Music Performance Anxiety (commonly known as stage fright) is a nearly universal experience among musicians of all backgrounds, yet is rarely acknowledged in the music community. Toronto Guitar School presented this workshop will taught some key strategies for managing music performance anxiety, using techniques from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, as well as research from sports psychology and many other disciplines.
In this workshop, participants learned:
-What Music Performance Anxiety (MPA) looks like, from a clinical and performance perspective, and the many ways it manifests
-Common predictors and causes of MPA
-Strategies for dealing with MPA, taken from Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Cognitive Restructuring, Sports Psychology, and more.
This friendly and informal presentation included a question and answer period. Toronto Guitar School looks forward to presenting more workshops like this one in the future.
About the Presenter
Daniel Ramjattan, M. Mus, RMT, is currently completing his Doctorate of Musical Arts (DMA) degree from the University of Toronto, where he is writing his dissertation on Music Performance Anxiety in guitarists. As a classical guitarist, he has given concerts in Canada, the US, Japan, Italy, and Austria, and has received top prizes in provincial, national, and international guitar competitions. Having struggled with Music Performance Anxiety for many years in the competitive world of classical music, his natural affinity for psychology has driven him to study this topic formally and informally for many years. He has many years of teaching experience working with players from the very beginning to advanced ages, and has coached classical guitarists at the University of Ottawa and University of Toronto for over four years. He works as a performer, teacher, and performance coach.
