Nearly every chapter in the book has links to more information: images, videos, books, gadgets, research articles, and more. Below is the full list of these extras. If you’re interested in the research references used in the book, here they are.
Dead links will be replaced as soon as I learn about them. If you spot one, please let me know and I’ll take care of it right away, and thanks!
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Part 1: What’s Goin’ On?
Chapter 1: The Chicken or the Embryo
Chapter 2: Spinning Wheel, Got to Go ‘Round
Nicholas Barron: I’m Not Superman (his website)
Chapter 3: Your Plastic Brain
IMAGE: Inner Ear Diagram, by Max Brodel
IMAGE: Corpus Callosum
Michael Merzenich: Growing Evidence of Brain Plasticity
Rite of Spring, Nijinsky Choreography
Brains: The mind as matter (alas, this exhibit has been removed)
Neuroscientist Sebastian Seung
Chapter 4: Slow Down, You Move Too Fast
IMAGE: The myelin sheath
New York Philharmonic trumpeter Ethan Bensdorf
Coyle’s animated explanation of myelin
Chapter 5: Fail Better
IMAGE: Clam Graph
Beethoven’s manuscript for Opus 69
See the cleaned up score while listening to Beethoven’s Sonata for Piano & Cello
Part 2: Motivation Station
Chapter 6: Motivation for Mastery
5 Experts Answer: Can Your IQ Change?
Summary of Carol Dweck’s work on mindsets and praise for ability over effort.
IMAGE: FREE HI-REZ POSTER: GrowYourTalent
Chapter 7: Ass Power
Jim and Greg’s interview with Mr. George
Chapter 8: Go With the Flow
Here’s the Thing: Alex and Jamie Bernstein
Chapter 9: Goals & Goldilocks
Trip Through a Sierpinski Fractal
IMAGE: Goals as a Sierpinski Fractal
IMAGE: Bolero Strum Pattern
Chapter 10: Silence is Golden
Derek Sivers: Keep Goals Private
Part 3: The Who
Chapter 11: Monkey See, Monkey Do
The Bobby Broom Trio plays In Walked Bud. Bobby Broom (gtr), Dennis Carrol (b), Kobie Watkins (d). You can tell form the noise that this vidoe was not shot in The Green Mill. Great performance though.
Mirror neurons from the good people at Nova
Giacomo Rizzolatti – Mirror neurons: from monkey to human
Dr. Ramachandran on Mirror Neurons
Chapter 12: The Blame Game
IMAGE: Diagram of Attribution Theory (relationship of constants-variables in the diagram)
Frans de Waal: Morality in Mammals
Chapter 13: Parental Units
Chapter 14: Hot For Teacher
Orpheum Bell’s Chain Stitched Heart
Duke’s Video Essays on Learning Music: Refinement
Alberto Guerrero’s Finger-tapping
Elizabeth Eshelman’s McSweeny column
Chapter 15: Under Pressure
Part 4: Time Is On Your Side
(yes it is)
Chapter 16: The Day Is Long, But Time Is Short
Maurice André Plays Tartini, 1995
Chapter 17: How Much is Enough?
Jazz saxophonist Sonny Rollins
Chapter 18: Guerrilla Practice
Taste the String: Hans Jørgen Jensen
Chapter 19: When No Practice is Good Practice
Ingrid Jensen: Jazz Trumpeter on Practice
Chapter 20: Blame It On My Youth
Marsalis play the Hummel Concerto
Speed-metal, punk, thrash jazz
Chapter 21: When I’m 64
This American Life put together a band from Chicago Sun Times classified ads
Part 5: Wherever You May Roam
Chapter 22: Trash to Treasure
Chapter 23: Under the Influence
32 Metronomes Swinging Together
The Influence of Social Networks
Ethan Bensdorf’s interview on practice.
Ethan Bensdorf with the NY Philharmonic brass (Ethan is the trumpeter furthest to the right)
Colin Oldberg: Axiom Brass (Colin is the trumpeter on the left)
Chapter 24: In the Zone
IMAGE: The Zone of Proximal Development 1
IMAGE: The Zone of Proximal Development 2
Scaffolding your ZPD Knowledge
Chapter 25: A ‘Shed of One’s Own
Part 6: Let’s Get It On
Chapter 26: Creative Practice
Jack White on the power of constraints for creativity.
Chapter 28: Practice Anatomy 101
A new visualization of an ideal practice session (from the book Get Better Faster)
Chapter 29: Stare With Your Ears
Hear and see the kora as Ms. Jobarteh plays and sings her song, Jarabi
Hear Bachman tell the story and get the chord details
Ken Nordine’s Word Jazz performances
Chapter 29: Imitation Station
Check out Bistro Fada on Soundslice
Chapter 30: Drone Power
Between the Folds, a Peabody-winning documentary. Watch the trailer
Jazz trumpeter Ingrid Jensen on practicing with Drones
Vocal lesson on singing vowels with Jeanine Deva
Zakir Hussain & Rakesh Chaurasia
Watch the Brothers Hypnotic on Independent Lens
Chapter 31: Going Mental
Coltrane’s Giant Steps Animated
Rowan Atkinson’s Invisible Drums
Chapter 32: Chaining and Back-Chaining
IMAGE: Chaining Sequence
IMAGE: Back-chaining Sequence
Chapter 33: Go Go Gadget Practice
iTablaPro: Play with Drones (do it now)
iReal Pro: Chord Charts and Rhythm Section
Tempo SloMo: Slow Down, You Move Too Fast
Chapter 34: Rhythmning
IMAGE: Tumbao and Clave in Standard Notation
Asalato: You think Drum Set is Hard?
