What Musicians Can Learn About Practicing From Current Brain Research

What Musicians Can Learn About Practicing From Current Brain Research
Presented by Dr. Molly Gebrian
Saturday, May 17, 2025, 3:30 PM
Performing Arts Center, Brewster, MA

About the Lecture:
This presentation will focus on what neuroscientists have discovered about how our brains learn and how to apply these insights to practicing and teaching so that practicing becomes more efficient and effective, leading to enhanced performance ability, enjoyment, and confidence. Topics include: how to get rid of bad habits, how to make things automatic/reliable on stage, the role of sleep in learning, the power of mental practicing, how to use the metronome to greatest effect, and the benefits of random practice for enhanced performance.

About Dr. Molly Gebrian
Dr. Molly Gebrian is a professional violist with a background in cognitive neuroscience. Her area of expertise is applying the science of learning and memory to practicing and performing. Given this expertise, she is a frequent presenter on the neuroscience of practicing at conferences, universities, and music festivals in the US and abroad. Her book, Learn Faster, Perform Better: A Musician’s Guide to the Neuroscience of Practicing was released in July 2024 by Oxford University Press. She also hosts a popular YouTube channel on the science of practicing, and has published papers on these topics in the Journal of the American Viola Society, Flute Talk Magazine, and The Strad, among others. She has also published research articles on the intersection of music and early language acquisition in Frontiers in Psychology and the The Oxford Handbook of Music and the Brain. As a violist, her performing is focused on promoting the music of marginalized composers, particular those from groups traditionally underrepresented in classical music.

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