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Interested in learning more about becoming a better musician? Here's a brief overview on my philosophy:

Thoughts on improving as a musician

There's no question that being a great musician takes a lot of hard work, dedication, and patience. But when preparing for a performance (i.e. concert, competition, recital, audition, etc.), how can we be so sure that the hard work that we do in the practice room will result in a great performance, regardless of the amount of time that we put in perfecting our craft? Though there are many answers to this question, I believe that what will help set us up for success the most is how we build good habits when we practice. Becoming a better musician is nothing more than the culmination of the good habits that we build when we practice. Anytime we play the instrument, we our building a habit. It is up to you as the player to determine whether you are striving to build a good habit, or start to form bad habit.

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Over the course of my development as a musician, there were many times that I found myself frustrated because I was not able to replicate the work I did in the practice room. I was not getting the sound I was looking for, or I didn't shape a phrase exactly the way I wanted to, and so on. It has taken many years of recording and thoroughly evaluating what I hear for me to refine how I have wanted to express myself as a musician. All of that hard work comes down to the sounds that we make on the instrument at any given moment, whether it is the first notes of the day, playing in an ensemble, or even when playing for our friends. We must be disciplined enough to know that if we play something with bad technique or miss a few notes, that we must go back and and be diligent about playing with good habits again so that any bad habit doesn't proliferate into an even bigger issue.

Nervous when performing?

The house lights dim, the stage lights get brighter, and there you are. You're dressed up in nice clothes about to perform for an audience when all of a sudden, everything changes. Your thoughts start to rush around through your head while second guess how well you're about to play, your mouth becomes as dry as sandpaper, you start to sweat profusely as you are start to shake as you are about to play your first note and everything seems to go downhill from there.

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Do these thoughts sound familiar? If so, you have come to the right place!

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Musicians often struggle with some kind of performance anxiety, myself included. That is why I decided that to do research on how non-musicians (specifically athletes) deal with the pressure of the big moment and how that can help musicians perform better. Below you will find several essays that I have written on the topic and books that I recommend looking into to help you conquer your performance anxiety.

Connections between Sports Psychology and Musical Performance Psychology

This is the research paper from my first independent study while I was attending The University of Texas at Austin. This study takes a look at what stress is and what causes it, the origins of sports psychology, and examines the work of different researchers in the field.

The Art and Science of Mental Preparation

This is the reasearch paper form my second independent study from my time at The University of Texas at Austin. This study goes into depth about two specific books: The Art of Mental Training by DC Gonzalez, and Mental Training for Peak Performance by Steven Ungerleider, PhD. These two books expand upon the theme of researching topics in sports psychology and how they can help musicians perform better when under pressure.

Books for further reading

Click on a book cover below to take you to a Goodreads preview

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