Performance Psychology

If you’ve got great chops but performance anxiety drags you down on the performance, here you’ll find suggestions for developing a healthy relationship with trumpet playing, performing and improving your musicianship.

Two Tips (for Staying Sane in The Practice Room) From Trumpet Legend Charley Davis

December 23, 2021 / 4 Comments / Performance Psychology, Playing Tips / Videos / By

[Wednesday, 1:07 PM,
November 24, 2021]

Hello my trumpet playing friends,

  I hope this message finds you well, and you’re hittin’ all the right notes this holiday season!

  Now, in the spirit of practice room motivation, here are two simple tips that you can use during your daily shedding. They come from one of the all-time greats, L.A. studio legend Charles Davis. Both are easy to apply and obscenely helpful. …

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You Are Musically Talented – Stop Trying So Hard (Free “Play Trumpet Effortlessly” Video Course Attached)

April 1, 2021 / Performance Psychology / By

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Why does playing music come so easily to some, while others struggle to make positive changes to their playing?

Is it really that some just “have it,” while others (most) don’t?

The point of this article is to suggest that we are all capable of playing music on a masterful, inspired level, and that those people who seem to make effortless progress throughout their musical lives simply know how to stay out of their own way. …

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How to Play More Confidently on Gigs / Dealing with Nerves

November 7, 2021 / Leave a Comment / Performance Psychology / By

Many of us are familiar with the feeling of getting nervous both during, and before an upcoming performance. This can start as soon as we get the call, and what would otherwise be a very good thing, becomes a source of agony.

Long before the show begins, we start getting self-conscious as to how we’ll sound. When we start playing, our hands get all sweaty, and our heart starts pumping. Maybe we crack a note right off the bat. Then another a few bars later. Soon we’re freaking out. Excess tension grips the body, and in an ill-fated attempt to compensate, we start pushing. Of course, this doesn’t work for long, and soon we’ve completely run out of gas…with half a show to go.

We’ve all been there, and it blows.

However, it doesn’t have to be this way. So let’s learn how to let some of that worrying go, better enjoy the moment, and play our butts off. …

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