The Psychological Side of Musical Development

Developing students often feel a disconnect between skill acquisition on the one hand and a desire to do something different on the other. At first students begin to rebel, refusing to practise the same exercises any further in the hope of finding an alternative, but oftentimes they get lost or stuck in the same trap with their inner voices saying things like: “I ought to practise scales.”

And when scale practising doesn’t happen, guilt sets in and potential musicians lose interest in making music altogether.

Another very common aspect is the intrinsic conditioning that often happens during the formative years of learning an instrument. Music education in early childhood often appears to commend perfect performances: Playing all the notes exactly as written in the given sheet music with bonuses and stickers doled out for every “correct” rendition. In addition, in some educational settings music is taught top down with very little room for experimenting.

Music tutors sometimes, even if not intended, give the impression to beginner learners of someone who manages to play all the pieces in the book flawlessly (usually after teaching from the same books for many years), leading to false expectations. But as students progress, these ideals become less and less attainable, and even less useful musically. Hence, highly talented and capable players who started early in life hit a development barrier, which they cannot overcome by themselves.
In contrast to this, older students who come to music later in life don’t carry that particular burden, they learn through experimentation and often from a variety of sources and inspiration, but they sometimes lack those “musical soft skills” such as decent timing and that elusive ear for music, which can lead to frustration and disengagement with further learning.

Another aspect is external input and mixed messages growing up musically. Early (childhood) performances yield lots of positive feedback, yet such feedback becomes elusive when performing in their teenage years. Perhaps a change of taste from Beethoven sonatas to Smashing Pumpkins with a change of performance repertoire and experimental performances… and the compliments dry up. Performers lose heart, direction and motivation – impossible to please their old audiences consisting of friends and family, and not yet able to fulfil their own standards of what’s good or isn’t. 

Why Coaching Must Be Individual

Performance coaching is adaptive. It looks at what’s already working yet puts things in perspective and places practical goals first, determines the best way forward and with the help of balanced practice routines, resulting in musical development with a clear focus on fun and fulfilment.
Because of this, it needs to be bespoke, and based around the individual. Each person brings their own agenda, their own value system of how music is felt and experienced, and the core elements of their musical identity. For example, some performers value technical finesse, whereas others place more importance on sounding unique, etc.

Yet performers also want reassurance that their musical output meets high quality standards. Is it in tune enough, the timing half decent, of a good enough standard, does it excel emotionally, sound compelling and move people, are all types of questions on every performer’s mind.

Technical elements thus might play a bigger or smaller role depending on individual goals. Skills are developed if deemed necessary and to a level that achieves maximum effectiveness. Hence skills are assessed (critically and positively) and refined if necessary, plus other elements and skills introduced that may also be important.

Is Music Coaching Right For You, Who Is Performance Coaching For?

Coaching may not be useful if you are happy and still making progress with tuition on a curricular dimension, you are still learning the basics, and are not yet concerned about style or musical identity.

Performance coaching becomes valuable when skills need to develop across multiple dimensions such as technical ability, applied theory knowledge for songwriting or improvisation, stage craft and identity formation. Choosing which exercises fit the brief and which skills are optional, requires judgement and goal setting outside of conventional syllabus logic.

Coaching therefore requires detailed knowledge of the individual, their goals, aspirations, strengths and challenges. There is no one-size fits all. It is an ongoing dialogue, which adapts to evolving ideas, changing styles, new abilities, levels, as well as a growing confidence with higher aspirations and goals.

If you’d like to get in touch for a playing or coaching assessment and a first chat, just send a message using the form below:

By the way:
No hard sale. No sign up fees. No longwinded contracts. No special commitments. No follow up. No template messages. No mailing lists, etc.

Instead, you get:

• The opportunity to define your own journey whilst having someone on your side keeping an eye on the destination
• Direct contact
• A critical, yet supportive ear
• Practical and supportive judgement
• Action planning – goals setup
• Practical knowledge and tapping into industry standard musical methods
• Knowledge about production and performance standards
• Shortcuts to get from A to B in the least amount of steps