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Happy New Year to you as well! :) Yes, taking breaks while learning is a general principle that applies to all living things, not just human musicians. :) So it would definitely work with dog training! In fact, I've been told by several musicians who are also into dog training that the research I talk about is very similar to what they learn about in their dog training courses!

Thank you! Yes, I've been thinking a video like this would be helpful! :)

Thanks for this question! There are no current plans to make an audiobook, but if you purchase the eBook version, you can have your device read it to you. :) Good question about practicing backwards v. forwards. I'm sure there is research, but I'm not familiar with it. I will say, though, that it sounds like you are really testing recall in a very challenging way by doing that, and the research very strongly backs up that challenging recall in that way is very beneficial!

+1

Thank you so much for these questions! The ND question is one I am especially interested in personally, so I will definitely be making content about this at some point. :)

Thank you so much! Yes, these pieces are fun to play!

Thank you! :)

Thank you so much! I'm so glad you've enjoyed my videos and my book so far! :) To answer your question about breaks, you would be better off taking a full break and not listening to anything during your walk. The brain needs an actual break and time to wander. If you spontaneously start singing a tune in your head or something, that's completely fine, but I wouldn't intentionally use that time to practice if it's meant to be a break. But something I say all the time to my students is, "Experiment on yourself!" You could try clearing your mind and not using your walk as a mental practice session for a week and then the next week, try using it as a mental practice session and see what differences you notice. I *definitely* use walks as mental practice sessions a lot but it's because I'm trying to multitask, not take a break. :) When I use a walk as a break, I try not to think about anything in particular and just let my brain do what it wants. Hopefully this helps! :)

Thank you so much! I assume you mean my mini-course on playing faster. You can access that here: mollygebrian.thinkific.com/courses/playingfaster In case you were referring to something else, here's a link to everything I offer: mollygebrian.thinkific.com/

Thank you so much! :)

Thanks for this question! The surface area for the part of the brain that controls the fingers gets bigger. Think of it like the borders of a town expanding to cover more geographical area. In other studies that have found the same thing, the "finger areas" of the brain start to take over the part of the brain that controls the palm. I hope this helps answer your question! :)

Thank you so much! I'm so glad this series was helpful to you! And thank you for the question! Yes, there is a ton of research on naps (I discuss that research more in my book, actually) that finds that naps after learning are really beneficial. In fact, taking a nap after learning and then also getting a full night sleep boosts your performance even more than just a full night of sleep. People who take naps after learning also show a boost in performance during the day. The effect seems to be the same as with overnight sleep: stage 2 NREM sleep helps consolidate what you've learned and so you wake up at a higher level of skill. So keep taking your naps - it sounds like your brain is telling you that it needs rest after a bout of intense practicing! :)

@@DrMollyGebrian Thanks a lot for the very quick and informative reply. I guess I might check out your whole book then:)

@@michapigon1690 I tried to make my book as comprehensive as I could, so there's a lot of information in there that isn't in any of my videos so far. I hope you enjoy it if you do decide to read it! :)

Yes, exactly! :) You always want to identify as precisely as you can the exact issue causing the difficulty. If the chord changes are difficult, I would start by making sure the individual chords are comfortable. Then I would practice chord 1 to chord 2 to make sure that change is comfortable. Then chord 2 to chord 3 to make sure that change is comfortable. Once each pair of chords is comfortable, then I would start stringing them together a bit at a time (chords 1, 2, and 3 and then chords 2, 3, and 4, for example). Once all of the changes between the diffiicult chords have been worked out, then put them in context with the other chords to make sure you can get into and out of the difficult chord section. I hope this helps! :)

I'm so glad this practice method works so well for you! And I'm so glad you're enjoying my book as well. Thank you so much! :)

Thank you so much! I'm so glad it was helpful to you and your work! And yes, I think we all wish we had more time - I know I do!

