🧠 New Episode Alert: Unlocking the Brain: Neuroscience and Music Practice 🎹
An enlightening conversation with Dr. Molly Gebrian on The Piano Pod
“I practiced five hours this morning!”
We have all heard it—or maybe even said it ourselves. In the classical music world, long hours in the practice room are worn like a badge of honor. But what if all that time and effort are not translating into real progress? What if, despite your best intentions, your brain is actually working against you?
In this episode of The Piano Pod, I speak with Dr. Molly Gebrian, a violist, educator, and neuroscience researcher who is changing the foundations of how we approach practice. Her work combines deep musical insight with cutting-edge brain science, offering musicians an entirely new perspective on how we learn, retain, and perform music.
Drawing from her new book Learn Faster, Perform Better: A Musician’s Guide to the Neuroscience of Practicing, Molly shares practical, science-backed strategies that go far beyond the old "practice makes perfect" model. Instead, she asks a more powerful question: What if understanding how your brain works could help you practice less and achieve more?
Practicing Smarter, Not Longer
Our conversation centers on one radical truth: more time in the practice room does not necessarily mean better results. The brain learns in cycles—not through endless repetition, but through spaced effort, mental engagement, and strategic rest.
Molly introduces the idea of interleaved practice—a technique where musicians mix different skills or pieces in a single session to build mental flexibility and long-term retention. Though it can feel more difficult, this approach prepares the brain for performance far more effectively than traditional blocked practice.
We also explore the neuroscience behind the illusion of mastery—that false sense of security we get when something feels easy in practice but falls apart in performance. Once we understand how the brain constructs and recalls memory, we see why feeling good in the practice room is not always a reliable indicator of readiness.
Why Rest Is Part of the Work
Contrary to what many of us have been taught, learning doesn’t happen only during practice—it happens after. Molly explains how breaks, sleep, and even naps are critical for consolidating new skills. The most powerful learning occurs when we are not actively practicing.
She walks us through key concepts like long-term potentiation, proactive interference, and the role of micro-breaks, offering a neuroscience-backed case for practicing in shorter, smarter intervals. It is not about being lazy; it is about being efficient.
Rethinking Music Education for Every Brain
Our conversation also illuminates neurodiversity and the urgent need to shift away from one-size-fits-all teaching. Many students—especially those with ADHD, autism, or anxiety—are often misunderstood in traditional music environments. Molly’s insights help teachers rethink how they approach feedback, structure lessons, and celebrate small, meaningful progress.
Whether she suggests using games to help young students stay focused or helping advanced players rewire stubborn habits, Molly’s suggestions are grounded in compassion and science. Her work is a powerful reminder that every brain is different and that teaching should reflect that.
Memory, Performance, and Mental Practice
One of the most fascinating parts of the episode is our discussion about the different types of memory musicians rely on: muscle memory, aural memory, and declarative memory. Molly explains how these systems interact—and how we can strengthen them through targeted strategies, including mental practice.
Using techniques like AOMI (Action Observation + Motor Imagery), musicians can build and reinforce neural pathways without touching their instrument. In other words, your brain doesn’t always need your fingers to keep practicing.
A Personal and Professional Journey
Molly’s story is just as compelling as her research. A classically trained violist, she turned to neuroscience out of frustration with her progress. What began as a personal search for answers became a professional mission: to help musicians everywhere practice more effectively and perform more consistently.
Now on faculty at the New England Conservatory, Molly teaches courses on the science of practicing while continuing to perform and advocate for underrepresented composers. Her work opens new doors for musicians ready to trade grind for growth.
Final Thoughts
This episode is a game-changer.
Over the past few years, I have been researching performance psychology and neuroscience-related topics in classical music. But most of what I found was rooted in sports science—valuable, yes, but often filled with analogies and frameworks that did not fully translate to the experience of practicing and performing music. That is why Dr. Molly Gebrian’s work felt so eye-opening to me.
Here is a professional musician—someone who has lived the same frustrations, challenges, and questions we all face—writing a neuroscience-based book specifically about how to practice a musical instrument. Learn Faster, Perform Better is not only a deeply researched and accessible resource, but also a much-needed bridge between science and music, logic and artistry, practice room and performance stage.
Whether you are a student stuck in a practice rut, a teacher seeking better tools, or a seasoned performer aiming for more consistency, this conversation will give you the tools—and the perspective—to rethink how you work and grow as a musician.
🎧 This insightful episode will premiere on The Piano Pod’s YouTube channel on Tuesday, April 22, at 8:00 pm ET and will be available on your favorite podcast platform.
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