#barrygreen

This is the second part of The Inner Game of Music by Barry Green.

(continued from part 1)

Commitment  - when we have a strong commitment and a strong will, no matter what happens, nothing can take us away from our task. We have to know how the music goes as a pre-requisite: have it in our head. Secondly, we need to have the technique of how to play the music on our instrument. We should learn what we want to play in our heads and in our bodies before we play it, and then it's just a matter of doing it.

Trust - what is it that we are trusting to guide us? e.g. a tempo marking vs. the playful character of the music. Or you can trust your favourite recording of the music, i.e. imitate a role model. 

This is the first of two excellent videos on The Inner Game of Music, by musician Barry Green.

Overcoming the voice of doubt and fear while playing

To overcome the inner voice, three skills are needed:

Awareness - what's going on in the music? 

Awareness -Visual: e.g. our hands, the score, imagining pictures related to the music. All of these can take us away from the doubts and the fears.

Awareness -Sound: volume, timber, pitch and rhythm. Instead of listening to the inner voice, listen to any of these elements to increase your concentration.

Awareness -Feeling: the most powerful and useful technique for overcoming anxiety. The touch in your hands or body is one kind of feeling. Another aspect of feeling: Your feeling (e.g. excited, calm...) should match the feeling of the piece of music you're playing.

Awareness - Understanding - style, tune, harmony etc. Knowing what we're doing and paying attention to that as we perform.