Join us for Deliberate Practice Expert Conversations, an informal series of conversations about all things practicing.
Who are
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One of the best ways to learn and digest something is to see our heroes talking about that subject & learning how they put it into action.
Through the Deliberate Practice Expert Conversations, we bring real people to the conversation in an informal series to bridge the gap between theory and practice. |
DELIBERATE PRACTICE EXPERTS
Here is a list of awesome people leading the conversation about practicing.
Mark BainTrumpet player in the Tasmanian Symphony and head of Performance Under Pressure
https://www.performanceup.com.au/ Video replay : https://www.facebook.com/877555150/videos/1689295794764723/ |
Sarah NiblackViolist, former Division 1 Scholarship Rower and Founder of SPARK Practice.
sparkpractice.com Instagram.com/sparkpractice Video replay with Mark Bain : https://www.instagram.com/tv/CfvzxMPAs5d/ |
Christopher StillHead of Honesty Pill, and trumpet player in the Los Angeles Philharmonic
Site honestypill.com Chris’ instagram is amazing Video replay coming soon ! |
Who would you like to hear talk about practicing? |
The conversation is starting - please contact us with ideas of people to talk to, or if you’re passionate about helping people practicing and would like to be considered for an upcoming conversation, feel free to apply.
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How to practice
At its core, quality practice looks pretty similar.
Décide to practiceDedicating some time and space to practicing is the essential step. Showing up is half the battle!
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Have a planThe hallmark of great practice is to have a plan of attack. What are you working on right now?
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Use some strategyEfficiency comes with knowing what tool to use in a particular situation. What’s your best tool?
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HOW TO PRACTICE* *with science and kindness
SPARK Practice exists to help you build security & confidence on stage and in the practice room.
SPARK Practice transforms your playing whether you’re in conservatory, a performing musician, or even just starting out. It’s a flexible system that can be customized to support you in your daily practice or even training programs for competitions, auditions, & big performances. With input from world experts in elite sports, musical training, performance psychology, practice/learning experts, therapists, & more - SPARK Practice came from my own diverse background, good (& bad) conservatory experiences, and years of struggle in the practice room.
I want you to succeed, to be happy, and confident in achieving your goals. 🚀
I want you to succeed, to be happy, and confident in achieving your goals. 🚀
Why SPARK Practice?
THE PROBLEM
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Music schools don’t teach people how to practice. We have theory, history, instrument lessons, but NO support for the thing we do the most - individual practice. Also, there never has been a simple, efficient, reliable, teachable, proven system like ⚡️SPARK Practice before.
The expectations and demands of elite athletes and musicians are very similar, but the training support, coaching, and expectations of autonomy are VERY different.
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Look I’m in a boat!
Sarah Niblack competing in the medal finals at the US Rowing Youth Invitational in Cincinnati, OH
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SPARK PRACTICE IS THE SOLUTION
🎻 It turns out that we can use everything learned from elite sports in the practice room. Combined with mindfulness and kindness practices to create Positive Emotional Signatures, we can change the narrative and inspire efficient, constructive methods to excellence. Even at top music schools, I felt like there was a big piece missing - but didn’t realize that learning how to practice is SO uncommon. SPARK Practice is the intersection of sports psychology (elite endurance sports - not just golf), neurobiology, and a vast repertoire of practice and performance techniques from generations of expert musicians.
- ⚡️SPARK Practice uses 30-minute interleaved interval training sessions comprised of 5, 5-minute SPARKS with a 5 minute pause. It’s easily integrated into the Pomodoro method (aka, super easy to schedule into your day, and easy to manage from a studio perspective).
- 🧩 Each SPARK Practice session touches on every pillar of music-making. Each SPARK speaks to a musical objective through the lens of the 3 Ms (musical, mental, & mechanical), and strategically builds & reinforces learning, retrieval, integration, and expression from every angle. Instead of low-level work we level-up our playing with rich, neurologically complex musical objectives.
- 🥳 Cultivate a good attitude. Learn how to incorporate mindfulness with Positive Emotional Signatures, using a process-based approach. Concentrate on the right stuff, know how to recover confidently, & build your mental game into your practice time.
- ⏳Having a timer keeps you moving and helps make practice more fun. Spend 5 minutes on each SPARK, and when the buzzer sounds, move on!
- 😎 Take a break - rest is really important for your body and mind! We always rest for at least 5 minutes after each ⚡️SPARK Practice Session.
