It may be said that the music profession is mentally very demanding. First you have to invest a lot of time and effort in achieving and maintaining the desired level of playing. Then, as an artist, it is the intention to expose part of your personality in order to create a meaningful interpretation. This calls for the musician’s vulnerability. You will then be asked to perform under potentially stressful circumstances. Especially because you expose a part of your own soul, performing becomes part of their own identity for many musicians. That means there's a lot at stake and you actually have something to lose.
Fortunately, in the music world, coaching and counseling is becoming more and more accepted. In the sports world we see good examples of how psychological and mental support have become an important part of the training process. It is increasingly recognized how important it is to shift the focus from performing to enjoying the journey. As soon as an athlete succeeds at this, winning seems to come naturally.
The foregoing has inspired me to look at music performance differently. It is my philosophy that a student can only develop in a mentally healthy way from a safe and trusted basis. I work in a process-oriented way: intrinsic motivation, fun and experimentation in an emotionally safe environment without judgment. If this succeeds, learning will come naturally!
This is in huge contrast to performance-oriented working. Here the pressure is increased to get the best result as possible as quickly as possible. There is little room for fun and experimentation, because mistakes and failures are judged as disappointing. This stern judgment can eventually become the student's inner critic. Destructive teaching situations can lead to profound psychological problems.
Een leerling die zich volgens mijn filosofie ontwikkelt, zal opgroeien tot een evenwichtige musicus. Een musicus die zijn (of haar) beroepsmatige voldoening bovenal vindt in het plezier dat het uitoefenen van zijn vak hem brengt. De mooie momenten brengen vreugde, maar de mindere momenten doen zijn wereld niet instorten. Het presteren op zich heeft geen invloed op zijn eigenwaarde. En dan gebeurt er iets wonderbaarlijks: als dit lukt, volgt het presteren naar beste kunnen vanzelf!
Bij veel musici zijn in de loop der jaren mentale belemmeringen ontstaan en lukt het niet (meer) om vrij en zonder angst in de studeerkamer of op het podium te zitten. Onder mijn begeleiding kun je deze belemmeringen onderzoeken en helen.
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