Elite athletes and coaches have known for decades that physical preparation alone is not enough to perform optimally under pressure. And increasingly, musicians too are engaging in mental skills training and ways of practicing and preparing which can lead to more consistent, inspired, and engaged performances.

In this session, you’ll find out what common practice habit leads to “but it sounded better at home” syndrome (and the more effective alternative), discover the two causes of “choking” under pressure (and a simple strategy to prevent this from happening), and learn a “backwards” method for structuring your daily practice that leads to more consistent and confident performances.

Students should bring their instruments in order to apply practices and try out strategies in real time during the session. Any playing will be altogether as a group. No individual or 1:1 playing is required!

Free and open to the public. Presented by the Department of Strings and the U-M Arts Initiative.

GUEST ARTIST BIO

Performance psychologist NOA KAGEYAMA is on the faculty of The Juilliard School and the Cleveland Institute of Music. A conservatory-trained violinist with degrees from Oberlin and Juilliard before completing a Ph.D. in psychology at Indiana University, Noa specializes in teaching musicians how to utilize sport psychology principles and more consistently perform up to their full abilities under pressure.

He has conducted workshops for institutions including Curtis, Eastman, Peabody, and the U.S. Armed Forces School of Music, programs such as the Starling-Delay Symposium and the Perlman Music Program, and for organizations like the Music Teachers’ National Association, Performing Arts Medicine Association, and the Association for Applied Sport Psychology.

Noa's work has appeared in CNN, NBC News, The Wall Street Journal, and other media outlets. He authors The Bulletproof Musician blog and podcast, reaching over 45,000 subscribers every week.