This is an awesome book that really helps with performance anxiety and a host of other issues that hold me back from performing at my full potential. I wish I had this book, when I had my “big” audition for bass player in the National Symphony in Washington, DC back in the late 70s. At that time I was studying (post-college) with Steve Brewster the Principal Bassist at that time. By the way Steve was an incredible human being and musician and will be the subject of a future article. I had prepared well for this audition and had mastered the list of orchestra bass parts indicated. I also had prepared a solo piece that I could play beautifully at my lessons. Steve proclaimed that I was well prepared for the audition and wished me well at my lesson prior to the audition.
I got to the audition with my bass and music. I was escorted to the waiting rooms below the stage. I encountered a large number of bassists all working away and practicing their parts and sounding very proficient and capable of passing the audition. Some had the parts all memorized and could wiz through them at fast tempos. I was completely blown away by this and started feeling woefully inadequate. I got quite nervous and began feeling high anxiety about my own audition when the time was to come. I was completely intimidated at this point.
Finally, I was called to go up on stage. I took my bass up a set or two of stairs fairly petrified. When I got on the stage, as expected, there was a screen between myself and the audience where I knew that members of the bass section and other symphony people, including possibly Rostropovich himself. Although later I found out that he only comes to the finals.
On stage with me was a member of the orchestra, who directed me to play each of several orchestra parts including Mozart 40th, Beethoven’s 5th, Prokofiev 9th. I was able to play and get through them, but I was so nervous that I am sure that I was rushing the tempos, smearing though some of the 16th note runs to say the least. When I was done, I went back down the stairs feeling about as badly as I have every felt. The auditions were in rounds of 10 bass players where at the end of the round, they indicated who in the group made it to the finals. It was some small comfort that no one in our group of 10 was selected for the finals. It didn’t really make me much feel better. I left the hall feeling a huge disappointment in how I had completely blown the audition by being so ultra-nervous that I couldn’t play up to the level I was prepared for. Even at my best, I might not have been selected, but I was decimated by my poorer than normal performance. This was so far away from “Performing in the Zone”.
A few weeks later, I had an audition to be the paid principal bass player for a local symphony, and I was much improved at that audition and even got the gig. For years afterward, I passed many auditions for groups, and had a wonderful experience playing. However, to this day I am still uncomfortable with auditions. The techniques in Jon’s book, Performing in the Zone have already helped me and have motivated my to use this technique in my work environment when preparing for meetings. in addition to performing music. Thanks, Jon.
You can find and buy the book here, I highly recommend it.
Performing in the Zone by Jon Gorrie sets out to define the obstacles to mastery of optimal musical performances with reference to managing performance nerves. This is a how-to book, which offers a number of solutions such as mantras and rituals, visualization, yoga, mock performances and physical exercise designed to aid the performer in managing “arousal anxiety” and understanding how it is used to attain self insight and control.
Gorrie has been a classically-trained trumpet player and a music educator for the past 15 years. Performance nerves and their management are of great interest to him particularly because they are, at one time or another, the nemesis of performers of all kinds. His priority is to aid performers to enhance their self-awareness through learning tools and anxiety concepts.
Gorrie writes with passion and conviction about the research that has consumed him for his entire career. The book is faultlessly organized and approachable. His sense of humor pervades throughout. It is clear that he has written from personal experience and with thoughtful insights.
Folks, trumpeter, Jon Gorrie has written a wonderful little book called “Performance in the Zone.” This is a book that deals with getting one’s mental house in order for performance.
There are many books that performers have used as a guide to get ready for a concert, recital or gig. Books that come to mind are Zen and the Art of Archery, and the Mental Game of Tennis. Gorrie’s book is specifically geared towards performers in the arts, though it could apply even to sports.
In reading this book, ideas that resonated with me are the following: 1.) You are what you think. 2.) Your performance should add value to your own life and the life of others. 3.) Avoid excessive talk about yourself. 4.) Keep a performance journal. These are only a few of the many salient points Gorrie addresses.
The book also has a work-book component. Gorrie wants you to develop a solid repeatable method for getting yourself into the zone.
This book is very well thought out. Like similar books (Effortless Mastery by Kenny Werner comes to mind), there is reference to Eastern philosophies, though it is not a book on religion by any means. There is also considerable reference to the psychological underpinnings of Gorrie’s ideas. There are many fine references at the end of the book.
This is a very thorough treatise on performance preparation. I would recommend it to anyone working along these lines.
Respectfully,
Nick Drozdoff
(Internationally renowned trumpet performing artist, former trumpet player with the Maynard Ferguson Orchestra. More info at http://www.nickdrozdoff.com )
Well, we’ve been going through some pretty big subjects over the past couple of weeks – performance arousal, stress, and so on. So today, I thought I’d post this youtube video to lighten things up a bit. It is a world-record breaking performance! Watch closely, the basketball-trampoline athlete is definitely performing in The Zone
In surveys conducted around the world, it has been discovered that the act of speaking in public is something many people have an intense fear about. In fact, public speaking often ranks higher on our list of fears than death itself!
If your palms start to sweat, your legs turn to jelly, and you start to feel faint just at the thought of speaking to an audience, help is at hand!
“Going peripheral” – a technique from “Performing in The Zone”, can help you to feel calm, in control, and confident when you are speaking in public.
Be careful though, you might end up enjoying public speaking engagements
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Have you ever gone to a concert, a play, a sports event or even your favorite restaurant and just been blown away by how amazing it was? Superior performance in all aspects of life is much more that a mere coincidence! Performing in the Zone by Jon Gorrie was written to help you take a thorough look at yourself and take your performing (and anything in your life) to the next level.
First we are presented with the ‘Theory behind this Process where we get acquainted with the parameters of performance. Next we are given the many techniques we can use to get situated where we need to be for optimal performance. Next, we formalize the process by establishing a program to accomplish our goals. Lastly, we are given the keys to dig even deeper in the pursuit of that “Zone”
All in all, the clear and concise text and numerous exercises make this an excellent “workbook for success”. Anyone can apply the many lessons here to achieving a superior result in anything they choose.
hehe what can I say, this is a pretty original clip
But again, like the other performance videos on this blog, the performers are having a great time living in the moment – you might even say performing in The Zone!
