Practice with Intention,

Perform with Confidence.

SPARK Your Potential. Practice with Intention. Perform with Confidence.

Champion your musical journey with neuroscience-backed strategies, transformative mindset tools, and powerful community - in a supportive ecosystem designed to help you practice smarter, not harder.

Cutting-edge stuff… the tie between sports & performance psychology, and cutting-edge neuroscience.

DR. DON GREENE, Author & Peak Performance Coach

SPARK Practice Plan

Get started with SPARK Practice for confident clarity to transform your impact in the practice room.

Breathe Brave & Mindset

This is your first stop to beat performance anxiety and build your resilient performance mindset.

Work with Sarah

Ready to level-up your practice, mindset, and performance? Let's realize your potential together!

Great PERFORMANCE starts with Great Practice

FREE Get Started Guide

With the proprietary SPARK Practice Formula, you'll become a better musician in your next practice session. Transform your practice and never get stuck in the practice room again.

Get your guided SPARK Practice session and Find your SPARK!

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About SPARK Practice

Musical Excellence, Demystified

Great performances start with great practicing.

And great practicing is so much more than what we typically learn in music school - it's neuroscience-backed learning, supportive mindsets, and deep performance skills - all baked into our everyday habits.

With SPARK Practice, bring joy and excitement back into your playing as you discover neuroscience-backed insights for effective practice, expert mental training, and performance skills - tailored to your unique profile.

Great practicing and performances starts with SPARK Practice.

Discover the SPARK Practice Difference

What SPARK Practicers say

Expert Practice

Have fun and get better faster with SPARK Practice Plans & Timer

Brave Mindsets

You're awesome - be nice to yourself with tools adapted to your profile

Confident Performance

Prepare smarter, not harder with neuroscience, elite training & cake

Powerful Community

Join awesome musicians while we all reach our goals together

Researched Resources

Enjoy the support of neuroscience- researched tools and frameworks

Supporting Teachers

Thank you for supporting your students to be their best!

SPARK Practice isn't another "practice tips" list.

It's a complete system that's surprisingly simple. Six months after I started I'm a completely different musician. It's weird to say but now I love practicing and know exactly what to do.

Performances don't scare me anymore either. I got into my dream school and passed two rounds in my first audition. I know I'm on my way to winning.

JI-WOO, Grad Student, USA

Welcome to SPARK Practice

I'm Sarah Niblack, the Practice Professor

Just like you, being a musician is what gets me up in the morning.

I love playing and performing - sharing the stage with amazing friends and colleagues, connecting with audiences, and making music.


...But even on big fancy stages and studying with famous teachers, sometimes I felt lost, confused, and alone! I couldn't seem to get my brain, body, and music all on the same page, no matter how many hours I practiced or crazy and toxic performance techniques I tried.


Just like my friends and mentors, I knew I was capable of more than was coming across on stage - but we were slowed down by what I now know is performance anxiety and inefficient practice. So much effort for such little progress (and very little joy)... I almost gave up playing forever from burnout, injury, and epic frustration. Then, finally, came a spark of something better.


Deep down, I knew there was a better way to practice and prepare performances. I strategically built up brave resilience, cultivated artistic expression, and became a ninja at practicing. SPARK Practice was forged by the unique union of neuroscience, my experience in elite sports as a D1 scholarship rower, top musical training, and mindfulness.


Now, after years of research, results, getting friends together to try new things, building audition club, performance lab, and other performance training tools, you can join successful SPARK Practice musicians and learn to work with your brain and body for efficient practice, supportive mindsets, and consistently excellent, confident performances.


I'm so glad you're here. Let's jump in.

What SPARK Practicers say

Fundamental Principles

of Great Practice

Great practice isn't about practicing more or working harder—it's about working with your brain instead of against it.

When you apply these neuroscience principles, you'll:

+ Learn repertoire faster with less frustration  + Experience more joy in the practice room
+ Perform with greater confidence and artistic freedom  + Nurture a sustainable, lifelong relationship with music
Ready for practice tips? Read the article on our Best Practice(s) Blog for step-by-step implementation techniques.


01. Intention is Everything

Know what you're aiming for and you'll get there faster. Intentional practice goes further towards our goals in every mindful, strategic, targeted repetition.

06. Performance can be Consistently Fun

When all of the TAPS pillars are topped up (Technique, Artistry, Presence, and Support), your nervous system is strong and you're both physically & mentally ready. Now it's a thrilling adventure to go on stage and share your music!

05. Great Practice Builds Pathways

Practicing physically rewires your brain. Intentional practice builds and strengthens the neural connections you actually want, preventing bad habits & maximizing progress.

02. Your Brain Wants to Protect You

Performance anxiety is the brain's protection mechanism. But we can cultivate safety, curiosity, and confidence - to harness creativity and play our best - without fear.

03. Creative Expression is a Practice

Many musicians treat "expression" as a magical lightning bolt that strikes during a performance. But we're more likely to perform what we actually practiced - and it takes time to develop the habit of expressing our unique artistic voice.

04. Confidence is a Habit

Confidence is the daily vitamin of enthusiastically stacking tiny wins and reframing our self-talk towards kindness and supportive mindsets. This strategically retrains neural pathways for resilient self-trust - that also over-writes performance anxiety.

READY TO FIND YOUR SPARK?

Start Practicing Better Today

At SPARK Practice, we want you to be empowered, motivated, & passionate in your musical instrument practice. Please share your experiences, progress, questions, and news with #sparkpractice

Grab the SPARK Practice Get Started Guide now!

Your data is safe and will never be sold or shared without your permission, you can unsubscribe at any time. Check your email to get your guide and subscribe.