Musicians: Are You Sick of Being Sick of Your Own Playing?
Musicians: don’t you get sick of the fact that you hate your own playing?
Yup. It’s true for almost all of us.
The fact is that if you’re really striving to be better, pretty much as soon as you accomplish one thing you were trying to do, you’re going to move on to the next. You wanted to get the notes right? You did that, now you’re thinking about tone. You’ve managed more consistent bellows control on your accordion? You did that. Now you’re thinking about chording. It just goes on and on.
It’s important that you want to keep improving. It’s great actually! You should be celebrated for that, Instead of beating yourself up about it!
We don’t need to go around hating our playing all the time. That’s really counterproductive to creativity.
Be discerning, not critical of your own playing.
That means, when you hear something you want to change, don’t think “I did that wrong.”
Say to yourself, “Oh, I need to work on that!”
It’s a subtle difference but the words you use, even in your own mind, really matter. They really, really matter.
How would you want your favorite teacher to speak to you? So treat yourself that way.
Change the way you talk to yourself in your own head. This is a radical change for a lot of us, so don’t be discouraged if it’s not easy.
For me, the switch from being critical to being discerning has changed not just my playing but my whole life.
My book, Best Practice: Inspiration and Ideas for Traditional Musicians, is full of ideas to help you improve more quickly and play with more joy.
It’s written for any musician, playing any instrument, in any genre at any experience or skill level.
Here are a few chapters in Best Practice where you’ll find more about dealing with self-criticism:
74 — Discernment vs. Criticism
31 — Just Keep Showing Up
154 — Personal, Pervasive, Permanent
157 — People Will Like My Playing
138 — Set Yourself Up for Success
131 — Playing with Distractions
88 — Play What You Know
Judy Minot is a musician, teacher, and the author of the book Best Practice: Inspiration and Ideas for Traditional Musicians.
Judy has played and practiced piano since she could reach the keys, training in classical playing until age 16. She now plays traditional music in various settings on a number of instruments, and gives workshops and classes on Best Practice ideas all over the world, both virtually and in person.
Judy spent her working life in broadcast television and digital marketing. She holds a 4th degree black belt in the martial art of Kokikai Aikido and is a certified yoga teacher.
For more information visit: www.judyminot.com/bestpractice
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