Peak Performance for Musicians
Overcome Music Performance Anxiety with Mental Game Strategies
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...]
Chances are, since you are on this website and you are reading this article, you have struggled with perfectionism or perfectionist tendencies. As you may already know, perfectionism can ruin self-confidence, cause you to get frustrated easily, and is a major source of music performance anxiety. We usually focus on the aspects of perfectionism that hold performers back, but it is important for … [Read more...]
Prior to performance do you think about the mistakes you made in your last performance or do you worry about the mistakes you might make today? Do you want to perform well so badly that you practice right up to performance day and sometimes continue to “fix” and self-coach even during the performance? After the performance, is it difficult to let go of mistakes because you keep beating … [Read more...]
Musicians who strive for successful careers enter an incredibly competitive arena in which a 10-15 minute audition can make a huge difference in their careers. Since conductors, directors, judges, and audition panels make their decisions by comparing you to other performers, it might seem natural for you to do so as well. However, when you focus on other performers and their performances or … [Read more...]