THE FUSE

It has been my experience that most issues of performance and practice, including “stage fright,” can be alleviated through the development of sustained and focused attention. Although every person’s experience is different, for many the internal dialogue that takes place while we play can become a distraction during performance. The mind does not efficiently manage multitasking between highly demanding activities, such as accurate performance, and the internal chatter of judgmental observation. The goal for musicians who deal with excessive or pronounced internal chatter is to cultivate the ability to actively choose to focus complete attention on playing, rather than on critical commentary while we are playing.