Why is it that well-prepared, talented, hardworking, and intelligent performers find their performance and self-esteem undermined by the fear of memory slips, technique failures, and public humiliation? In Managing Stage Fright: A Guide for Musicians and Music Teachers, author Julie Jaffee Nagel unravels these mysteries, taking the reader on an intensive backstage tour of the anxious performer's emotions to explain why stage fright happens and what performers can do to increase their comfort in the glare of the spotlight.
Examining the topic from her interdisciplinary educational, theoretical, clinical, and personal perspectives, Nagel uses the music teacher/student relationship as a model for understanding the performance anxiety that affects musicians and non-musicians alike. Shedding new light on how the performer's emotional life is connected to every other facet of their life, Managing Stage Fright encourages a deeper understanding of anxiety when performing. The guide offers strategies for achieving performance confidence, emphasizing the relevance of mental health in teaching and performing.
Through the practices of self-awareness outlined in the book, Nagel demonstrates that it is possible and desirable for teachers to assist students in developing the coping skills and attitudes that will allow them to not feel overwhelmed and powerless when they experience strong anxiety. Each chapter contains insights that help teachers recognize the symptoms-obvious, subtle, and puzzling-of the emotional grip of stage fright, while offering practical guidelines that empower teachers to empower their students. The psychological concepts offered, when added to pedagogical techniques, are invaluable in music performance and in a variety of life situations since, after all, music lessons are life lessons.
By:
Julie Jaffee-Nagel
Imprint: Oxford University Press
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions:
Height: 210mm,
Width: 142mm,
Spine: 13mm
Weight: 254g
ISBN: 9780190632038
ISBN 10: 0190632038
Pages: 216
Publication Date: 09 November 2017
Audience:
Professional and scholarly
,
Undergraduate
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active
Figures Preface Acknowledgments CHAPTER 1 - STAGE FRIGHT: WHAT IS IT? Questions for Thought Some General Considerations About Stage Fright A Personal Reflection Music Teachers as Mental Health Resources Paradoxical Questions and Further Thoughts About Stage Fright Yerkes-Dodson Law ( Arc of Anxiety ) Mental Preparation: Attitudes and Aptitudes Talking and Listening to Students: Validating Feelings Implications for Music Teachers CHAPTER 2 - DELVING DEEPER INTO STAGE FRIGHT Questions for Thought Stage Fright: A Mind/Body Duet Symptoms of Performance Anxiety Discussing Performance Anxiety In Studio Class Identifying Performance Anxiety Symptoms Symptoms Chart Two Activities 1-Mood Ring 2-Chill Out: Tools for Cool Students Implications for Music Teachers CHAPTER 3 - THE A B Cs OF STAGE FRIGHT Questions for Thought An A B C Model of Anxiety Recap: A B C Model Vignette: John Actions for Teachers and Students Activity 1-Identifying Letter B Responses Activity 2-Letter B Cards (Supportive Self-Statements) Examples of Supportive Self-Statements Implications for Teachers CHAPTER 4 - SYMPTOMS VS. MANAGEMENT Questions for Thought Symptoms as Cues and Clues Vignette: Cindy Assessing Thoughts and Feelings Talking About Stressors Implications for Teachers CHAPTER 5 - CONFLICT - A PARADOX Questions for Thought Paradox: Identifying Emotional Conflicts Recognizing Conflicts Dealing with Memory Slips and Technique Meltdowns Jam Plan Some Childhood Antecedents of Stage Fright Additional Examples of Conflict Vignette: Robert Young Children (and Adults) Fill the Gaps Additional Considerations About Conflict Conflict Chart Symptoms Chart Implications for Teachers CHAPTER 6 - THE EMOTIONAL FUEL BEHIND STAGE FRIGHT Questions for Thought Psychodynamic Model Why Consider Psychodynamic Models of the Mind? Mental Ghosts Haunting the Teaching Studio The Mind Does Not Forget: the Unconscious A Visual Model of the Unconscious Figure 1 - Conceptual Diagram of the Unconscious Revisiting Cindy Transference Shame Countertransference Multiple Function Vignette: Joe Psychological and Practical Tips Imagine This..... Implications for Teachers CHAPTER 7 - DEFENDING AGAINST ANXIETY Questions for Thought Performance as a Danger Situation: Ego Defenses The Ego and Its Defenses Against Anxiety Table 1 - Typical Ego Defenses Vignette: Mary Table 2:Performance Anxiety Symptoms as Ego Defenses (Letter B) A B C Model of Anxiety Activity 1 - Recognizing Anxiety Activity 2 - Relabeling Anxiety Vignette: Cindy's Cold Hands as Ego Defenses Shame Masquerading as Resistance to Performance Anxiety Shame on You! A Fusion of Musical and Personal Identity Helping Students Discover Their Ego Defenses Implications for Teachers CHAPTER 8 - LEARNING THEORY AND BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION Questions for Thought Learning Theories as Guidelines for Teachers Classical Conditioning Operant Conditioning Implications for Teachers