Chapter 35: Playing with Time
Watch the rockumentary Everybody Here Wants You
John Coltrane’s blazing fast tune Countdown
Chapter 36: Let’s Get Physical
Musicians and the Alexander Technique
Chapter 37: Improve with Improv
Charles Limb: Your Brain on Improv (Neural Substrates of Spontaneous Musical Performance: An fMRI Study of Jazz Improvisation)
Teach Us to Care and Not to Care
Sonny Rollins – Spirtuality and Improvisation
Chapter 38: Compose Yourself
Music Outside the Lines: Ideas for Composing in the K-12 Classroom by Maud Hickey
Chapter 39: Plays Well with Others
From the documentary Sound City, with an all-star musical cast
Chapter 40: Cover Your Assessment
This link to Gene Weingarten’s 2007 story
Coach’s Eye App: Notated Video/Audio
Chapter 41: You and the Night and the Music
Mednick’s site appears to be down (try again later, maybe). She presents her research in this talk, which is up and available.
The Practice of Practice 
just got “the practice of practice” on kindle. so ar a good read.(not read the book in its entirety yet so cannot give a definitive comment as yet) however a skim through the contents suggests that there are a wide array ovf variables at play when engaged in practice which might explain why some musicians do not define practice as practice in accordance with the tradidial definition of practice.
Yes, that’s it exactly, Shaun! Practice means different things for different people, and it seems important to me to start understanding what that means. I hope the book helps to start that conversation…. Thanks for getting the Kindle copy.
I just got the “practice of practice” on my kindle. i’d like to see the graphs and charts… they are just to small to make sense on the Kindle screen., Are they available on line anywhere?
Thanks for the heads-up, Nancy! I’ve put the images in a larger format online at the book’s Extras Page. Here’s the link (or just look above these comments), and thanks, again!
https://thepracticeofpractice.com/book-extras/
The one thing that I would like to see is the book in a ring type binder so it could be laid flat to read and study easier. I have the book in hardback as I tend to keep books for ever. I have highlighted and tab marked pages and passages all over. Love the book. Did I mention that I have been playing (term used loosely) the accordion for about two years. Oh yea I am almost 69 (still a few days away 5). I am sorry for defiling your beautiful book the way I have but it will help me and that is the point I guess.
Lloyd
That’s great, Lloyd! I actually enjoy marking up books, but it does always feel a little “wrong,” doesn’t it? Congrats on picking up the accordion. Happy birthday!
Hi, I enjoyed your book, I was interested to read it as my son is about to begin music lessons and I’d like to make that experience as enjoyable as possible. I’ve certainly got a lot of ideas, although not getting carried away and trying to do too much at once may be a problem…
Anyway, in Chapter 31, you have a diagram with “The Music” in the centre, it reminded me of “8 way thinking”, it struck me that 8 way thinking might be fun to try with a piece of music. There are some examples here:
http://www.independentthinking.co.uk/extra/handouts.aspx
There are also some links on music and learning.
There is a nice handout and a description here:
https://inquiryblog.wordpress.com/2013/05/21/the-8way-thinking-strategy/
Thanks, Amy! I’m a big fan of Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligence. I always thought Gardner’s theory was missing an important intelligence: humor.
I didn’t know about the 8-way-thinking approach. Cool! Thanks for sharing it and the resources that go along with it. Looks useful.
Humour is very important! Here is one of my favourites:
That’s a good one! Here’s another funny one:
Hi, I’m a guitar tutor, and have found your book to be very helpful. One particular section on chapter 4 discussing the myelin sheath on a neuron was indeed enlightening and reinforced my own particular understanding of learning techniques, But I have a concern about the name “Rudolph Vicrow” as any research I have done into the myelin process so far has lead me to the name “Rudolf Virchow” , could you please advise? Thankyou in advance, Simon.
I’ll look into the spelling. Thanks for the alert! I bet you’re correct….
Great book! easy to read! and a lot of tips!
An inspirational book written and read with warmth, wit and enthusiasm and based on years of diligent research. Full of things you can do straightaway. I’m 61, learning blues guitar and have picked up SO MANY great ideas from this book. I’ve completely changed my practice schedule using your ideas and THEY WORK! Long term goal: perform in the local pub. Short term goal this week: perfect 5 songs for tomorrow’s weekly ‘beer and guitars’ jamming session with friends (100 years playing experience between them – me, 6 months!). Nano goal today: faultless shuffle blues in A. I’m digging out an old electric keyboard from the attic this evening to complement my practice and have downloaded books and podcasts on the blues to listen to. Thank you Jonathan! Mike G – Somerset, UK.
Glad to hear it, Michael! Cheers!
Jon