Review: The Strad Magazine

From the November 2009 issue of The Strad magazine:

I’m not a big fan of self-help books – although does anybody ever admit to being a fan of them? – but the more I read of this one, the more I liked it. It’s aimed not just at musicians, but also actors, public speakers and sports people, to name but a few, and is trying to help you to get into the ‘Zone’ – a place where optimal performance is possible.

Inevitably, browsing the contents page would be enough to put off the fainthearted: references to ‘laughing yoga’ and ‘visualisations’ made my heart sink a little, and it was impossible not to give in to a smutty snigger at the constant references to ‘performance arousal’.

But suspend your disbelief for a while and press on – it’s worth it. The book is written by New Zealand-born trumpeter and fellow at London’s Trinity College Jon Gorrie, and cherry-picks from different schools of thought as diverse as neurolinguistic programming and sports psychology to compile a raft of different techniques for performers to try in order to get into a positive frame of mind, in a way that is sure to have an impact not just on performing but on life generally.

It opens with a chapter on the theory behind the techniques, but suggests that if you’re not too bothered about the research you could dive straight into the second chapter, which focuses on the techniques themselves.

Gorrie explains that ‘performance arousal’ is a phenomenon that can have positive effects by improving our level of performance or combatting negative effects that can prevent us from performing to our full potential. The book offers practical exercises to learn how to control these effects. There’s a lot of repetition in the theory chapter, but the techniques portion has some very useful suggestions, for example on breaking the cycle of anxiety about performing; the importance of feigning confidence in speech and body language; ways of practising performance; and meditation to help you into a relaxed frame of mind.

Then there’s the twelve-week programme, which is a bit like a be-yourown-life-coach method. It builds from initially spending 30 to 60 minutes a day making sure your diet is right and working 30 minutes of moving and stretching into your daily routine, to week twelve, in which you should be spending two to three hours a day on exercises that include doing qigong or t’ai chi and ‘free writing’ to help free you from emotional barriers. This might sound tough to fit into your day, but Gorrie emphasises the importance of intelligent time management: locking the TV in the loft is one of his suggestions. Tough talk! But the techniques section in particular is great to dip into and covers so many different approaches that you’re bound to find a few that work for you. There’s also a reference section at the back listing a bibliography and online resources to follow up. If you ignore the occasional bit of psychobabble then this highly readable book could be of real value.

– Catherine Nelson, The Strad Magazine, Nov. 2009