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I want you to find your musical spark and confidently let it shine. |
People are talking about ⚡️SPARK Practice
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SPARK Practice Press
HorizonVU Sound and Movement
RESEARCH & LEARNING ‣ Sarah Niblack Revolutionizes Musical Instrument Practice with ⚡SPARK Practice https://www.hvusoundmovement.com/post/research-learning-sarah-niblack-is-revolutionizing-musical-instrument-practice-spark-practice |
SPARK Practice Feedback
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⚡️SPARK Practice is brilliant! The system has helped both me & my students become more efficient practicers & more secure performers. It can be applied at every ability level & the results are tangible! |
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SPARK Practice Head Nerd, Sarah Niblack
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Hi - good to see you! I’m so glad you’re here. 👯♀️
I’m Sarah, Head Nerd here at SPARK Practice. I love chamber music sight-reading parties, indie rock, neurobiology, stargazing, pho, and Kung Fu Panda. But what I absolutely love the most is making music - and supporting people like you to find ways to make music as fully and whole-heartedly as possible. Which can be hard, because, well… classical music 🤦♀️ In music school, when my teachers gave me feedback, I felt SO inspired and then SO…lost. I was at a top conservatory (CCM), surrounded by such an imposing wealth of excellence - but wasn’t equipped to get it all into my music making. There was such a huge difference between us and our professors (some of whom were international soloists) - and even they couldn’t articulate exactly what to do to get there. Burnouts/breakdowns were de rigueur. As a student, we only had coaching (lessons) for 1-2 hours/week, and after graduation - well I got a piece of paper and good luck. 🤷♀️ It was so different that what I learned at crew (I’m former Division One Scholarship rower, which basically means that I woke up at 4:15am & owned a LOT of spandex). I had detailed training programs from the next 5 minutes to a year from now. I had a plan, and I had coaches present 5-6 hours/day. My training was calculated to avoid physical & mental burnout. I had great coaches, and I knew that I could trust the system. In rowing, all I had to do was show up and push myself. In music (just like pretty much any musician I’ve ever met) - I was alone in a barren wasteland. 😕 Anyway, like we learned in Kung Fu Panda - there’s no secret ingredient. Something is special because we believe it’s special. You are special because you are YOU. But how to know that you’re on track, realize your potential, and to be confident in your progress was a secret. (Don’t worry - it’s not anymore!) 🌱 As a life-long nerdy-pants nerd-face, I’m constantly inspired by the science and neurobiology of self-compassion, creativity, and competitive response. My crazy background and experiences finally all came together into the 5 Pillars, and the SPARK Practice Formula. Now I’m the Head Nerd at ⚡️SPARK Practice, and I love finding simple, clear, repeatable ways to support professional & aspiring professional musicians to kick butt (& be nice to yourself in the process!). Yaaaaay! 🚀 I think it’s ridiculous that learning how to practice isn’t part of the standard conservatory curriculum, so let’s change that. I’m so excited for you and your journey to become the musician you want to be. I want you to have the BEST musical life, and it’s been thrilling to see SPARK Practice have such an impact for musicians and teachers alike - to speak a common practicing language so that we can talk more about the good stuff - the music. 😎 Ready to get into the practice room? Start with the SPARK Practice Formula, then dive deeper with the 5 Pillars. We also do a couple Practice Intensives during the year to really accelerate progress in a supportive group environment.
There are some other events and starting in fall 2022, the holy grail of practice support - the SPARK Practice Strategies for Mastery Course. I also do online seminars for schools with support for teachers, help schools integrate SPARK Practice, teach at festivals, and love to both travel & create community, so let’s chat! What else? Well, I’m originally from Seattle, WA - and now I get to live in Paris, France where I play with a bunch of cool orchestral and chamber ensembles. In 2021 I co-founded the Viola Practice Camp with my bestie Gwendolyn Cawdron. I get to teach lessons and masterclasses internationally, and started The Audition Club, a supportive playing group for high-level musicians. I also do Classical Revolution Paris (renegade chamber happenings) - inviting all audiences to experience classical music in an accessible and fun environment. It’s pretty cool. And now we’re friends, so that’s even cooler. 🥳
Happy Practicing!
⚡️Sarah❤️ |
Ready to ⚡️SPARK Practice ?
Level-up your playing, musicianship, and transform your playing for the better with our suite of classes and events.
Please reach out with questions, and schedule a call to figure out which offer can best support your goals.
Please reach out with questions, and schedule a call to figure out which offer can best support your goals.
"…SPARK Practice gets results 100% of the time,
and I love to use it in my own practice and with my students.”
