The Musician's Way : A Guide to Practice, Performance, and Wellness


Book Description

In The Musician's Way, veteran performer and educator Gerald Klickstein combines the latest research with his 30 years of professional experience to provide aspiring musicians with a roadmap to artistic excellence. Part I, Artful Practice, describes strategies to interpret and memorize compositions, fuel motivation, collaborate, and more. Part II, Fearless Performance, lifts the lid on the hidden causes of nervousness and shows how musicians can become confident performers. Part III, Lifelong Creativity, surveys tactics to prevent music-related injuries and equips musicians to tap their own innate creativity. Written in a conversational style, The Musician's Way presents an inclusive system for all instrumentalists and vocalists to advance their musical abilities and succeed as performing artists.




Performance Anxiety Strategies


Book Description

Music performance anxiety has long frustrated the artistic community and, while tricks and folk remedies abound, a comprehensive plan to solve this problem has remained elusive. Accomplished violinist Casey McGrath combines her experiences with the research of Karin S. Hendricks and Tawnya D. Smith to provide a resource guide to the most current solutions and therapies, as well as educational applications, for both individual and classroom use. Divided by area of therapeutic interest, Performance Anxiety Strategies presents relevant and noteworthy research and insight into some of the most popular and many lesser-known therapies—including holistic, exposure, cognitive, behavioral, and medicinal treatments. Each chapter also features self-guided activities and exercises, words of wisdom from established performing artists and athletes, and suggestions for music teachers, as well as first-person narratives about the authors’ personal journeys with music performance anxiety both onstage and in the classroom. Including a wealth of offerings and approaches, this book is an invaluable resource for anyone who has ever experienced performance anxiety, from the aspiring classical musician to the garage band guitarist.




Performance Anxiety


Book Description




Performance Anxiety


Book Description

Actors and musicians call it "stage fright". Others may know it as "butterflies". No matter what you call it, the symptoms of performance anxiety are the same: a paralyzing sense of fear and dread whenever you have to speak or perform before a group of any size. Now Dr. Eric Maisel, a renowned author, psychotherapist, and creativity coach shows readers how to approach presentations calmly and comfortably, without sweaty palms and a pounding heart. It doesn't matter whether you work in the classroom, the boardroom, a theater or concert hall, Performance anxiety will help you: Recognize performance anxiety; Identify irrational fears that contribute to performance anxiety; Handle criticism; Use breathing and centering techniques ti improve focus; Utilize diets, medication, relaxation techniques and guided visualization to combat anxiety; Acquire long-term anxiety management techniques. [Ed.]




The Psychology of Music Performance Anxiety


Book Description

Why are some performers exhilarated and energized about performing in public, while others feel a crushing sense of fear and dread, and experience public performance as an overwhelming challenge that must be endured? These are the questions addressed in this book, the first rigorous exposition of this complex phenomenon.




Overcoming Performance Anxiety


Book Description

The fear of doing badly can prevent us from achieving our goals, doing well in our careers or simply enjoying life. Performance anxiety is caused by the demands we make on ourselves and others, and nearly all of us suffer from it to some degree. "Overcoming Performance Anxiety" provides a proven, effective self-help program that is accessible to all. The authors provide a series of simple exercises to help change thought and behaviour patterns, which will allow you to perform with a sense of confidence and pleasure, no matter what the challenge. This book is essential for all those who suffer from performance anxiety and is also of great value for those who feel nervous in public situations. -- From publisher's description.




The Performer's Companion


Book Description

The Performer's Companion provides musicians with tools and strategies for conquering performance anxiety. Bringing a wealth of experience in performance anxiety coaching to bear on the subject, Stohrer has written an essential text for both instrumentalists and singers, giving up-to-date information. The book approaches building performance confidence and overcoming stage fright from many angles: physical preparation, mental strategies, nurturing the artist within, optimum practicing, backstage tips and the benefit of body work, especially the Alexander Technique. Written in an intimate, conversational style, the book combines information and recommendations with gentle humor and encouragement. As a singer who has gone from paralyzing stage fright to helping others break free, Stohrer has unique insights into the process and plenty of practical solutions to offer.