Thank you so much! I'm so glad you're enjoying it! :)

Thank you so much! I'm so glad you enjoyed it! I have lots of videos on my channel about the science of practicing if you'd like to learn more. :)

Thank you so much! I'm so glad you enjoyed it! :) There are a number of recordings of Katia's music on TH-cam so you should be able to find more performances to listen to. :)

Thank you so much! I hope you enjoy it! :)

Thank you so much! I honestly can't remember where I got the music. I think a Brazilian viola friend got it for me... If you send me an email (molly.gebrian@gmail.com) I can try to help you locate it! :)

Thank you so much! I'm so happy to know that my work and particularly the videos of me practicing have been so helpful to you! :)

Thank you so much! :)

Thanks for this question! You could apply it in a variety of ways - you could do it by the phrase (play the first phrase, imagine the next one, etc.), or by every two bars, or by the note, etc. The idea is that you are alternating between playing and imagining with some sort of regular alternation scheme, but the precise structure of alternation you use doesn't really matter all that much, so you can change it to fit the music you're playing. Hopefully this helps! :)

@@DrMollyGebrian thank you

@@AlbertAnguela Sure thing! :)

Thank you so much! It will be great to have you back for Part 2! I'm so glad the ideas we discussed in Part 1 have been so helpful to you in your practicing! :)

I'm so glad you've found that breaks work well for you! Thank you for being here on my channel - I hope you find that my videos are helpful to you in your work! :)

Thank you so much! :)

Thank you so much! I'm so glad my videos have been helpful to you! Yes, I've found that most people have never been given good instruction on how to practice in a way that is truly effective, so I'm trying to change that. :)

Thank you for this question! That is very common advice, but unfortunately it is not aligned with the research on how we learn optimally. All of the principles I discuss can (and should) be applied to learning anything. They are general principles of learning - not just music, but literally anything at all. I also wanted to add something else: you asked, "Do you still run your scales, arpeggions, etudes, etc." I don't run through these things at all - I practice them just like I practice repertoire because running through things is never an effective strategy if you're trying to get better at something. Perhaps I misunderstood what you meant by "run" in your question, but I just wanted to add this because so many people *do* just play through these things without actually practicing them. Hope this helps!

@@DrMollyGebrian Yes, your response helps immensely. I erred when I used the word “run” because it can be associated with mindlessness. Warmups and techniques like long tones, scales, and arpeggios to me are just a different animal. There are only 12 keys (major) and thousands of different repertoire choices. Yet I can see how ICU, chunking, random and variable spaced practice, memorization, mental imagery can be applied to scales, etc. Just wanted to make sure that your book’s lessons are “all in”, applying to everything we learn and practice. And, yep, it says so, right in the book😊 You’re correct in saying that using your research and ideas is a big jump for some of us. I was checking in to gain some clarity.

@@delamig Thank you for this! :) With practicing scales, the great thing about them is that scales can be a vehicle for improving other techniques on your instrument. For instance, a few years ago, I wanted to get better at polyrhythms (like playing 3 against 4 or 2 against 5) and so I would walk in one subdivision (walk in 8th notes, for instance) and play my scales in a different subdivision (play in triplets). Scales are a great thing to use in this way once you've learned to play them. :)

Thank you so much!

Thank you so much! I'm so glad my videos were helpful to you!

Yay! I love that! Thank you so much for sharing this with me!

Thank you so much! I'm so glad you enjoyed it! The backdrop is actually a shower curtain I bought on Amazon and hung on my wall for the video! 😂

@@DrMollyGebrian 😃

Thank you so much! I'm glad my videos were helpful to you! Good to know about Modacity! I've been using TwistedWave for 12+ years and I love it, but I'm always very glad to learn about other apps people find helpful. :)

Thank you so much! :)

Thank you so much! I'm so glad my tips have been so helpful to you. And yes, they will stay here indefinitely, so you can rewatch them whenever you like. :)

Thank you so much! I'm so glad you enjoyed this series! The piece I was practicing in the video is called Antahkarana by Narong Prangcharoen. You can listen to my full performance of the piece here if you like: th-cam.com/video/FZDp5dEBpPE/w-d-xo.html To your observation about what you hear on recordings: it is impossible to take in everything when you are playing because the brain is processing so much. Our brains are always selectively filtering what comes in - we would be completely overwhelemed if the brain processed everything. When you listen to a recording, the brain is not occupied by also trying to play, so you can notice much more than when you are actually playing.

