Session Number 5
Week Number 3?
Total Estimated Hours Contributed this Week: 2 hours
What was your overall goal for this week? I want to hopefully start learning some music theory from this app on my phone or something else, and make more progress on Endless Road and maybe the song I’m making.

Work Tasks 

Date	Task Description	Time Spent	Was this a Best Practice?
3/27	Endless Road progress/writing song progress.	1 hour	no
3/28	Endless Road 3-5, Brandy Bridge finally (mostly) done, and started work on “Traffic.”	35 mins	Yes
3/29	Endless Road 3-7	8 minutes	Yes
3/30	CI on 2-6 ER, 0-2 RP	20 minutes	Yes

Personal Comments (Optional) 

Are there any other comments you would like to include? If so, please enter them here: 

Kinda failed on my goal of music theory. Need to take less time on instruments, which sounds counterintuitive. Might do me good.

3/20-3/24 Weekly Work Log

Session Number 5
Week Number 2
Total Estimated Hours Contributed this Week: 1.5
What was your overall goal for this week? To really play smoothly and clearly, and to do so in the least amount of time. I also wanted to control my happiness: Even if I wanted to play faster, or another part again, I wanted to take a second and step back and do it another time, because I know my brain works best on deprivation. I did that with a song I’m writing and it really helped.

Work Tasks 

Date	Task Description	Time Spent	Was this a Best Practice?
3/20	Worked on Endless Road and did CI in the morning, DP in the midday, and RP in the nighttime. I also wrote a new song because the chords from Brandy gave me some ideas.	50 minutes	Yes
3/21	Worked on my new song and Endless Road, added a break in the middle, and interleaved with Brandy.	20 minutes	Yes
3/22	Retrieval and DP on Endless Road (making progress!) and work on Brandy Bridge	15 minutes	Yes
3/23	Same kinda deal, but realized I needed to listen to the actual song more for Brandy to get the bridge down and kinda played choppily on Endless Road.	30 minutes	Meh
3/24	Wanted to take a step back from yesterday, so did a little less (or a little more?) with more emphasis on control	5 minutes	Yes

Personal Comments (Optional) 

I love this system. My songwriting has really improved and I’m making so much more progress.

Sleep is your Superpower

• Matt Walker: Sleep is your Superpower

Cue How does he mean you need sleep before learning? How does that work? Brain has 40 percent deficit in making new memories on lack of sleep Hippocampus has lots of activity on good sleep, next to none in no sleep. Couldn’t effectively commit new experiences to memories. Is there a difference between getting two 4 hour sleeps versus a single 8 hour sleep? Sleep gets worse when aging (especially deep sleep) How does Alzheimers kill? Why does sleep turn on/off certain genes?

Notes Men who sleep 5 hours a night have smaller testicles than men who sleep more than seven hours Men who sleeps 4 hours or less have a lack of testosterone that of 10 yrs senior Same thing with female reproductive health Need sleep after learning to hit “save” Need sleep before learning, too (brain gets “waterlogged” hasn’t processed the information from the experience before. Brain has 40 percent deficit in making new memories on lack of sleep. Hippocampus has lots of activity on good sleep, next to none in no sleep. Couldn’t effectively commit new experiences to memories. “Sleep spindles” during deep sleep act like a high speed train taking experiences to memories. Sleep gets worse when aging (especially deep sleep) Sleeping pills don’t necessarily improve quality of sleep. When we gain an hour of sleep during daylight savings, 21 percent reduction in heart attack rate the next day (24 percent increase when losing an hour). This effect happens for many daily activities and physical health (car crashes, mental health, etc) Immune cell (natural killer cell) activity reduces massively (70 percent) on one session of reduced sleep by four hours. (link to cancer and other illnesses) Any night shift work is a probable carcinogen. 711 genes activity modified by lack of sleep Half of those genes increased in activity, half decreased Genes that were switched off associated with immune activity Genes turned on associated with tumors, inflammation, stress, cardio disease. Going to bed at the same time and waking up at the same time is a very good way to keep good sleep Keeping your body cool is also a way to get good sleep. (65 degrees)

Summary

Sleep is extremely important for general health and mental function, as well as learning and processing. Lack of it is linked heavily to a variety of negative effects on almost every aspect of your physical life.

Learn Better Practicing Techniques from Dr. Molly Gebrian

• Dr. Gebrian’s Videos about Learning and Music

Cue Does our brain take, like, “micro rests?” Spaced practice transfers better to other situations as it takes the skill and isolates it. When giving electrical signals to synapses to trigger potentiation, giving two in a short period gives the same amount of potentiation; when waiting (one and one an hour away) increases it. The electrical stimulation is simulating learning. In order for synapses to undergo potentiation, they need to have “construction;” this is why they have to wait. The first round of potentiation, you get “better wifi.” but not all of them. Some are still “bad” So wait an hour, let them “be construction workers,” and then the synapses will undergo potentiation. What’s most beneficial to do during a “break?” What’s the best way to “shift” a sleep schedule without manhandling your circadian rhythm? Do the practices and breaks have to be short? Could you study for an hour, then have a break, then an hour to study, as opposed to 15 minutes/15/15? And does the length of time of breaks or practicing matter? Where’s the “perfect point,” the ideal intersection, between studying and taking breaks? is it a ratio of 1/4? an eighth? 1/1? — Good sample practice schedule long term practice/practice/practice Practice/break (x3) Week off Three day practice Two week break Three day practice — What counts as practice?

Notes The more breaks you take trying to learn something, the faster you learn it and the longer you maintain it. If you space your studying out, it is maintained better and learned better) Making “breaks” a part of your study time (instead of three hours, 40/20/40/20/40/20) is significantly more effective than studying for three straight. Breaking up skills (for example, practicing the bass pattern of travis picking and THEN adding chords and THEN adding notes) is more effective than “massing” (practicing it all at once). Spaced practice transfers better to other situations as it takes the skill and isolates it. Proficiency is more likely via spaced practice and is reached sooner. Long term potentiation: the synapse gets “stronger” and neurons can communicate better (better wifi) When giving electrical signals to synapses to trigger potentiation, giving two in a short period gives the same amount of potentiation; when waiting (one and one an hour away) increases it. The electrical stimulation is simulating learning. Long term breaks (days, weeks), allow your brain to fully absorb your practice, and reviewing during one of these can help. The more complex the task, the more spaced out (days/weeks) Break too short, reconstruction can’t happen. Break too long, you forget. There’s more of a penalty for taking too short breaks. Expanding schedules are best unless the subject is time-dependent. three times a day is enough If you can play it well, don’t practice for a few days. The key to frustration is often stepping away. Increase the days off between practices as you get better at a piece.

Summary