Performance tips
10 essays on performance tips.
- 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.
- May 28, 2021Why Singers Don't Actually Need Vocal Rest...
It's the end of your semester and you've been losing your voice more and more frequently. You're trying to take it easy in rehearsals, and even though you've been massaging your jaw…
- May 20, 2021What Every Musician Should Know About Stretching
You're practicing and you feel tight in your muscles - so you stretch, right? But after 5 more minutes of practicing, the pain and tension is back, and maybe even worse than…
- May 7, 2021How to develop *unshakeable* confidence, on-stage and off!
Many of the musicians we talk to describe their biggest challenge as a musician as "not having enough confidence." And when we dig into this lack of confidence, we often find stories…
- July 26, 2019Relieving Performance Anxiety - Part 2
In this video I present a self-compassion exercise aimed at relieving anxiety created by researcher Kristen Neff, as well as talk about the importance of having intrinsic vs. extrinsic motivations in performance,…
- July 15, 2019Relieving Performance Anxiety - Part 1
"Relieving Performance Anxiety - Part 1" In this video I give information on the causes and relief of performance anxiety. Included are tools from the Alexander Technique, Open Focus, mindfulness meditation, lessons…