Thank you so much! :) I'm so glad you enjoyed my videos this month and that this final video on how to incorporate recording was helpful! Yes, my recordings are almost always extremely short. I would actually say that the ones in this video are longer than normal!

That's the idea! We all have incorrect ideas in our heads of what practice should look like and learning about how our brains work is something I find to be so powerful in learning how to practice more effectively! :)

I would be happy to explain further if you'd like! :) What was confusing to you in the demonstration?

Thank you. I watched it again and realized you started further in the piece. It makes sense now that I understand where you started. ​@@DrMollyGebrian

@@genuineyou Oh good! I'm glad it makes sense now! :)

Thank you so much! I'm so glad these videos and my book have been so helpful and you're already seeing improvements in your playing and are enjoying practicing more! :) Yes, hearing myself on a recording use to be massively uncomfortable for me, but now I only view it as helpful. I didn't realize the iPhone voice memo app could slow things down without changing the pitch! That's so good to know! I've been using AudioStretch to do that for over a decade now and I have learned *so* much about my playing. Through listening to myself in slow motion, I've also improved what I'm able to hear in real time, so that's been a huge benefit as well. :)

Thank you so much! I'm so glad my videos were enjoyable and helpful to you! You are absolutely right about the microbreaks - I wasn't taking any because I didn't know about them yet. This video is from sometime in late 2020, I think, and the microbreak study didn't come out until summer 2021. My practicing is always evolving based on new things I learn and new studies that come out. :)

That's a great idea, to do it again in October! I'm so glad you enjoyed this series! :)

I'm so glad to hear that! :) And yes, the expectation of "should" can be so damaging and really hold us back. I'm glad these practice ideas have helped quiet that unhelpful voice! :)

Yes, it usually is for people. But it's so important! The more you practice it, the easier it gets, just like any other skill. :)

I'm so glad you like this idea! I find it extremely helpful! As @alamedajeff commented below, it's also extremely helpful to record this subdivided metronome at a slow tempo and then use an app (like AudioStretch) to slowly speed it up while you play along. :)

This is a great idea! The iPhone’s Voice Memo app can adjust playback speed without a change of pitch. I will check out AudioStretch too.

@@organvlnBach2Bach Thank you so much for telling me that the Voice Memo app on iPhones can do this! I had no idea!

I love that you bought a balance board! I am aware of the research that suggests a connection between balance and coordination and sense of pulse, but I haven't read it myself. I'll add it to the list!

Yes, it's great that metronome apps allow you pre-program meter changes! So useful! :)

Thank you so much! I'm so glad my work has been helpful to you! I think these practice methods are not commonly talked about because people don't know about them. Most people are never taught to practice, which includes many teachers, sadly. They can't pass down what they don't know, but I'm trying to change that. :)

Yes, this is very helpful as well! It's not possible for wind and brass players, though, or singers so having a variety of ways to improve sense of pulse is always beneficial. :)

BTW--have mentioned the guitarist Diego Alonso, whose yt channel covers similar cognitive material. In his video dropped today, he recommends and links to your book!

I appreciate these clever, creative uses of the metronome to achieve a steady internal pulse! I’ll need to start these practices with scales, before moving to music. What do you think of the “Time Guru” metronome app? The user can program it to randomly mute a chosen percentage of the beats. I enjoy the challenge, especially when I advance to muting 50% or more of the beats.

Thank you so much! I'm so glad they've been helpful to you! Breaking out of old habits is hard, so kudos to you for being willing to try something new! :)

@@StevenBornfeld Thank you so much for letting me know! I'm actually giving a presentation for his online community later this month. :) I'm very excited to meet him!

@@organvlnBach2Bach Yes, I LOVE the random mute function in TimeGuru! It's such a great challenge! When I do longer presentations on the metronome stuff I was talking here, I always recommend that app specifically for that function. The Tonal Energy metronome/tuner app also has that function now as well. :)