How can Performance Coaching help you?

I often get asked ..." how can a Performance Coach help me?"

Performance Coaching is a well-established practice in the sports and business sectors but is only just emerging as an accepted strategy amongst musicians to enhance performance.

All coaching is essentially about empowering people to reach and even expand their potential beyond what their existing strategies and beliefs are allowing.

Performance Coaching for musicians implements many of the sports psychology techniques and approaches which elite athletes incorporate into their training and which they know are essential. Not only does this prepare them for achieving the successful outcomes they aim for but also supports them in developing a mindset for emotional resilience under pressure. We share many of the same challenges but musicians have been missing out on these valuable resources.

Performance Coaches for musicians have many years of training and professional experience as both players and teachers, in addition to coaching training. They understand the challenges faced by musicians at all levels and know that being a musician is more than mastering an instrument, that there are many other skills we need to learn to play our best under pressure and enjoy it. Unfortunately, partly due to lack of time, these essential skills are often not taught in instrumental lessons.

The first step in coaching is to recognise what core issues and beliefs are holding you back:

• Does getting nervous or experiencing performance anxiety negatively affect your performances, exams or auditions?

• Do you lack confidence, self-belief or motivation?

• Does your preparation let you down when it matters?

• Do you lack pre-performance routines, effective practice techniques or perhaps haven’t incorporated mental rehearsal techniques into your preparation?

• Does your inner critic take you out of the flow and distract you when performing?

• Or perhaps you dread performing and have lost the enjoyment, fun and connection we all experienced when starting out?

These are just some of the areas which performance coaching addresses.

Key benefits of Performance Coaching

• Provides a toolbox of techniques to empower you to navigate the challenges of your career.

• Teaches you techniques to manage and even use performance anxiety.

• Develops effective audition preparation.

• Creates self-belief, confidence and self-compassion.

• Clarifies your goals and teaches you how to plan to realise your ambitions.

• Develops practice techniques, including mental rehearsal techniques, for performing with technical assurance, spontaneity and musical expression.

• Develops resilience through learning mental skills and growing a mindset for navigating disappointments and difficult situations in your life and career.

• Become more present while performing so you can perform your best, even under pressure.

• Sustains motivation by discovering your values, meaning and purpose.

• Empowers you through periods of change or transition in your career.

Coaching is holistic and multi-faceted, teaching practical strategies for empowering peak performance and combining these with effective tools for managing the pressure and stress we can experience as musicians. To get the most out of coaching, a series of sessions is recommended. Finding the right coach for you is essential with many coaches offering a free phone call or zoom session to discuss your needs, allowing you to assess whether the “fit” is right.