Peak Performance for Musicians
Overcome Music Performance Anxiety with Mental Game Strategies
Well? Do you? Do you find yourself worrying or caring too much about what others are thinking or saying about you? Worrying or caring too much what others think about you and your performing is one of the biggest challenges that performers report facing. Anything that distracts you or causes you to doubt yourself, your skills, and your abilities as much as this kind of worry does, must be … [Read more...]
Have you had a problem performing well when you are under pressure at competitions or at auditions? Have you been so anxious before or even during a performance that it adversely affected your performing? Has your critical voice ever overpowered you with doubts and anxious thoughts? Have you ever been so concerned with what others think about your performing that you felt unable to perform … [Read more...]
Have you ever felt stuck after a less than successful performance? Why did this happen? Again! What about that audition that didn't go the way you expected? We often focus on the fact that the performance didn't go well instead of focusing on what we can change to make a difference next time. On the flip side, have you ever found it difficult to get up and going after a successful … [Read more...]
After a big performance or competition, performers can feel a little let down because what they have been striving for is completed. Rather than move right on to the next goal, why not stop and assess? After a major recital, competition, or audition is an excellent time for performers to check in with how they are doing. If you're thinking, I thought that's what the performance or … [Read more...]
I ran across a quote by Holocaust survivor, Viktor Frankl, that really spoke to me. Frankl was an Austrian neurologist and psychiatrist who spent three years in a concentration camp. When released, he chronicled his ordeal in his book, Man's Search for Meaning (1959). In this best-selling book, he concluded that even in the most absurd, painful, and dehumanized situation, life has … [Read more...]
Anyone who has seen the 50's American hit television show, I Love Lucy, has heard Ricky Ricardo say to his wife, "LUCY, you've got some splainin' to do!" Oh, how we've laughed at Lucy's wild and funny explanations. As performers, the explanations we have for our successes and setbacks may not be so wild or funny, but we have them all the same and they can and do really affect the way we … [Read more...]
Does your heart race or do your hands shake prior to an important performance? Do you get into your head and wonder what the audience or judging panel is going to think of your performance? Do you feel so nervous that your head is full of chatter that distracts you from focusing on or enjoying your performance? Do you feel confident and perform well in rehearsal and recital, but auditions … [Read more...]
Did you see the recent Associated Press article about Barbra Streisand's new album, Release Me? It seems that during the heyday of her recording career, if she made a mistake or found a single problem while recording a song, she'd toss the whole thing. Because of this perfectionism, she ended up with a whole case full of unreleased material. "If I didn't like that one word, I wouldn't … [Read more...]
As a musician you have spent, and may continue to spend, a great deal of time improving your technique and preparing to perform. There are countless nuances in your technique that you count on to reliably work well for you when you perform. We might (actually Barry Green with Timothy Gallwey of The Inner Game of Music fame might) call this your outer game. This outer game is what we … [Read more...]
What are illusions? Illusions are tricks our eyes and minds play on us. They trick us into perceiving something different from what actually exists. What we see often does not correspond with reality. The funny thing about optical illusions is that what we perceive seems very real until we view it in another light! Look at the black and white picture to the right. What do you see? … [Read more...]