the music mind lab BLOG

By Caileen W. The performance is going well. You’ve hit your last three runs, your vibrato is smoother than you expected, and you’re more than confident approaching the next section. But when you reach it, your fingers freeze. Your bow skids on the strings. Your accompanist stops, confused. But why? You’ve nailed that section every time in the practice room, and there’s nothing particularly difficult about it compared to the rest of the piece. Why did you blank? In 2019, th

Have you ever wondered what happens in your brain when you learn? In previous articles, we covered neuroplasticity, which is the gradual strengthening of synapses as you solidify a memory or skill. This process is widely understood to be the result of two changes: first, neurons begin firing more neurotransmitters, and second, neurons gain more receptors to receive the increased amount of neurotransmitters. However, neuroplasticity isn’t limited to these two changes. Just as

By Caileen W. We use a variety of movements when playing our instruments. Some movements are large, such as bringing your forearm closer to your body to shift to a higher position on the violin or leaning your torso as you play a long scale on the piano. In the last blog post, we explored how these movements can be categorized into fast-twitch and slow-twitch, as well as how they are facilitated by the brain. On the other hand, many movements are small, such as shifting your

By Caileen W. If you’ve ever watched a recording of a professional musician, you’ve probably had the same thought as I have — how do their fingers move like that? The answer you’ve most likely heard is a lifetime of practice, a good bit of talent, and plenty of performance experience. But in this post, we’ll be briefly exploring how the brain facilitates movement. INTRODUCTION The type of muscle we’ll be focusing on in this post is skeletal muscle. As its name suggests, the

By Caileen W. PART 1: WHAT IS NONDECLARATIVE MEMORY? We use nondeclarative memory every day. Also known as implicit memory, nondeclarative memory is characterized by the lack of active recall. For example, an advanced musician can easily play a scale with very little thought. They don’t have to remember where to place their fingers, how to hold their instrument, or what notes are in the scale. Their memories are retrieved unconsciously, and are relatively stronger than declar

By Caileen W. PART 1: WHAT IS DECLARATIVE MEMORY? The basis of memory is the synapse (Queensland Brain Institute 2016). Synapses are connections between neurons, the cells that make up our brain. When you form new thoughts or connections, new synapses are created. When you repeatedly recall a topic, related synapses are strengthened. When you don’t think about an event for a long time, related synapses are weakened and can eventually be eliminated, which is why you forget thi

By Special Guest Writer Eidee T. Why Practicing Isn’t Enough to Perform Under Pressure I’ve practiced pieces until they felt effortless—until my fingers moved without thought and my bow knew exactly where to go. But the moment I stepped onstage, everything changed. My hand shook. My mind zoomed in on details I’d never thought about before. Suddenly I was trying to play instead of just playing. For a long time, I thought this meant I wasn’t prepared enough. So I practiced more

Disclaimer: a few aspects of this article are specific to the violin, but the majority of this article is applicable to all string instruments! :) Introduction: Why should I practice my scales? Practicing technique can often feel like the most boring part of your practice session, but as every teacher will tell you, it’s truly the most effective and essential tool to improve your playing. Techniques like shifting, vibrato, double stops are the building blocks of playing, and