You’ve practiced the music, you KNOW you can play it, so why do you keep making the same mistake over and over again?
We’ve all been there, and I actually had it happen to me last weekend. There I was, standing in front of 700 people, ready to play the same seven notes I had played at least a hundred times, and all I hear in my head is, “You’re going to mess up! You ALWAYS forget this trumpet call! Omg what happens if sound and lighting misses their cue again? Remember how bad you sounded? This call is cursed!” Then, the spotlight turns on and I blew chunks on every one of those seven notes. I was so upset with myself! It’s literally so easy! How could I mess up?
I had set myself up for a mental block. Thanks to a long chain of coincidences about that trumpet call, I had my mind set that that particular call was going to be messed up all the time. So what did I do? Freak out and make mistakes. Self fulfilling prophecy! I had 2 more shows that day, so I had to figure out what was going on and fix it fast. I took some time to figure out what was going on and how I could solve it.
This is a super common issue that I know a lot of musicians have dealt with, so you’re not alone. So in honor of those seven notes I bombed, here are 7 Ways For Musicians To Overcome Mental Performance Blocks !
- Let it go– Realize that sometimes things just happen! Don’t dwell on it and create a bigger issue that you obsess over and make it worse. Don’t over analyze what happened, accept that it was a mistake and look to find solutions without beating yourself up. It happens to everyone.
- Focus– For me, my biggest issue is losing focus. Maybe you’ve had a long day and you are exhausted, maybe you are distracted by rowdy audience members, maybe you were just daydreaming and forgot what you were doing (Me 90% of the time)! Either way, focusing is something that we as musicians need to practice just as much as our technical exercises. Focus is a verb, and it is an active choice that we make on accomplishing our musical tasks.
- Practice– Many times I make consistent mistakes it’s because I haven’t practiced enough. My favorite quote that one of my professors used to tell me was that “professionals don’t practice until they can play it right, they practice until they can’t get it wrong.” That is the level of musicianship that we need to strive for, there is no “good enough” in music. Talking to a teacher of your instrument can help you address some of the common technical issues that you may be facing, so always reach out for lessons! For me, I found that slow practice is always the best remedy for consistent mistakes. Practice, Practice, Practice!
- Get rid of those negative thoughts!– In my example above, you can see how I psyched myself out! It wasn’t that I hadn’t practiced, I mean the music was memorized! I was definitely focused, but I was focused on the negative voices in my head. Whenever you catch yourself thinking too much about how to play the music, and focusing less on making music, you will set yourself up for mistakes. This is SO COMMON! “Uh-oh, here comes the fast part! I hope I don’t mess up!” “This high not is so high, I only hit it twice, I don’t know if I can do it today!” “Oh man, I always mess up here!” How many times have you thought negative thoughts and then played through the music without making a mistake? Maybe once, probably never. And then when you congratulate yourself for making it, you mess up right after! Again, this lends itself perfectly to focusing. Get rid of those negative thoughts and focus on the task you need to do!
- Practice through mistakes– When you practice, do you stop when you make a mistake? STOP DOING THAT. All you do is reinforce that mistake and never solve it. When you have to perform, can you stop the whole ensemble and say, “Sorry, let me do it again!” NO. So when you blow chucks, keep going. If you mess up 12 more measures and just hit the cadence, fine. Now you can look back and find the root cause of your issue and try new solutions and eventually figure out why you keep making that mistake.
- People didn’t come to hear you suck– Harsh? Yes. True? Yes. I thank high school sophomore me for this lovely adage. It was our Spring Concert, and I had aced a really hard solo and received high marks for our solo competition, so my band director wanted me to play it by myself in front of all the students and parents. My accompanist couldn’t make it and I was nervous! So, I told myself that no one came here to hear me suck, so I better do a good job. I still say this to myself when I have a high pressure gig or audition!
- Mind over matter!- You’ve practiced until you can’t make a mistake, you know the music, but you are still doubting yourself. *Tire Squeal* Hold up- stop right there! Don’t make room for any negative thoughts to start taking over. If we can self prophesize ourselves into making mistakes, why can’t we positive think our way out of this? Good news, you can! Next time you hear those nasty thoughts that make you doubt yourself, replace them with good thoughts. “I have practiced hard and I KNOW this music” “I am a great player and I’m going to nail this!” “This music is easy and fun to play!” These are a few that I tell myself. So think of three things to tell yourself about your musicianship that you can repeat in your head the next time you start to psych yourself out. You need to FOCUS on ridding those negative thoughts and replacing them with positive ones, and you need to PRACTICE saying those positive lines to yourself. You can do this! You are amazing! (See, I just gave you two to use, now think of another one!)
We will NEVER EVER perform better than we practice, and overcoming a mental block can be achieved through purposeful practice and being aware of different techniques to overcome it. Incorporate some of these steps into your next practice session so you can be ready for any high pressure performance. This isn’t the Music Man’s “Think Method”, and this isn’t an excuse to be lazy; you still have to practice positive thinking just as much as you need to practice your technical exercises. I hope that these techniques that I use can be of help to you! What methods do you use to overcome mental blocks?