Energy

Hard Work is Overrated (You Might Be Working Too Hard)

Lazy can be good Strive for max efficiency Not so easy, eh? (Why the haiku? TMQ) There seems to be this widespread notion that hard work is commendable and worthy of praise, while laziness is at the root of society’s problems. Kids underachieving in school? Well, kids nowadays don’t have any work ethic. Childhood obesity? [...]

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How to Change the Way You Feel About Auditions

Have you ever heard the phrase “perception is reality?” I read a book the other day in which the author described one such experience. During a ride on the subway, a man and his young children entered and sat down near him. The children were yelling, being rowdy, and disturbing the other passengers, while the [...]

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How to Make Performance Anxiety an Asset Instead of a Liability

We are typically led to believe that being “nervous” is a bad thing. Indeed, most of the advice I’ve ever heard has been aimed at reducing anxiety. Over the years, I tried everything I could to get rid of the unpleasant feelings associated with performance anxiety. I tried eating bananas, drinking chamomile tea, imagining the [...]

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3 Reasons Why Beta Blockers Could Ultimately Be Holding You Back

I‘ve read compelling arguments both for and against the use of beta-blockers in the performing arts and can understand why many in the field have strong feelings both ways about their use (here’s a great article from the NY Times, another one here, yet another here, and one more here). For the record, I’m not [...]

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“Know Thy Enemy” Says Itzhak Perlman

My favorite violinist growing up was Itzhak Perlman, so when I recently observed a Perlman master class, you can bet that I soaked up every bit of advice he had to offer. At one point he was asked for his thoughts on how best to deal with performance anxiety, and his answer (though I think [...]

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