The Theoretical & The Empirical
As stated, our success in learning music is driven by how well we utilize our brain’s ability to change itself. By understanding and applying the science of neuroplasticity, then, we can significantly increase the effectiveness of our learning process.
For this reason, the science of neuroplasticity is one of the primary sources of knowledge for The Brainjo Method of instruction. With this theoretically-driven approach, we are applying scientific principles that have been discovered about the brain to enhance the learning process.
The other primary source of knowledge about how to practice and learn more effectively are the people who’ve done just that. Once you realize that learning to play music well is about how you practice, it becomes readily apparent that the experts are a treasure-trove of information – not as sources of instruction per se (experts often have a very hard time teaching people how to do what they do), but as objects of study.
Specifically, in this empirically-driven approach, we study how experts practiced, or how they developed their expertise.
By combining this theoretically and empirically-driven approach, and by paying special attention to where these areas intersect, we can build a set of maxims for how to optimize the learning process, and integrate those into a system of instruction (The Brainjo Method).