Does your technique ever fail under pressure?

If you’re like most musicians, you’ve had the experience of doing all the right things at home, feeling secure in what you’ve practiced… and then having it all fall apart onstage. ??

For some strange reason, even though you’ve practiced hard and you sounded great at home, when you’re under the spotlight, everything feels different.

?You start to make unexpected mistakes you’ve never made before.

? You doubt yourself and carefully hold back from expressing yourself freely…and nothing sounds exactly the way you intended.

☔️ Your intonation is wonky, you mistrust your memory, your bow shakes, and nothing feels quite right.

In reality, it’s probably not that bad… but it SEEMS horrific when your body isn’t cooperating and your fingers aren’t behaving the way you trained them.

No matter what you do, your technique is inconsistent and it’s SO frustrating to do all that work – hours of daily practice over weeks, months, years…. and still feel like you’re coming up short when it matters most, unable to share your best performance with your audience.

So what do you do?

You assume you just didn’t practice enough or well enough… so you go back to the practice room, double down, and work harder and longer for next time.

You have a suspicion that your mindset – your over-thinking, scattered, self-critical, anxious, or negative thoughts – isn’t helping much, either.

So, in addition to practicing harder, you try meditation, relaxation techniques, breathing and stretching exercises, research articles by other musicians… or even see a therapist.

The problem is… the next concert comes around, and your technique is STILL unreliable, and you STILL don’t feel free to let go and be fully yourself, taking wild and joyous risks onstage like you do at home, and everything falls flat…again. ?

WHY?!?!
? Here’s why. ?

? Because you aren’t practicing the way you want to be performing. ?

Look… What you focus on, you get more of. What you practice repeatedly, you get better at.

With every repetition, your neurons wire and fire together to make stronger connections, building up neural pathways for swifter and easier access every time you want to call upon a skill. That’s how we learn.

So, if you want to learn how to play with consistent technique that is utterly reliable, regardless of your situation, then you need to practice being who you truly want to be under pressure: a musician who is ready for anything.

You need to become an artist who embodies:

? Confidence, creativity, openness, gracefulness, and responsiveness

? Presence, with astute awareness of what’s happening, without pushing ahead or getting stuck in the past

? Excellent mental control, so that you’re entirely focused on the music in the moment

? Flexibility and relaxed mobility of the body, able to play free of excess tension

? Excellent coordination and integration of mind, body, and spirit with your artistry

? Ability to let your emotions and energy flow freely and spontaneously from the heart.

So, when the conductor races ahead at an ungodly, unrehearsed speed, you’re ready to shift gears and follow without a blink of an eye.

Or, if two audience members in the first row keep whispering, another one keeps coughing, and there’s a critic you recognize sitting there frowning… you aren’t phased for a moment. ?

*** Are you practicing being this calm, confident person as much as possible?

*** Are you practicing this every single time you pick up your instrument and throughout every practice session?

If not, then you’re likely rehearsing and getting better at:

* Over-focusing on what’s wrong and developing a narrow, critical vision that doesn’t accurately represent what’s going on inside you and isn’t objective about the sound you’re producing ?

* Letting scattered thoughts distract you so that you’re prone to react negatively and impulsively when things don’t go the way you want ?

* Disconnecting from your body and making music with too much stiffness, lack of flow, and blocked emotions. ☃️

What you need is a holistic approach to practicing that truly prepares every aspect of who you are and how you want to be performing – far beyond the notes, phrases, or what you’re doing with your arms, hands and fingers.

I teach my coaching clients a foolproof system to:

? practice more intelligently with or without your instrument, and how to bring that relaxed ease to every aspect of your life…

? so you can get much MORE done, in much LESS time, with more meaning, purpose and JOY…

? so your best performance is always on call, with consistent technique and heart-felt expression, adaptable and ready for anything, unaffected by inner or outer circumstances.

The Art of Freedom® Method for conscious living and masterful artistry teaches you how to integrate the 5 Life-Pillars: Purpose, Mind, Body, Spirit, and Artistry, so that you can enjoy consistent success, instead of leaving your best performances behind closed doors.

If you want to learn more about exactly how you can learn to play with consistent technique and musical freedom, message me and ask me how you can start learning The Art of Freedom® for yourself! Just contact me through messenger or send me an email to Jennifer@ArtofFreedom.me and I’ll get right back to you with more information. 🙂 ?

With Love & Enthusiasm,
Jennifer

p.s. Curious about this month’s special offer for new coaching clients? Make sure to comment below or send me an email to Jennifer@ArtofFreedom.me!