How Musicians cope with a stressful life style

How Musicians cope with a stressful life style

Usually musicians are taught from the very beginning how to handle emotions and nerves in front of a public since early age. Some of them overcome such difficulties in a very easy way. Some others have to struggle to keep their cool. 

Strange but true: this has nothing to do with one’s temper. I have seen during my musical life lots of extrovert people to become very shy on stage. In the same way I have seen other shy people to become very confident while playing in front of a public.

On a general basis, to keep one’s cool can be trained. The best Conservatoires and music schools have special subjects to help musicians in order to be more productive and focused under stress such as Alexander Technique, Feldenkrais method and many others.

On one side, get it out of your mind that you are superman or superwoman either! No one is immortal to stress! This means that you have to alternate stressful periods to relaxing ones. Most of all, you have to be able to switch your brain off when it comes to remember negative thinking. In other words, one’s should know how to feed the brain with relaxing activities, to make pleasant memories more powerful than stressful ones. Once you do it in a repetitive way, the brain changes enhancing your performance.

I think this is the most beautiful gift one musician can do to one’s self. Also because it is impossible to focus hundred per cent on the idea that we are always successful, (as some people say) because to be human means to fail at some point in a life, but to reset the brain on relaxing activities in a wise way can make you very powerful under stress.

And you, do you know other relaxing strategies to suggest?

By the way, if your teacher told you that you can’t be a successful musician because you are shy, dump him or her!!!