Peak Performance for Musicians
Overcome Music Performance Anxiety with Mental Game Strategies
Musicians often live (and perform) in constant awareness of how they are being perceived by peers, teachers, audiences, and judging panels. Let's face it, our whole society is built on getting ahead, striving to succeed, and BEING THE BEST! There is nothing wrong with the striving thing. It is a good thing to want to be your very best. Where this kind of focus derails your performing is … [Read more...]
Oh, ok! Did you know that your confidence IS up to you and nobody else. The number one mistake many musicians make with confidence is that they do not take full responsibility for their confidence on performance, competition, or audition day. Take a moment to think about it. . . Do you have to wait until you warm up to see if it is going to be a good day? Do you have to wait until you … [Read more...]
Q: How do I not let my nerves get to me? If I feel nervous, I don’t think I can perform well and if I don't feel nervous, then I think my performance would go as I practice, but it doesn’t. What can I do? A: This is an interesting question that came in as a result of our survey on the use of mental skills. If you haven't taken the survey and would like to, it will only take a few … [Read more...]
In Lies of Perfectionism, Part 1 we examined several misconceptions perfectionists have and the stories perfectionists keep telling themselves. If you feel like what you accomplish is never going to be good enough, or you often procrastinate engaging in important tasks like practicing or preparing for events, or you feel you must impress others or you set standards that are impossible to … [Read more...]
Many of you may have seen the recent psychological thriller, The Black Swan. In this fictional portrayal of perfectionism, Nina, a promising ballerina, pushes herself beyond the bounds of her mental and physical health to be perfect. It is very tiring, discouraging, and often destructive to continually attempt to impress others, avoid making mistakes, and perform perfectly all the time. … [Read more...]
As youngsters we are in the habit of being creatively engaged. This is the experience of play. Dr. Stuart Brown, the author of Play: How It Shapes the Brain, Opens the Imagination, and Invigorates the Soul, explains that “when we play, we are open to possibility and the sparks of new insight and thought.” This sounds very much like the definition of mindfulness. Leading expert on … [Read more...]
Musicians and performers, in general, spend hours, months, and years of their lives diligently working on technique and skills that are necessary for success in performance. We spend much more of our time practicing than we ever will performing on stage. Because of this we get really good at practicing—monitoring ourselves for correctness, at self-coaching, and at analyzing cause and … [Read more...]
In the competitive world of music, performers often feel the need to impress friends, family, other performers, colleagues, judges, and audiences. If you want to be a successful performer, trying hard and caring about pleasing others seems like a good idea. However, performers who care too much about what others think often struggle with a need to be accepted, respected, or liked by others. … [Read more...]
Many of the singers I work with perform frequently in opera and musical theater. In these performances, their confidence soars and they perform with ease. These singers perform a little less frequently in recital or in concert. In these performances, some singers experience performance anxiety and experience varying confidence levels. In auditions and competitions, however, performers … [Read more...]
Confidence—strong belief in our abilities—is something that performing musicians either have or crave. Confidence is a key mental skill in the performer’s arsenal. Performers need confidence to combat music performance anxiety and achieve peak performances. Confidence can come from a variety of sources including past practices or rehearsals and immediate past performances, but … [Read more...]