Getting the most out of musical learning

New freely downloadable resource for music practitioners in all settings, providing practical and easy-to-use strategies for performance anxiety.

"I'm nervous."

"I get stage fright."   " I don't want to do that."   "What if I fail?"   "I never play my best when people are watching."    As a music practitioner in schools, universities and community settings, I have heard these kind of comments throughout my career and at various points during the process of musical learning.  The question is, do the students (or teachers) - of whatever age and skill level - have a bank of practical go-to strategies up their sleeve to overcome performance anxiety when they need it, whether in a rehearsal, informal performance, concert or any other occasion when these might be required?   Working with a performance psychologist, we have produced "Performance Anxiety: A Practical Guide for Music Teachers" to help students in all musical situations to make the most of their musical learning and to get maximum musical enjoyment from it.     It is written from the perspective that performance anxiety is extremely common. What we, as teachers, may not view as a "performance", is something that, in the mind of a student, may be an event provoking deep-felt anxiety.  The strategies offered in this booklet have the scope to be flexibly embedded in order to meet the needs of musicians of all ages, skill levels and musical situations.    We are keen to share this work widely and the ISM Trust have generously published this 52-page guide freely available on their website.  It can be downloaded here:  http://www.ism.org/performance-anxiety-guide   Performance anxiety is a commonly occurring psychological issue, the negative impacts of which no student should be left to face on their own. This practical guide is a rare and vitally important piece of work bringing together the two strong evidence informed fields of Sport & Exercise Psychology and Music Education. We are delighted to work with the ISM Trust to provide music teachers in all settings with an extensive bank of easy-to-use practical strategies to help their students effectively handle performance anxiety and get the most out of their musical learning.   I hope you find the resource useful, whatever context you teach or work in. If you have any questions or thoughts, please comment or contact me directly.