A few weeks ago, violinist Nigel Kennedy was quoted as saying that today's young musicians are more "clone-like," noting that while so many have phenomenal technical fluency, this may have come at the expense of musical communication.This was in the context of a larger (and intriguing) conversation about how funding in music is distributed, and how this might be part of the issue, but regardless, I was curious to see if there might be any studies on this particular issue.Though I didn't find any data on this in the realm of classical music, I did find a 2012 study that explored this in the context of popular music. Which had some pretty interesting findings that I suspect could be related to classical music as well.Click below for all the nerdy details, and how this could be related to your daily practice: Are Today’s Musicians More “Clone-Like?"====Have you been feeling a little stuck or stagnant in the practice room? Or has performance anxiety been a nagging issue that hasn’t gotten any better, no matter how prepared you feel before performances, auditions, or even lessons for that matter? If you’ve been wanting to experience more joy in the practice room and play more like yourself on stage, but haven’t been quite sure how to make that happen, starting October 15th, 2023, I’ll be teaching a live, online, 4-week class on the most essential mental skills and practice strategies that can make a difference in your practicing and performing. We’ll meet once a week via Zoom and explore the relevant research in four essential areas, experiment with a curated set of exercises and techniques together as a group, and to make sure the ideas become consistent habits, I'll show you how to gently integrate these new skills into your (or your students’) daily practice through bite-sized practice challenges alongside a supportive group of practice buddies from around the world. Registration begins next week - Sunday, October 1st, and runs through Monday, October 9th. Over 1000 musicians, educators, and students and learners of all ages have participated in the course to date. You can get all the details and learn how to join Cohort 15 at: bulletproofmusician.com/essentials