Performance enhancement
8 essays on performance enhancement.
- August 19, 2026End Every Practice Session More Relaxed Than You Started
Most of us end practice more tense than we started and call it the price of the work. It isn't — it's a habit. Here's the Magic Pause: a simple method for practicing the ease you actually want to perform with.
- August 12, 2026Your Shoulder Rest Was Never the Problem
A student laid five shoulder rests on the table and was still in pain. A rest can only fit you in one of two states — tense or relaxed — and most players fit theirs while hunching. Here's the test that shows you which one you've been buying for.
- July 25, 2026Your High Notes Aren’t “Up There”
Singers brace before a high note ever arrives — the neck cranes, the throat closes, and the note feels hard. Here’s what a two-second pause, and a little bit of nothing, can do about it.
- July 15, 2026The Tension That Starts Before You Play
The trigger for a musician’s tension often fires before you play a single note — sometimes it’s just a thought. Here’s how to find your “critical moment” and interrupt the pattern at its source.
- July 6, 2026Stop Holding Your Breath When You Play
If you play an instrument, there’s a good chance you hold your breath at the hard parts — and the usual fix (take a deep breath) doesn’t work. Here’s what actually does.
- January 10, 2022A List of 20+ Surprising Benefits of Releasing Excess Muscle Tension for Musicians
Muscle tension affects everything we care about as musicians. Do you want effortless technique? Let go of tension. Do you want a resonant, haunting sound? Let go of tension. Do you want…
- May 13, 2021Develop Your Musical Intuition for More Powerful Performances & Life
The Soul Force Music Deep Dive conversations are about how to give inspiring & powerful performances (musical performances that have "Soul Force"), how that connects to the role of musicianship in an…
- August 1, 2019My Story in the Alexander Technique
The Six Pillars of Soulforce Performance Arts Hello all! I'm starting to write a book on Alexander Technique for strings players. The working title is "Your Body Is Your Instrument: Sound Better,…