When I tell people I’m interested in sport psychology for musicians, I sometimes get asked, “What’s the biggest thing you’ve learned from it?” I usually can’t help but give them a two-part answer. There’s the biggest thing I’ve learned for myself, but there’s also a big misconception I've found among friends and colleagues. I’ll start with the misconception. Many musicians with whom I’ve talked to about sport psychology have made the assumption that, if I’m studying the topic of sport/performance psychology, I’m obviously specifically interested in performance anxiety. The big misconception is not realizing that performance psychology covers a large array of topics which all essentially deal with how to do something very well under pressure. Sport psychology is not confined to “the study of performance anxiety.”
This is an understandable misconception, though. Many musicians start looking into performance psychology because of problems with performance anxiety. There are also several musician-authors who have written on the subject, and their books deal largely with the topic of performance anxiety. (Check out “The Inner Game of Music,” “A Soprano on Her Head,” and “Playing Scared,” for some good examples.) But the topic of sport psychology covers a wider array of subjects than some may assume. Confidence, goal-setting, interpersonal relationships, visualization, and so many other elements fit under the umbrella. It’s not only about getting rid of your nerves. It’s really about using your brain to successfully perform a complicated task under pressure. This means that we’re talking about how to prepare, to learn, to build confidence, to relax, to engage, and to live a balanced life. This brings me to my next point, the biggest thing I’ve learned from this research. All of these sport psychology subjects can be seen embodied in excellent musicians everywhere. When reading, I would come across a chapter on visualization and couldn’t help but think of a professor I know who is an absolute guru in dealing with visualization for performances. I’d get to the next chapter, “Goal-Setting” and think, “This is exactly what Professor So-and-So does to prepare her students for auditions.” Confidence through self-talk: the main theme of a masterclass from a visiting violinist. Distraction control: the subject of conversation after a colleague managed to focus through the Tchaikovsky violin concerto after a stage light fell and crashed behind the piano. It didn’t take me long to realize that everything I was learning from this sport psychology investigation could be enhanced by filtering it through the lens of excellent musicians I have met in my life. I was studying how to do something really well under pressure, and excellent musicians, (along with excellent surgeons, first responders, fighter pilots, and point guards) have mastered this art in some way. So, the two part answer goes like this. Part one, sport psychology is more than getting over your nerves; it’s generically about performing a task well under pressure. Part two, many of our musical mentors are indeed experts at doing their task under pressure. This means that the research of sport psychology must be applied to musicians with a sense of respect for the mastery of the subject already present in musicians. However, respect always works best when mutually practiced. Even though musicians are practiced in their mental games, there is always more to learn. So, sport psychology for musicians is more than calming your nerves, and it’s certainly more than copying and pasting a sport psychology textbook into a musician’s blank brain. It’s about using research and practical insight to become better musicians and more balanced people. That, to me, is the biggest thing or two that I’ve learned. Thanks for reading! -Mark
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