The Secrets of Experts

Developing your own recipe for performance success

You would never board a plane, if you thought that a safe flight was up to luck or chance. You expect that years of experience and scientific investigation have produced methods of operation that all but ensure success. Why should musicians settle for less secure outcomes when they work on their music or dare perform in public?

This course aims to enable you to benefit from the latest discoveries in psychology and performance science. In three workshops you’ll find out how experts train and learn from “near misses” and errors to constantly improve. Their working habits give clues to ways musicians can be methodically in their preparation, making sure that learned music is more secure in hand and heart, and reliable in performance.

Each of the workshops will be followed up by assignments that allow you to experiment – and have fun – with the learned material. You’ll discover innovative learning methods and learn how to employ new and individualised strategies that recognise and build on your strengths.

Who it’s for?

• Pianists at an intermediate level and above who:
• Already perform, sharing their playing with others formally or informally, and wish to have greater confidence and a more fulfilling experience when doing so.
• Are tempted to perform, but shy away or avoid public scrutiny due to fear or insecurity.
• Other pianists who would generally not consider performing, but who find themselves in a rut (“something is missing”) and wish to improve their artistry.
• Teachers who wish to work on their own performance skills and / or support their students with pre-performance and in-concert preparation and coping strategies.

What you’ll learn

• Knowledge from neuroscience and psychology about how the brain functions with respect to music learning and performance.
• Creative practice ideas that include the science behind how memory and motor performance work.
• Greater confidence that performances are a necessary part of music learning and ways to cope with various outcomes in a productive way.
• Ideas for music lessons about how to create a productive learning environment while you teach practice methods and positive mindsets.

Course structure

Workshop 1: The Pianist’s Brain: A Brief User Manual

In this first workshop, you will discover how you can benefit from recent discoveries in psychology and performance science that go beyond what was previously known about the interplay of body, brain and heart. We’ll look at the three stages of learning: acquisition, storage, and retrieval and discuss the role of emotions – all leading to tips for how to enjoy and optimise your time in the practice room.

Workshop 2: Stretching Your Musical Memory Muscles

It’s not a matter of luck or chance. With methodic preparation, learning “by heart” can be easier and memory more secure, even if you don’t plan to play without the score. The second workshop explores different types of memory systems and ways for shoring up passages and remembering music for better confidence and stability in performance. We’ll also bust some myths around “blackouts” and explore the pros and cons of playing from memory in concert.

Workshop 3: Engaging Heart and Brain for Positive Outcomes

The final workshop aims to empower you to embark upon a continual path towards improvement by equipping you with a personalised catalog of practice methods. We’ll look at the three stages of expertise across domains to see how professionals leave their comfort zone to achieve excellence. By recognising your own strengths and building on them by experimenting with new strategies, you’ll be able to realise actual change!

Don’t miss this fantastic opportunity to collect the ingredients for your own recipe of enjoyable practice while discovering how rewarding it can be to share your playing with others!

About Your Presenter – Adina Mornell

Adina Mornell, classical pianist and recording artist, received her PhD in Music Psychology and Instrumental Pedagogy in Vienna. As professor at the music university in Munich, she conducts empirical studies in the field of musical performance science. Her teaching and research focus on deliberate practice, attentional focus and the intersection of neuroscience and music psychology. As a solo pianist, she has had several CDs released worldwide; her books and articles (in English and German) address performers and teachers.

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Workshop sessions & dates

Workshop 1 (16 Oct 2024 @ 17:00 BST (GMT +01:00))

Workshop 2 (06 Nov 2024 @ 17:00 GMT)

Workshop 3 (04 Dec 2024 @ 17:00 GMT)