JAVS Spring 2023

In the Studio

Incorporating Mindfulness and Neuroscience in Lesson by Sarah Niblack

In this next era of music education, we need to think about how to better accompany students with a variety of adaptable tools—all as we strive for musical excellence. Pedagogy has changed so much (we weren’t talking about learning styles when I was in school!), but there’s so much more we can do using basic neuroscience and mindfulness.

pie for everyone. Abundance is expressed more along the lines of “Oh, this will probably work out,” “There are enough places to practice, I’ll find a spot.” Or “There are so many awesome places to learn and play, I’m sure I’ll find the right school/teacher/festival/orchestra that fits me,” or “I’m sure I can find a resource to get what I need about X.” Fear vs Courage This one is the simplest—and the most elusive. This idea is that all our actions and decisions are either based in fear or courage (love). Think about it. How would you go about your day if ALL your decisions were based in courage? How would it change from a place of fear? What would be similar or different? Is there one of those decisions that you can move towards a place of courage and start to make a different choice? Yes, I’m sure you can! Being aware of these mindsets is helpful in ourselves as teachers, players, or students. How we approach something is almost as important as knowing what to address. While we might have the catchphrase “attitude adjustment” ringing around from yesteryear, I propose that we go further. Teachers, players, students (and parents)—we are each responsible to develop awareness about where we’re coming from. Then there’s neuroplasticity and practice to help us make real progress, and how best we learn in an integrated way that promotes neurological safety under stress. This means that by slowly moving the needle with a bit of awareness, we influence real change to what happens on stage. This is why mindset coaches exist, and why we’re in need of an informed framework that supports this kind of deeper learning.

First, it’s helpful to know a little bit about the brain.

The brain is amazing. It’s flexible. It keeps us safe. It can do amazing things, create incredibly complex stories, imagine whole worlds. The brain also craves habit. The brain can also shrink and be extremely efficient at survival in the face of danger.

Let’s talk briefly about mindsets. At SPARK Practice, we like to talk about the 3 big Mindset Paradigms:

Fixed vs Growth Popularized by Carol Dweck, the basic idea is that we either believe that things “are the way they are,” or that we can change, grow, learn, and develop new skills. This is well-documented, with many readily available resources for further study. Lack vs Abundance Many people talk about this as it relates to money. However, if we’ve been exposed long enough to the conservatory environment, we’ve probably encountered sentiments like “I won’t share X teacher’s fingerings/ bowings,” or “Oh this practice trick/resource is my secret weapon, I’m keeping it to myself,” etc. Lack mindset is classically expressed by the belief that there isn’t enough

Journal of the American Viola Society / Vol. 39, No. 1, Spring 2023

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