ADr. Molly, you are giving us fantastic information. This episode and the whole series is terrific.I just wanted to point out a little nugget that I think is profound: at 12:26 you say: "Have their brain feel the same . . . Pretend they are still mental practicing, it's just happening to come out of their instrument." I think this is generally how we need to think about both learning and performing music. The mental practice side is given less attention by most teachers (often none at all), but is equally important to the physical technical side of performance. Thank you for all this great information!
I am blessed with an extreme ability to visualize images that seem so real, that I could reach out and take hold of the image; that it is a solid 3D image. I can also actually hear in my head extremely real sound, quality of sound and pitches.
Once again, thank you. Sometimes, my student kids have a hard time thinking of everything at once. They mix up notes or bowings. When they get stuck, I ask them to breathe, close their eyes, and imagine themselves playing the the passage. Once they have played it once or twice in their head, fixing what was not working, I ask them to play it again. I do not know how, but it often works on the first or second try!
It works because in order to really imagine doing something, you have to understand very clearly what you want to do. Often when kids mix up notes or bowings, those notes or bowings aren't clear in their mind in the first place. Imagining themselves doing them forces them to clarify what's actually written, which then fixes the issue when they play. :)
I congratulate you for sharing such quality content. I have a question about dynamic mental practicing you mentioned in your first video. When I looked at the articles you referenced, I saw that the goal is to fulfil a physical skill. My goal is to keep my mind in the music while playing passages that I can physically play without any problems. That is, to think only about the music while playing. In this direction, I try to play a passage that I can play smoothly in my mind by imagining the movements of my hands on the piano keyboard. When the polyphony is very developed, I have a lot of difficulty, but when I physically move my fingers a little, it immediately becomes easier to play in my mind. In this case, do you think I should move my fingers a little or should I stick with static mental practice?
Thank you for your question! I'm sorry it's taken me so long to respond! Yes, if moving your fingers a little makes it easier to play in your mind, then you should definitely do that while mental practicing. As I discuss a bit in the videos about memorization, there is often auditory-motor co-activation going on in the brains of professional musicians (when we move our fingers, our auditory cortex is active and when we hear something we know how to play, our motor cortex is active), so having a little bit of physical input can really enhance your ability to imagine how it sounds clearly.
This was a brilliant series - great to see you back Molly! So glad you mentioned aphantasia in the last video, I’ve been trying to work out whether I have it too! Might be something to do with my autism, but I’ve always struggled with "seeing" things in my head too.
Not true, Dr. Gebrian!! Your work is brilliant, it would be worth sending him your best video and see what he says. Your work speaks for itself. Everyone who has reputation now had to start somewhere. You never know when someone will give you a chance, and your work is completely revolutionary and just as valuable as people who are well known. A smart person will see that, and want you on their podcast. Seriously!
ALL musicians should imagine and then in reality, practice and play as if they are a Tai Chi Master or Pantomimist. As if you are performing slowly in a dream state!
Thank you for sharing all this invaluable information! I never really got into mental practicing precisely because I was making just as many mistakes as I did in physical practice, so it felt pointless. Now I'm definitely motivated to give it another try.
Definitely give it another try! You can fix stuff in your head in exactly the same way as on the instrument itself. It's kind of amazing. And to me, it's not so distressing to make mistakes in my head because nobody has to actually hear them! :)
ADr. Molly, you are giving us fantastic information. This episode and the whole series is terrific.I just wanted to point out a little nugget that I think is profound: at 12:26 you say: "Have their brain feel the same . . . Pretend they are still mental practicing, it's just happening to come out of their instrument." I think this is generally how we need to think about both learning and performing music. The mental practice side is given less attention by most teachers (often none at all), but is equally important to the physical technical side of performance. Thank you for all this great information!
Thank you so much for saying this! YES, the mental side is SO important! I'm so glad you have found my videos helpful. :)
Christmas came early this year! Many thanks for your wonderful videos (that deserve a million views).
