Because excellencism is more than good enough: On the need to distinguish the pursuit of excellence from the pursuit of perfection. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 122(6), 1117–1145. https://doi.org/10.1037/pspp0000411Gaudreau, P. (2019). On the distinction between personal standards perfec- tionism and excellencism: A theory elaboration and research agenda. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 14(2), 197–215. https://doi.org/10.1177/1745691618797940More 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

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 2025 study which looked to see if deliberate practice might play a role in this equation between performance anxiety and performance success and thoughts about quitting. Check out the episode to see what they discovered!Additional linksDeliberate practiceSelf-regulated learningPractice That Sticks (self-paced course)ReferencesHash, P. M. (2021). Student Retention in School Bands and Orchestras: A Literature Review. Update: Applications of Research in Music Education, 40(3), 11-19. https://doi.org/10.1177/87551233211042585Hatfield, J. L., & Williamon, A. (2025). Competitiveness and performance anxiety as predictors of performance success and intent to quit playing: deliberate practice as mediator and moderator. Music Education Research, 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1080/14613808.2025.2543376Hernández, S. O., Zarza-Alzugaray, F. J., & Casanova, O. (2018). Music performance anxiety. Substance use and career abandonment in Spanish music students. International Journal of Music Education, 36(3), 460–472. https://doi.org/10.1177/0255761418763903Zimmerman, B. J. (2002). Becoming a Self-Regulated Learner: An Overview. Theory Into Practice, 41(2), 64–70. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15430421tip4102_2More 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

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 causes these worry loops? And is there a way to stay in a better headspace in the leadup to performances?Additional LinksDavid Juncos & Elvire de Paiva e Pona: On ACT and a New Approach to Overcoming Performance AnxietyA Simple Strategy for Reducing Worries and Practicing With More FocusReferencesDavey, G. C., Eldridge, F., Drost, J., & MacDonald, B. A. (2006). What ends a worry bout? An analysis of changes in mood and stop rule use across the catastrophising interview task. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 45(6), 1231–1243. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brat.2006.08.024Davey, G. C., & Meeten, F. (2016). The perseverative worry bout: A review of cognitive, affective and motivational factors that contribute to worry perseveration. Biological Psychology, 121, 233–243. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsycho.2016.04.003More 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

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.ReferencesMilner, C. E., Fogel, S. M., & Cote, K. A. (2006). Habitual napping moderates motor performance improvements following a short daytime nap. Biological Psychology, 73(2), 141–156. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsycho.2006.01.015Morita, Y., Ogawa, K., & Uchida, S. (2016). Napping after complex motor learning enhances juggling performance. Sleep Science, 9(2), 112–116. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.slsci.2016.04.002More 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

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 it might be like to learn and perform music if you couldn’t see? Or what sighted musicians might be able to learn from musicians who are blind?In today’s episode I’ll be chatting with concert pianist Ignasi Cambra, who will share insights on learning and performing that we can all apply to our own practicing and performing, from the perspective of a blind musician.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

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 Performance?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

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 identified a simple strategy that could help you get more useful feedback. Get all the nerdy details right here:A Way to Get More Useful Performance Feedback?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

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 full case study) here:How to Unlock Your Students’ Hidden Practice AbilitiesMore 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

“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 to singers and other musicians too), learn how to approach pieces that you might not like, and find out the two things she would do if she had only 20 minutes to practice today.Get the full transcript and watch the video version of the full interview right here:Judy Loman: On the Best Advice For an Aspiring Harpist (or Musician)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