Author: Logan Chopyk, DM

By Dr. Logan Chopyk May 25, 2026 Norman Lu has done a spectacular job researching and applying a neuroscience lens to musician’s dystonia retraining. His theory identifies the physical problem in the brain: an imbalance between excitatory neurons and inhibitory neurons in the M1 region of the brain for a given task. His solution is Read more

By Dr. Logan Chopyk Focal Task-Specific Dystonia (FTSD) is perhaps the most frustrating neurological condition a musician can face. For a trombone player, it often manifests not in the fingers, but in the embouchure or airway—a sudden, uncontrollable collapse of the throat or retraction of the tongue when trying to play. Recent research by Norman Read more

By Dr. Logan Chopyk As musicians, we often spend 90% of our time focusing on how to play—the fingerings, the breath control, the technique. But if you want to move from simply “reading” music to truly “speaking” it, you need to understand the language itself. Many students avoid music theory because they think it’s just Read more

By Dr. Logan Chopyk In my years of teaching, I’ve noticed a beautiful trend among many of my autistic piano students: they absolutely thrive on the visual elements of music education. Programs like the Yamaha Music Education System (specifically their Primary Series) do an excellent job of this, providing play-along audio and video tracks that allow the Read more

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