Thank you so much! I hope you enjoy the newest videos! :)
I am blessed with an extreme ability to visualize images that seem so real, that I could reach out and take hold of the image; that it is a solid 3D image. I can also actually hear in my head extremely real sound, quality of sound and pitches.
That's amazing! I wish I could do that! It sounds like you experience hyperphantasia, which is the opposite of aphantasia. :)
Just started reading your book and can't put it down. Where have you been all my life?😊
Thank you so much! I'm so glad you're enjoying it! :)
Once again, thank you.
Sometimes, my student kids have a hard time thinking of everything at once. They mix up notes or bowings. When they get stuck, I ask them to breathe, close their eyes, and imagine themselves playing the the passage. Once they have played it once or twice in their head, fixing what was not working, I ask them to play it again. I do not know how, but it often works on the first or second try!
It works because in order to really imagine doing something, you have to understand very clearly what you want to do. Often when kids mix up notes or bowings, those notes or bowings aren't clear in their mind in the first place. Imagining themselves doing them forces them to clarify what's actually written, which then fixes the issue when they play. :)
@@DrMollyGebrian Thanks for clarifying.
thanks for this series
I congratulate you for sharing such quality content. I have a question about dynamic mental practicing you mentioned in your first video. When I looked at the articles you referenced, I saw that the goal is to fulfil a physical skill. My goal is to keep my mind in the music while playing passages that I can physically play without any problems. That is, to think only about the music while playing. In this direction, I try to play a passage that I can play smoothly in my mind by imagining the movements of my hands on the piano keyboard. When the polyphony is very developed, I have a lot of difficulty, but when I physically move my fingers a little, it immediately becomes easier to play in my mind. In this case, do you think I should move my fingers a little or should I stick with static mental practice?
Thank you for your question! I'm sorry it's taken me so long to respond! Yes, if moving your fingers a little makes it easier to play in your mind, then you should definitely do that while mental practicing. As I discuss a bit in the videos about memorization, there is often auditory-motor co-activation going on in the brains of professional musicians (when we move our fingers, our auditory cortex is active and when we hear something we know how to play, our motor cortex is active), so having a little bit of physical input can really enhance your ability to imagine how it sounds clearly.
@@DrMollyGebrian Thank you for your answer and congrats for your book :) 🙏
This was a brilliant series - great to see you back Molly! So glad you mentioned aphantasia in the last video, I’ve been trying to work out whether I have it too! Might be something to do with my autism, but I’ve always struggled with "seeing" things in my head too.
Yeah, aphantasia is really hard to figure out because words are so imprecise to describe what's going on in our heads...
Thank you for another great video series.
Dr. Gebrian, your Videos are helpful as always. I would love to see you discuss the neuroscience of learning music on the Andrew Huberman podcast!
I love his podcast! But I'm a nobody, so he would never have me on. :)
Not true, Dr. Gebrian!! Your work is brilliant, it would be worth sending him your best video and see what he says. Your work speaks for itself. Everyone who has reputation now had to start somewhere. You never know when someone will give you a chance, and your work is completely revolutionary and just as valuable as people who are well known. A smart person will see that, and want you on their podcast. Seriously!
ALL musicians should imagine and then in reality, practice and play as if they are a Tai Chi Master or Pantomimist. As if you are performing slowly in a dream state!
I love this idea! Thank you! :)
Excellent series! Sharing with all of my students. :)
Thank you so much! :)
Thank you for sharing all this invaluable information! I never really got into mental practicing precisely because I was making just as many mistakes as I did in physical practice, so it felt pointless. Now I'm definitely motivated to give it another try.
Definitely give it another try! You can fix stuff in your head in exactly the same way as on the instrument itself. It's kind of amazing. And to me, it's not so distressing to make mistakes in my head because nobody has to actually hear them! :)
@@DrMollyGebrian Brilliant and wise final point!