CHAPTER 9 - COGNITIVE BEHVIOR THERAPY, RATIONAL EMOTIVE THERAPY, AND LETTER B Questions for Teachers What Is Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT)? An Example of Cognitive Relabeling Stage Fright Responses Two Activities With A B C Model Activity 1 - A B C Recognizing Anxiety Responses Activity 2 - Rethinking and Relabeling Anxiety Responses Neuropsychology and Brain Imagining Beta Blockers and Performance Anxiety Evidence-Based Claims for Reducing Performance Anxiety Implications for Teachers CHAPTER 10 - PERFORMANCE ANXIETY BEGINS IN THE NURSERY Questions for Thought Teachers As New Parents : Developmental Issues Human Development and Performance Anxiety Elaboration of Erikson's Eight Stages in the Life Cycle Stage One: Trust vs. Mistrust Implications for Teachers Stage Two: Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt Implications for Teachers Stage Three: Initiative vs. Guilt and Stage Four: Industry vs. Inferiority Anxiety Alerts for Teachers!!!!! Young Children Middle School-Aged Children Implications for Teachers Stage Five: Identity vs. Identity Confusion Anxiety Alerts for Teachers!!!! Adolescents Implications for Teachers Stage Six: Intimacy vs. Isolation Implications for Teachers Stage Seven: Generativity vs. Stagnation Implications for Teachers Stage Eight: Integrity vs. Despair Implications for Teachers Recap: Developmental Stages and Stage Fright Additional Implications for Teachers CHAPTER 11 - A VIRTUAL RECITAL: A SYNTHESIS Questions for Thought Susan: How to Understand and Handle Performance Anxiety Concepts for the Teacher to Convey to Susan, The Recitalist Plan for Teacher Format of Virtual Recital The Recital Implications for Teacher and Recitalist CHAPTER 12 - RECAPITULATION AND FINALE Questions for Thought Putting it All Together Performance Anxiety is More Than Symptoms Stigmas, Caution, and Optimism Tuning In To Students and Tune Ups for Teachers Interdisciplinary Collaboration Criteria for Making A Referral for Professional Help Music School Curriculum Coda: Summary of Implications for Recognizing and Teaching Anxiety Reduction Uniqueness of Music Teacher's Role CHAPTER 13 - DA CAPO: BACK TO THE BEGINNING GLOSSARY OF PSYCHOLOGICAL TERMS USED IN THE TEXT ILLUSTRATIVE READINGS ON PERFORMANCE ANXIETY INDEX
Julie Jaffee Nagel, Ph.D. is a graduate of The Juilliard School, The University of Michigan and The Michigan Psychoanalytic Institute. The critically acclaimed author of Melodies of the Mind, she has drawn from over twenty years of multidisciplinary experience to shed light on performance anxiety as well as the important role of music in understanding a wide range of human emotions. She is also a regular contributor to Huffington Post and The Clavier Companion. She is in private practice in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Reviews for Managing Stage Fright: A Guide for Musicians and Music Teachers
Nagel's book is an extremely helpful guide to encouraging my students to perform with confidence...[The] volume is a very welcome addition to any personal library and will certainly help teachers and students understand the complex issue of performance anxiety. Highly recommended. -- Clavier Companion A most important book that addresses the elephant in the room for virtually all performers --Leon Fleisher Julie Jaffee Nagel's impressively detailed and valuable analysis of stage fright provides an indispensable guide for teachers, students, and professional musicians concerned with this all too common and often intractable problem. --A rnold Steinhardt, First Violinist of the Guarneri String Quartet Julie Jaffee Nagel has given us a beautifully organized and sympathetically written book that successfully addresses the issue of stage fright, a topic too often neglected, to the regret of the performer...Students, teachers, parents, and performers of all types would do well to read it. --Joseph W. Polisi, President, The Juilliard School Utilizing her unique qualifications as a performer, pedagogue, and psychoanalyst, Nagel weaves essential psychological concepts, probing questions, insightful case studies, and practical suggestions into absorbing, easy-to-read guidebook on stage fright for musicians. This book should be required learning for everyone who teaches music lessons, or, as Nagel considers them, 'life lessons'. --Dr. Gary L. Ingle, Executive Director and CEO, Music Teachers National Association When self-doubt and the fear of what others think creeps into our students' psyche, what are we to do? How can we coach pianists to find the right balance of adrenalin, mental and emotional health to develop successful performance skills? Answers to all of these questions are addressed in Julie Jaffee Nagel's new book called Managing Stage Fright: A Guide for Musicians and Music Teachers. The well-organized, easy-to-read book is packed with sensible advice, insightful tips, and well-researched strategies. It's a must-have for any music teacher's library. That's what sets this book apart--it's not only for performers, it's also for teachers of performers! --Leila Viss, 88 Piano Keys