Panic Attacks Workbook: Second Edition


Book Description

Master your anxiety and regain your freedom to drive, travel, and do everything else that panic has taken from you, with proven techniques and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) exercises. Panic attacks trick millions of people into fearing disaster and giving up so many of the activities they used to enjoy without fear. This practical workbook full of proven strategies and helpful advice on how to master your anxiety and panic is here to help you reclaim your life. Author and clinical psychologist David Carbonell, PhD, uses his extensive clinical experience to help you understand the true nature of your panic attacks, including the vicious cycle of habitual responses that lead to debilitating attacks, how you can halt this self-destructive process, and the many ways you can start on a step-by-step journey that promotes recovery. Inside you’ll find helpful methods from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) that will help you regain the life you want to live, including: Diaphragmatic breathing Progressive exposure Desensitization Mindfulness meditation Keeping a panic diary Quieting the voice of anticipatory worry Stepping out of the struggle with panic And much more! Now you can regain all of the freedoms you enjoyed before panic invaded your life with the research-backed charts, worksheets, and programs featured in Panic Attacks Workbook.




This Is Your Brain on Sports


Book Description

"THIS IS YOUR BRAIN ON SPORTS is a must read for anyone involved in or simply interested in sports. It tells the real story of what I went through and how countless athletes of all levels are still going through now.....unnecessarily. When no one else could, they helped me to recognize how my throwing problems came directly from sports traumas that were stuck in my brain. And then Grand and Goldberg had the knowhow to release it with the miracle of Brainspotting." Mackey Sasser Former catcher for NY Mets "THIS IS YOUR BRAIN ON SPORTS is a MUST READ for athletes, their parents and coaches, as well as for all psychotherapists and performance experts. In case you didn't know it, THE YIPS has a clearly explainable relationship to past trauma. All one has to do is take a detailed history of the life of an athlete from his/her earliest childhood, relate that to his/her history of physical injuries and throw in a dollop of shame and criticism from parents and coaches and the reason for the yips emerges with crystal clarity. These facts are clearly illustrated in this compelling, fascinating and ground-breaking book by Drs. Grand and Goldberg. Brain-based principles of body-based memory, neurosensitization and cue-related anxiety from the trauma literature clearly prove that the yips come from post-traumatic stress syndrome. And Brainspotting has shown to be dramatically effective in mitigating, and even healing, this vexing syndrome." Robert Scaer, MD Author of THE BODY BEARS THE BURDEN and THE TRAUMA SPECTRUM THIS IS YOUR BRAIN ON SPORTS: Beating Blocks, Slumps and Performance Anxiety for Good is the ground-breaking book that will change the face of sports performance forever. This book introduces the breakthrough concept of STSD (Sport Traumatic Stress Disorder). Grand and Goldberg have discovered that STSDs are the cause of most significant performance problems. Performance blocks and anxiety, including the yips, stem from accumulated sports traumas including sports injuries, failures and humiliations. The authors also introduce the Brainspotting Sports Performance System (BSPS) which quickly finds, releases and resolves the sports traumas held in your brain and body. An easy read, THIS IS YOUR BRAIN ON SPORTS is filled with engaging, informative, inspiring stories. These case examples illustrate how professional, elite, collegiate and junior athletes have been freed for good from this silent "epidemic" of performance blocks and anxiety including: the yips, "Steve Blass disease," "Mackey Sasser syndrome," protracted slumps, balking, choking and freezing. THIS IS YOUR BRAIN ON SPORTS provides the answers and the cure for athletes, their coaches and parents about "Beating Blocks, Slumps and Performance Anxiety for Good " Grand and Goldberg also show how their BSPS can take all athletes to levels they could only heretofore dream of www.thisisyourbrainonsports.com




Managing Stage Fright


Book Description

Why is it that well-prepared, talented, hardworking, and intelligent performers find their performance and self-esteem undermined by the fear of memory slips, technique failures, and public humiliation? In Managing Stage Fright: A Guide for Musicians and Music Teachers, author Julie Jaffee Nagel unravels these mysteries, taking the reader on an intensive backstage tour of the anxious performer's emotions to explain why stage fright happens and what performers can do to increase their comfort in the glare of the spotlight. Examining the topic from her interdisciplinary educational, theoretical, clinical, and personal perspectives, Nagel uses the music teacher/student relationship as a model for understanding the performance anxiety that affects musicians and non-musicians alike. Shedding new light on how the performer's emotional life is connected to every other facet of their life, Managing Stage Fright encourages a deeper understanding of anxiety when performing. The guide offers strategies for achieving performance confidence, emphasizing the relevance of mental health in teaching and performing. Through the practices of self-awareness outlined in the book, Nagel demonstrates that it is possible and desirable for teachers to assist students in developing the coping skills and attitudes that will allow them to not feel overwhelmed and powerless when they experience strong anxiety. Each chapter contains insights that help teachers recognize the symptoms-obvious, subtle, and puzzling-of the emotional grip of stage fright, while offering practical guidelines that empower teachers to empower their students. The psychological concepts offered, when added to pedagogical techniques, are invaluable in music performance and in a variety of life situations since, after all, music lessons are life lessons.