Performing under pressure, music practice and music exams [PODCAST]

Episode 8 of the Exam Study Expert podcast: “Performing under pressure, music practice and music exams with Professor David Rowland”.

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Show notes

Today’s episode features Professor David Rowland, Professor of Music at the Open University and Director of Music at Christ’s College, Cambridge University.

If you’re not a musician, you might like to skip straight to 13.27 for an interesting 10-minute chat about performance anxiety and strategies for shining under pressure in exams, interviews and high-pressure situations of all kinds, drawing on best practice from the worlds of sport and music.

If you are a musician or have music exams of any kind, listen from the beginning for a fascinating conversation covering:

• The art of practice, and why people sometimes mistook Rachmaninov for a beginner
• The value of going for a walk, and a trick for high performance borrowed from the world of sport
• Minimising surprises on the day, and adding up the marginal gains
• Getting comfortable in the exam / audition / recital, and staying focused
• Tips for academic music exams and dissertations: answering the question, reading more widely, and good exam technique for written papers

Links and resources mentioned in this episode:

For more information on the choir at Christ’s College, Cambridge: https://www.christs.cam.ac.uk/join-christs-choir

For more information about studying music at the Open University: http://www.open.ac.uk/courses/find/music

For more on exam stress and anxiety generally, check out our recent blog article on the subject at https://examstudyexpert.com/student-exam-stress/

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William Wadsworth

Founder and Director of Learning Science at Exam Study Expert

William Wadsworth is a Cambridge University educated psychologist and learning science researcher. He got top 0.01% exam results in the UK as a student over 10 years ago, and ever since has been obsessed with helping subsequent generations of students ace their exams, through the science of studying smarter, not harder. Half a million students in 150+ countries follow his advice through this site and the Exam Study Expert podcast, and he’s the best-selling author of the “ingenious” guide to test-taking strategy, Outsmart Your Exams. To get in touch with William, including to find out more about his transformational 1:1 coaching sessions, please click here.

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