Ever notice how mean the voice in your head can become on stage? Where it generates YouTube comment section-like levels of criticism and abuse?
Or maybe you haven’t even gotten on stage yet. But as you’re waiting your turn, you overhear the person playing right before you, who sounds amazing? And then the voice suddenly makes you question and doubt everything?
Yeah, the voice that lives in our head is not always such a good friend. But what can we do about it? How can we turn that off when it’s not helping us?
In this month’s episode, flutist Carolyn Christie explains how she overcame her own experience with “terrifying” nerves when she was a member of the Montreal Symphony, and shares other insights on practice planning, how to avoid overthinking, and staying in a more positive headspace with “clinical” self-evaluation.
Get all the nerdy details and learn how to cultivate these essential mental skills for performance:
Carolyn Christie: On Overcoming Nerves With Healthier Internal Dialogue - and Phrasing!
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Has performance anxiety been a nagging issue that tends to get in the way of your playing, no matter how prepared you feel before performances, auditions - or even lessons? Or have you just been feeling a little stuck, like you’re not making much progress in the practice room?
If you’ve been wanting to experience more joy in the practice room and play more like yourself on stage, but haven’t been quite sure how to make that happen, starting April 6, 2025, I’ll be teaching a live, online, 4-week class on the most essential mental skills and practice strategies that can make a difference in your practicing and performing.
We’ll meet once a week via Zoom and explore the relevant research in four essential areas, experiment with a curated set of exercises and techniques together as a group, and to make sure the ideas become consistent habits, I'll show you how to gently integrate these new skills into your (or your students’) daily practice through bite-sized practice challenges alongside a supportive group of practice buddies from around the world.
Registration closes Sunday, March 30, 2024.
Over 2000 musicians, educators, and students and learners of all ages have participated in the course to date. You can get all the details and learn how to join Cohort 22 at:
👉 bulletproofmusician.com/essentials