http://www.bulletproofmusician.com/how-to-become-a-more-confident-performer/
Confidence is a huge part of being a musician. It takes a lot of confidence to do what we do and to open ourselves up to other people who we know will be judging us and critiquing our work. A huge part of confidence is also what we tell ourselves as far as what we can and can't do and if we change our perspective on how we think it can change everything. There are so many ways to build confidence to make yourself a better performer. This article addresses "self talk" which I think is an interesting way to build confidence. We have kind of talked about this in class but I liked this article!
I thought the self "talk log" was interesting. I notice then when I practice and am more down on myself the practice session is less effective and leaves me in a bad mood. I don't necessarily disagree with the self criticism, but the way that you criticize your own practicing, or even the level you are at, can leave you feeling worse than before you started a practice session. I notice that the more I get angry with myself the more I rush and the more anxiety I get about getting a particular section of a piece correct. When I change the way I talk to myself in my head about my practicing to a more constructive and nicer inner voice, I find that the practicing leaves me in a better mind state and that the practice session was much more productive.
ReplyDeleteI found your article to be really helpful. I completely agree that it takes a certain level of confidence to do what we do as performers. I never thought about taking that same confidence into the practice room. I found that doing "self talk" improved my ability to focus and accomplish more.
ReplyDeleteI love this article, I think it is always important to self talk. Taking a step back and havi a conversation with your music, so to say, can have a huge impact on how practice sessions develop. Without that reflection aspect of practice, how can problems ever be solved? Also, I find the self talk concept particularly important concerning confidence building. Congratulating yourself when practicing well is a huge factor in building that confidence.
ReplyDeleteI love this article, I think it is always important to self talk. Taking a step back and havi a conversation with your music, so to say, can have a huge impact on how practice sessions develop. Without that reflection aspect of practice, how can problems ever be solved? Also, I find the self talk concept particularly important concerning confidence building. Congratulating yourself when practicing well is a huge factor in building that confidence.
ReplyDeleteI personally am my biggest fan when it comes to practicing so I believe in talking to yourself. I think of it as if I announcing my own sporting event. With crowd cheers, because when you really nail something you just have to cheer.
ReplyDeleteI really appreciated this article. I struggle a lot with confidence when it comes to playing in front of people, so any tips are greatly appreciated!
ReplyDeleteI thought this article was really interesting and never really thought about how important it is to self talk. I don't get extremely nervous when it's time for me to perform, but I tend to revert to my old habits because it's more comfortable for me, but then I get on myself about other things that I know I can do better, but didn't because of the way I performed. I self-talk to myself in my trouble spots a lot and tend to dread them when I'm rehearsing them or performing them. I feel a lot better when I'm in my lessons rather than practicing on my own because I usually will always get reassurance that I'm doing something right, therefore I know how to practice it. I'm going to try self-talking to myself more in hopes that it will help.
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