Author: Logan Chopyk, DM

By Dr. Logan Chopyk I first heard about anchor tonguing at UCLA in 2006 from a fellow student trumpet player. At the time, I hadn’t thought much about how I played the trombone at all. I figured I just needed to put in the hours in the practice room, and I would inevitably improve. However, Read more

By Dr. Logan Chopyk | SpectrumSoundStudio.com In the studio, when I am working with a player navigating focal dystonia—or even a healthy player struggling with upper register tension—there is a highly predictable moment where things go off the rails. It almost always happens right before the note speaks. It is precipitated by a tense, “over-breathing” Read more

By Dr. Logan Chopyk Recently, I started teaching a new piano student who happens to be blind and on the autism spectrum. He is, without exaggeration, one of the most inherently musical people I have ever met. The moment his fingers touch the keys, he instantly starts jamming. It’s inspiring to watch, but it also Read more

By Dr. Logan Chopyk Teaching music is one of the greatest honors of my life. There is no feeling quite like guiding a student toward a breakthrough and watching them achieve something they once thought impossible. Recently, several of my students reached incredible milestones. These moments aren’t just sudden flashes of success; they are the Read more

By Dr. Logan Chopyk I prepared a masterclass on the physics of brass instruments this week for Slide School. However, I made sure to include a strong warning at the very beginning of my presentation: While technical information can be incredibly helpful, it must be integrated within the extremely complex and delicate art of teaching. Read more

Mapping the Invisible Mechanics of Brass Playing By Dr. Logan Chopyk As a teacher and researcher, I see many students struggling with misconceptions that actively block their progress. They are trying to “do” things that physical laws tell us are impossible. The traditional instruction we’ve inherited is often disconnected from the physical reality of our Read more

How To Use Distracted Practicing By Dr. Logan Chopyk Many greats like Nathan Zgonc, Brian Hecht, and Aaron McCalla have been watching TV or listening to music while practicing for years to great effect. At first glance, this flies in the face of the popular music education dogma surrounding the “10,000 hours of deliberate practice.” Read more

By Dr. Logan Chopyk I specialize in teaching music to autistic individuals. Over the years, I’ve found that a vast majority of the most effective strategies I use didn’t come from a standard music education curriculum. Instead, they came from a vastly different realm: coaching musicians retraining from Focal Dystonia. Many of the insights gained Read more

By Dr. Logan Chopyk I was honored to spend all day yesterday coaching a local middle school band program’s low brass players. Working with these students is always a rewarding experience, but it also highlighted a trend that I think is fairly universal for players of this age and experience level: the tendency to play softly Read more

By Dr. Logan Chopyk, DM As a music educator, one of my primary goals is to foster independence in my students. Whether I am working with an advanced brass player preparing for an audition or guiding a neurodivergent student through adaptive piano lessons, the time spent in the studio is only a fraction of the Read more

By Dr. Logan Chopyk If you spend enough time in any faculty breakroom, you will inevitably hear a familiar chorus of complaints. “Why can’t they be more mature?” “Why don’t they just get this?” “They should be further along by now.” As educators, we all need a safe space to decompress and vent, and the day-to-day challenges Read more

Is Multi-instrumentalist Jacob Collier the Ultimate Musical Role Model? When Jacob Collier released In My Room in 2016, the music world didn’t just witness a new artist; it witnessed a case study in extreme multi-instrumentalism. Performing, singing, and producing every note from his childhood bedroom, Collier became the poster child for a “total” musicality. But Read more

Part 3: Righting the Ship – Protocols for Neuro-Metabolic Recovery By Dr. Logan Chopyk In Part 2, we confronted a difficult reality: the “burnout” and performance anxiety plaguing so many musicians are not character flaws. They are physiological injuries. We looked at how the Cell Danger Response (CDR) hijacks your mitochondria, how protective bracing locks Read more

By Dr. Logan Chopyk In the world of music, we often romanticize the “solitary genius”—the composer alone in a room with a quill or the virtuoso practicing twelve hours a day in a windowless basement. While solo discipline is the foundation of our craft, it is rarely the ceiling. Throughout my career as a performer Read more

By Dr. Logan Chopyk In Part 1, we explored the external systemic dangers of the music world, from high-conflict personalities to the crushing weight of institutional hierarchy. We identified the source of the threat. Now, we must look at the target: your mind and body. When a musician says they are “burned out” or “losing Read more

Protecting Your Gift Part 1: Systemic Trauma of the Musical Path By Logan Chopyk, DM A career in music can be one of the most rewarding paths one can take. It generates interesting people who are worth knowing and whose values are sorely needed in today’s world. However, while we often talk about music as Read more

In Soviet Russia, You No Play Note. Note Plays You. By Dr. Logan Chopyk I recently had an interaction with a new student that highlights a trap even advanced players fall into. This student, highly analytical by nature, had spent hours in front of a mirror attempting to “set” their trombone embouchure perfectly before ever playing a Read more

Ghost Tones for Rebalancing Hesitation by Dr. Logan Chopyk I was a guest artist this week at Slide School, and I was asked how to resolve hesitations when starting notes. This is a very common problem trombone players run into, so I thought I would make it my blog topic for the week. What Is Read more

Practice Room Frustration Is Useful Feedback I remember when my brother, a French horn player, would get into terrible bouts of frustration and anger while practicing in high school. At one point he even wrinkled his bell by punching it. Frustration is something we need to listen to. It’s important feedback. Most often, frustration shows Read more

Practice Tip for Trombonists: Subtract, Don’t Add by Dr. Logan Chopyk — Spectrum Sound Studio In complex movement tasks—whether in golf, athletics, or especially instrumental music—technical problems rarely come from doing too little. More often, we’re simply doing too much. When we remove unnecessary tension and interference, our body’s natural coordination takes over, and movements Read more