- - Please visit: Legacy Horn Experience - -
For our second Brass Area of the semester the ASU brass faculty had a panel discussion, part of our Career Forward series, on the topic of “How we successfully navigate performance anxiety.” We each brought different ideas to the table, providing some broad perspectives that went well beyond the conventional wisdom.
As to myself, I had prepared notes on a few topics I wanted to get to, which I hope that Horn Matters readers might find interesting as well.
The one who executes the best is the best
This topic I wanted to mention, but actually a colleague brought it up first and covered it well. The essential thing is that you can be the “better” player, but if you execute less well than another player (who is not as strong) then, reality is, that player is actually better than you. If performance anxiety is what leads you to not execute your best, you really have to find some tactics to deal with it. The exact tactics you use will likely be different than mine, we are all wired differently. But you need to find them, it is of importance.
Something I’m a little sad about
This one is hard to explain, but I’ll try to do a short version, as I mentioned it to the brass studios also.
The series of horn lessons during my Masters study with Verne Reynolds were among the most stressful experiences of my life. While on one hand I am grateful, I learned a lot and I survived (although somewhat burnt out by the end), plus, almost nothing I experience today is as stressful as those lessons were. Orchestral auditions were certainly not as stressful, they were more of an adventure in working on great music and developing personal focus. On the other hand, I feel I lost something — from that lesson experience I simply don’t feel stress the same way as other people. Maybe that is good and was good for me. But I still would have preferred a healthier, more positive lesson experience those two years. A longer article from a few years ago on things I learned with Verne Reynolds may be found here.
I am optimistic
I have also posted about this before in Horn Matters – I’m not fearless, but I am optimistic as I approach things in life in general. In terms of horn playing, I’m optimistic if I’m warmed up nicely and I know the music! If I know I can’t play the music and my chops feel bad, I have plenty to feel anxious about. Don’t set yourself up for failure in terms of chops and knowledge of the music. More on this topic here.
Playing only to the best of my ability
Another related element is that I have long taken the approach and mindset that I am only trying to play to the best of my ability in any situation. At that point, I leave the judgements to others. When things go bad, often at issue was I was trying to impress people. Don’t try to impress anyone! Just play to the best of your ability.
Relying on the ability to do something again and again
Often you hear people say that they could play it better in the practice room. I have a more objective approach that if I can play something correctly in the practice room I can duplicate it in any other situation. But you need a clear head and mindset, mentally in the zone, etc. Essentially (and I know this sounds like terrible advice), what you want to develop is sort of a high level “autopilot” that can replicate any passage you know very well again and again. That ability is what can win the audition.
Speaking of the Inner Game and mental centering …
**See this article for more of my recent thoughts on the inner dialogue and horn playing. It was only a side point in the brass area session, but I think an interesting one.
**And see this recent article for more on mental centering and the warmup. These together can certainly reduce your performance anxiety, especially for auditions and other important performances.
A mindset based on faith
This final topic I did not get to in our Brass Area session. I have written about this several times in Horn Matters, this article being the longer one. Short version: Farkas related in The Art of Musicianship that, in so many words, as he began his career he felt inexperienced and unsure of himself. As well he could have; he had his first principal horn job before he graduated high school! He was a younger person than virtually any other member of his orchestra. But over time he realized that
It was a series of incredibly interwoven and predestined events which put me there…. Because I had been led there, certainly I could do the work assigned to me, and failure was not part of that plan.
It is a good way of thinking of things. You could have all sorts of negative thoughts when performing, feelings of imposter syndrome, etc. But actually, you can turn those thoughts toward a faith that you were led to that moment, and, because your higher power and providence guided you there, this is something you actually can do. A positive mindset based on faith. The idea won’t resonate with every reader, but I’m sure for some it does have a significant resonance.
With that I will simply repeat that there really is no one way to manage performance anxiety, we are all wired differently. I hope that my above ideas give you some new angles to consider. Good luck!
