Lois Svard

Category: Learning and memory

  • Learning and memory: the role of sleep, exercise, and nutrition

    Learning and memory: the role of sleep, exercise, and nutrition

    There was a recent article in my local newspaper about students, stress, and learning.  Unfortunately, the article didn’t mention sleep, because sleep is a crucial factor both for alleviating stress and for the encoding and consolidation of memory.  Exercise and good nutrition also play a role in learning and memory.  So  while we tend to…

  • Exercise and memory

    There is a beautiful 9-mile trail that runs between the town I live in and a nearby town.  The trail is constructed from a former rail bed and is extremely popular with walkers, joggers, and bicyclists.  It’s an idyllic place for an early morning walk, and I try to walk some portion of it several times a week.  We…

  • Amsterdam and pianists

    As musicians, we often talk about connections:  connecting emotionally with certain pieces of music;  connecting (or sometimes not) with the audience; connecting with one another when we perform together; and about connections, or networks, within our profession.  And on this blog site I have often written about music and brain connections. So I was delighted to be invited to give a presentation…

  • Practice, learning and memory, part IV

    And continuing our practice strategies to ensure effective learning and memory: Sitting on an outdoor bench in a scenic spot may not be your idea of practicing, but it depends on what you’re thinking about while you sit there. 7) Reflection.  Psychologists speak about reflection as a learning strategy – thinking about what you have learned and…

  • Practice, learning and memory, part III

    And a few more practice strategies to ensure effective learning and memory: 5) Practice extremely slowly.  There has been a controversy for some time about whether slow practice is beneficial for learning fast music.  Many of us were told early in our musical lives that in order to play a passage of music that is very fast,…

  • Practice, learning and memory, part II

    Almost everyone who plays the piano has, at some point in his/her study,  learned Chopin’s Prelude in A Major, Op. 28. Only 16 bars and lasting a bit less to a bit more than a minute (depending on the performer), the Prelude is deceptively simple. A few repetitions and it feels as though we have it…