We are interested in how motor skills are learned and generated by the brain. We study this in two different model systems – songbird and rodent. We use the songbird because it is a well-studied and experimentally tractable model system that allow us to ask detailed questions about how neural circuits implement complex motor sequence learning. More recently, we have shifted our focus to study rodents, generalist motor learners with the capacity to master a variety of different motor tasks. We have developed a unique experimental infrastructure to address these questions, including a fully automated high-throughput training system for rodents that can be combined with continuous long-term neural and behavioral recordings. We use this together with sophisticated circuit dissection tools (optogenetics, pharmacogenetics etc), as well as functional imaging of targeted neuronal populations, to arrive at a mechanistic description of how the mammalian brain learns and executes motor skills.