I want to share a resource that has helped me immensely as I work to learn new music and improve my performance. This forum and its participants have given much to me, so I’m happy to have something worthwhile to share.

I’m a second-year fiddler, ex mandolin, on the hunt to learn as many old time tunes as I can, as quickly and efficiently as I can. I have professional background in industrial training so I understand how to structure learning activity. 

I recently discovered Dr Molly Gebrian, a professor of viola at Univ of Arizona. She is a classically trained violist with a background in neuroscience. Molly brings a sound understanding of brain function to the music world, with its reliance on time honored learning and practice methods. She does not intend to replace traditional approaches -- whether studying at Juilliard or learning on the front porch. Rather, her methods make it all easier, more efficient, and less painful. It’s a great blend of art and science. 

Molly has a series of videos that show musicians how neuroscience research can inform and improve our learning and practice. Her written materials range from practical “cheat-sheets” to serious scholarly works. Her website is https://mollygebrian.com/.  Highly recommended.

Strabo