I had abusive parents, and after I finished music school they pretty much convinced me to quit. I don’t have a relationship with them now, and I’m trying to get back so that I can make music my actual career instead of working a full time office job to survive while teaching some lessons and freelancing on the weekends. It’s so hard, and I don’t have anyone to talk to about it except myself, so this video is literally exactly what I need thank you!
Have you thought about taking a less administration-related job ? Ex: cashier ? School driver? Photographer (for weddings and events)? Any job that is more hands on than your old job. That way you will do things with your hands, without obsessing over paper. What do you think?
I would really encourage you and anyone in a similar situation to go to counseling. A good counselor can not be replaced with any other substitute like friends, 12 step programs, books, etc. I’m not a counselor. This advice is coming from my own personal experience.
You gotta do you, all day everyday. Making/teaching music is your calling so follow it. Your parents are probably more concerned with your financial stability. Prove to them money can be made via music and they might have a change of heart.
Many of us can relate. My learning center leaves me little time but I'm making myself work to make music and TH-cam videos this year. Each of and connect.
I’m so glad you said what you did about self-confidence, performance anxiety and procrastination. It took me a LONG time to realize that procrastination was a symptom of low self-confidence, not the cause of it.
This applies to procrastination in areas other than music, as you surely know. Knowing what you are looking at is so vital. Do not be tricked by reverse causality. The fear comes first. The procrastination is an effect of fear response.
What procrastination is, to society, is self-_indulgence._ A root cause, not a symptom of anything. Follow simple steps to conquer it or be deservedly punished, says society. And that attitude will persist along after we know better. It's good for the people who don't have the problem. It makes them feel righteous.
Confidence can be learned. Take an acting class, learn to fake confidence. Put on a show! Act like you know what you are doing. When you flub, it's part of the act.
I just started taking lessons with a professional as an adult. While feeling that I've been a pretty dedicated, relatively advanced pianist over these years, she has made me aware of how lacking my childhood teacher was. It's been a hard (but necessary) blow to my already low self esteem as a musician. I'm already a very anxious performer. So this video is just what I needed right now. Thanks!
In my opinion, a teacher who denigrates an earlier teacher is insecure and seeking to convince you (and themselves) that they are superior to others. I would encourage you to seek a teacher who celebrates all you have learned from others, and only wants to help you build on that to perform even better.
@@iampracticingpiano doesn't sound like his/her new teacher has said anything about the last teacher, seems the poster just became aware of it by being taught by a new different teacher.
Same here. I have to unlearn what i've thought as right for the past 10 years. It's painful to start from the beginning but at least I'm making progress :D
A strange thing I started throwing into my practice- practicing “messing up” and recovering as smoothly as possible. Intentionally playing an incorrect note or two, but keeping the entire momentum smooth and carrying on with the performance. I noticed that it helped my confidence immensely when playing in front of others- I started to feel like “I am prepared to mess up, if it happens” and I wasn’t thinking “don’t mess up, don’t mess up!”
contrast that with the traditional method of learning sight reading - which is all "DON'TS!" stopping counting? don't! getting lost? don't!! breaking concentration? don't!!! it's a live fire exercise in negativity and it's centered on an essential skill. its a damn shame.
I don't have to intentionally mess up I have that talent mastered to the point no one knows when I mess up or play perfectly. Perfection is boring, mistakes are what make you human. You are human not a digital playback device. I make guitar faces, gaping mouth and my AI accompaniment loves it when I play flamboyantly. AI can't do that.
There is so much music produced nowadays that even good musicians work can be left unappreciated. It's important to sometimes stop comparing ourselves with others.
But it's important to start again. There really is always someone better than we are, and running away from that and only trying to be "good enough" is a cope.
@RatPfink66 I think you’re missing the point. Sometimes you give it all you got and its not enough. You have to cope with that. Some people need to chose “good enough” over quitting because for success you just have to keep moving forward
@@zekiel2574 true....as a violinist I always think (there is always someone who is better) i think this mindset has helped me focus only on my improvement and stop comparing myself to others....however it doesn't not stop me from pushing through and keep motivating myself to better myself
I've been playing for well over 50 years and teaching for over 30. This video is great. Excellent insightful content well articulated with a just right delivery. Bravo!! and thank you.
