HOW THE BRAIN LEARNS

NEURAL PATHWAYS

Imagine for a moment a fresh forest that no one has ever entered. An explorer discovers it and beholds its beauty, seeing that there are many wonderful places here. She wanders around and sees a pond that is fed by a trickling creek, then a grassy lawn where the deer are grazing. She decides that this is a place she would like to visit frequently. If she takes time to learn the geography of the forest, she can find the safest, easiest and most direct way to this spot.

The next time she returns she might have a little trouble following the map that she made for herself. Progressively it becomes easier and after a few times she will no longer need the map. There is now also a pathway in the woods where she has repeatedly walked over the same terrain and has established a trail. This is similar to the way your brain creates pathways to the information it wants to access. If you have not taken the time to find efficient ways of finding the areas you want to visit, it will take longer to find them, you might get lost, or you might simply be too tired to be effective once you have arrived.

When you practice, it is very important to create efficient neural paths to the mental and physical information you need to perform on your instrument. If you practice a passage and make a mistake, you have left that in your neural pathways as a footprint. A footprint won't do you much harm. If you repeat that mistake you might create a pathway that will lead you in the wrong direction. If you skim over a mistake, you have lost an opportunity to train your brain.

THE LEARNING/ATTENTION SPAN CURVE

Another thing to consider while you are practicing is whether you are able to give your session adequate attention. In studies scientists have discovered that your mind best remembers the first and last things you work on. As an example, if you are able to concentrate well for five minutes and you study for twenty minutes, you will best remember the material you studied during the first and last five minutes of that twenty minute session. The middle ten minutes have profited you little. If you break those twenty minutes into two ten minute sessions, you have better utilized your time. The break needn't last long, nor does it need to be short.

Every one has a different optimal study time, so pay attention to yours and see what seems to work best for you. In an interview I once heard with Yoyo Ma, he said that when he was learning the cello he practiced many fifteen minute sessions during each day. Marathon practicing does not accomplish too much more than bad health and some bad habits.

REWARDS

It is helpful to set up a system of rewards for yourself. This could be something like a nice bubble bath, a walk, some time with your stereo, a few paragraphs of a book, a few pages of cartoons or a monetary reward. Please do not reward yourself with sugar products because this will be counter-productive to your performance. This reward should not be based on how well you feel you worked, but a pleasant repose for those moments you take between your mini-practice sessions and then one when you are finished with your session.