Mental skills are the skills that can help you to control inner processes. In my practice ‘Coaching for musicians’ I provide you with tools to train these skills. Examples of these skills are:
Concentration / focus
To play with inspiration you must be able to concentrate. One moment you’re distracted more than the next. Good concentration enables you to control your attention for a longer period of time. But what, actually, is attention? And what happens to your attention when you’re tense? Insight into attention processes and practice make it possible for you to improve your concentration/focus.
Skills to regulate your tension
Letting someone else hear you play causes tension. This tension can contribute to a good performance, but it can also disrupt your playing. The ideal amount of tension varies not only with the individual, but also with the instrument. A percussionist, for example, can perform under greater physical tension than a violinist. Do you know what the optimum amount of tension is for you? With exercises in tension regulation you can come closer and closer to your optimum tension level. Only at your optimum tension level can you play with inspiration and in flow. It can also be important to know where your tensions come from and to examine what your deeper motives are for being on stage.
Self-talk
Self-talk is your inner voice which, often subconsciously, accompanies you throughout the day. This self-talk exerts a major influence on how you feel and what you do (or don’t do). Many musicians are bothered by an inner voice which constantly judges and condemns. The negative self-talk of condemnation often manifests itself strongly in fear of failure: it’s not good enough, I can’t do it. Or in social fear, which is also frequently in evidence on stage because you’re standing there, naked and vulnerable, in front of everyone: what does he/she think of me, he/she probably doesn’t think it any good.
There are many methods to learn to deal with this inner self-talk.
If you are aware of this inner voice, it can be a guide to detecting obstacles, and even form a compass to give you direction in tense situations.
Mindfulness skills
During moments of stress you are inclined to react automatically and unconsciously (fight or flight). By training mindfulness you raise your level of consciousness and become capable of being a jump ahead of this automatic pilot. This state of consciousness provides you with a range of possibilities for dealing with stress situations. Mindfulness means ‘being alert and open from one moment to the next’. Seven basic tenets have a part to play in the development of mindfulness skills, including not judging, confidence, acceptance and beginning without end.
Goalsetting skills
The score is ready, but you can’t get round to beginning. You have a problem with procrastination.
Or you practise yourself silly so that the inspiration disappears, and you have trained not only the technique of a difficult run but also the physical tension. Good preparation is essential in order for you to be able to peak when necessary. By specifying three different types of goals you can give yourself the energy and the good focus to optimize your playing.
Expression skills
Emotions and feelings have a major part to play in music-making; music is the language of the heart. In sport psychology, Hanin has done a great deal of research into the influence of emotions on optimal performance. Using Hanin’s Individual Zone of Optimal Functioning (IZOF) model enables us to pinpoint what emotions, and in what intensity, contribute to the freedom and expression in your playing. In addition, you can implement a number of visualization techniques to enhance your expression.
Audition skills
The techniques required to give an audition are different from those needed for a concert. You have a few minutes at your disposal to show what you can do. How to peak at exactly the right moment is something you can learn. If you’re going to do an audition, you will of course want to win the place for which you’re auditioning. Competition has a part to play, and you have something to win or lose. In addition to training techniques to enable you to perform optimally, therefore, it is important to increase your mental fitness and to know how to build up your self-confidence.
Ensemble skills
From the first moment that musicians play together, a dynamic process comes into being. A group process passes through various stages. The stages can affect your play. Are you conscious of your part in playing together? Questions relating to leadership and the development of a close team can also arise.
For more information about this, please contact me.