Confidence for Musicians | Peak Performance for Musicians - Part 5 Confidence for Musicians | Peak Performance for Musicians - Part 5

I’m Practicing, So What’s Missing?

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...]

Your Chatter Matters!

Words can be wonderful things.  Think of Shakespeare, Goethe, Whitman, the Beatles, Tori Amos, Lady Gaga, and YOU.  Words help us express ourselves and communicate with each other.  The words we use influence the way we think about ourselves and tell others a lot about us .   The words we use most often and the mental pictures we create can also be damaging to us and negatively impact our … [Read more...]

How Auditions Are Different–Or Are They?

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...]

Confident Musicians Don’t Hope

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...]

Confidence Conquers Music Performance Anxiety

Music performance self-confidence is an important mental skill that musicians must possess to be successful in music and life! On the flip side, self-doubt is the number one mental barrier that blocks musicians from confident, enjoyable performances. A common challenge that musicians face is the ability to perform as well as they do in practice. There is a big difference between practice … [Read more...]

Improving Self-Confidence for Musicians!

When was the last time you updated your performance resume? Likely you are in the habit of keeping your resume up to date with your most important and impressive performances listed in chronological order.  Your resume is a one-page reflection of your experience and success. When was the last time you updated your music confidence resume?  I daresay you probably don’t have a music … [Read more...]