This article was inspired by a speaker at a music education conference who complained that performances get in the way of real learning. This complaint prompted me to ask what musicians understand performance to be and why performance is not considered part of the curriculum or 'real' work of a musician. I suggest a model of performance education that addresses several lacunae in music education and finish by giving a sample of the responses of professional musicians to this kind of training, offering ways around their initial resistance that lead to genuine learning and growth.