Two Recent Resources for Performance Enhancement

One thing I have observed especially in juries (performance exams) is that players who are perhaps not technically as strong as others in the studio can impress the other faculty more. On a week by week basis I have a pretty good idea of how students play. There are a few that can really walk in and play their best in the jury, and they will outshine players of greater ability who don’t play up to their ability in the pressure situation.

Back when I was taking auditions I read and re-read The Inner Game of Tennis by W. Timothy Gallwey many times. I still think this is a great, classic book, but I was recently pointed by a colleague toward two other more recent publications that I am in the process of reading and would recommend looking into.

The one I started first is The Mental ABC’s of Pitching by H. A. Dorfman. Subtitled “A Handbook for Performance Enhancement,” this book reads easily. Much of it also translates very easily to horn playing, as pitchers have to focus and produce the highest quality work in a very trying situation.

As implied by the title, the book goes through topics in alphabetical order. For an example of what is included, in the topic of balance he uses the image of a balance beam.

The trick in competition, and in life, is to stay on the balance beam. “You can fall off to either side,” I say. “One by being too aggressive, the other by being too cautious/submissive.”

A pitcher will have a tendency to fall off a particular side. I tell the pitcher that my preference is for him to be too aggressive, rather than passive. An overly aggressive pitcher will scramble right back up on the beam to try his balance again. The fellow who falls off because he’s too cautious is often reluctant to get back on the beam. Neither extreme will serve the pitcher well.

If I were to generalize about horn students in relation to this quote it would be to say that they tend toward the cautious side of the beam. It becomes a habit as it is too easy to miss notes on the horn and no one wants to lay down the giant clam. Don’t get overly aggressive but don’t be overly cautious either, cautious playing is boring playing.

The other book I am reading is Mind Gym by Gary Mack with David Casstevens. This book is “An Athlete’s Guide to Inner Excellence” and again translates very well to horn performance. A story at the beginning of this book is very much like a jury experience we see play out every year. In summer training a football place kicker was practicing. The head coach, the great Gene Stallings, was watching. The kicker shanked the ball, and Stallings walked away in disgust. Mack continues,

Once Gene was out of earshot, I drew the kicker aside. “What Happened?” I asked. This was my first season as team counselor for the NFL club [the Arizona Cardinals].

“Mack, I’m a great field goal kicker,” the player said with conviction. Then he thought of his coach and his glacial stare. He shook his head. “But I just can’t kick when Gene’s watching me.”

“Well, you know,” I said gently, unable to suppress a smile, “I think he’s going to be at all the games.”

The kicker had plenty of leg, and distance was no problem. But he had allowed himself to become self-conscious and coach-conscious rather than task-conscious. His mind was on his boss. If the player expected better results, he had to change his thought patterns. He needed to work on the mental part of his game.

Before your next performances you owe it to yourself to work on that mental part as well, and these books are a great place to start.