Your comments about reframing situations is spot on. When I was in music school I was terrified of recitals. Oddly, juries never bothered me. But, the school I went to had what they called "sophomore comprehensives" . Basically a jury exam performed in front of the entire faculty. Your performance determined whether or not you got to continue as a music major. I was in the wings sweating all over my tux and my classical guitar and started thinking through the possible outcomes. One of which was, "Chances are, nobody's going to die from this." That single thought entirely flipped my terror on its head. I played the best I ever had, and it's become my "thought" any time I'm faced with anxiety like that. 30 years on, I haven't literally killed anyone with my performances yet.
Thank you! Three thoughts: 1. This isn’t just one of the best videos on your channel, but one of the best videos on TH-cam, because it applies not just to musicians but to everybody. 2. It’s really interesting that most of your tips for self confidence are actually tips for getting better. This maybe isn’t surprising. The better we get, the more confident we feel. You’re clearly interested both in self confidence and improving as a musician. I never made this connection before, but it’s so obvious; how are you going to feel confident in something if you suck at it? Brutal but true. Thanks for bringing me to this insight. 3. For me, the key to self confidence is humility. Humility doesn’t mean putting yourself down. A psychologist who researches humility told me: humility is an accurate assessment of where you are. Wow! This means, don’t think you need to pretend to be better than you are. If you’re just starting to learn something new, why would you be good at it? If you’re good at it, then why doubt yourself? Accurate self-assessment is actually crucial to self-confidence. We don’t need to pretend.
Only an amateur musician here, but I just had to leave a comment thanking you for your positive attitude. It's a breath of fresh air on the internet of today
Nahre, you’ve been on such a roll recently with your videos for me. They have been so inspiring and I especially needed this one because motivation is so much harder than actually difficult music to me. A lot of times having to deal with technology that I barely know how to use is extremely frustrating to me and I just give up immediately when I can’t do something. This video has reinvigorated me to try some of of those things again, so thank you!
Hi Nah Re. As an English teacher, I consider your "how to sound like" videos extremely valuable in terms of pedagogy. It comes to my mind that legendary video from walking the bass, "all about piano scales". There is structured and conceptualized substance that fosters people to rewatch it many more times
I had an audition the other day and on that day I realized that practice is only 40% of the equation the other 60% is mental. I knew when I walked in that room I didn't know the cut as well as others but when I auditioned I played with the confidence of someone who knew it perfectly so I did well, indifferent to the very lazy practice I did for the audition.
@@drakewright6403 Nahre Sol, Adam Neely, Rick Beato, etc. These exceptionally talented musicians are breaking new ground in theory while reaching a mass audience. I can say that I learned more from them than years in conservatory. I feel extremely grateful and lucky to have access to their work!
All those people you’ve named havent done anything with their “careers” musically. The best teachers are and will always be the musicians who are musically original. Monk,Hendrix,Coltrane, etc..
Wow yes I totally agree. Confidence is such a big thing. It's so difficult to stay away from the negativity. Just when I think I can reach all my musical goals I'm sent crashing down by the smallest of things. I always feel like I am having to build up to try to reach my goals.
> It's so difficult to stay away from the negativity. Negativity is a traditional tool in music learning. Teachers may embody it. The ethos of playing and becoming a professional pushes it. It's all we have to get us thru sometimes. There's no saying, "this is a problem but that's ok." It's our responsibility to own it and fix it. And weeks or months of everyday frustration trying to nail the smallest of things can make a person sick. I think a complete musician comes to terms with negativity rather than locking it out.
Thank you Nahre. Your suggestions here are what I try to instill with my students. First rule: Don't be afraid of "making mistakes" or "hitting a wrong note". Just keep going and enjoy learning how it might be improved. Also, it seems that some musicians take themselves way to seriously, personally associating their playing skills with their self ego and sense of social esteem. All of that just "gets in the way" of the joys of playing music with and for friends.
Indeed. For many years I suffered from my identity being wrapped up in musicianship, and I was insufferable as a result. Only once I surrendered to Jesus and began to understand how I was loved despite my flaws was I free to play without fear of making mistakes because I was finally confident in the fact that I am loved.
Hi Nahre. I am not a musician but I still find this video of yours endearing and inspiring. Beyond being erudite and talented, you are also authentic and humble. Please keep sharing the experiences you have on your artistic journey - they are much appreciated. May the world play your music one hundred years from now.
All of this is wonderful. Heading into my third decade as a professional musician, every minute of this video resonates with my experience. And as someone who's consumed countless books, conference presentations, and videos on the various psychological pitfalls of a musical career, I find your framing of the subject very refreshing. Congrats on the 500k, too. I think I joined around the 50k mark and have really enjoyed watching these past few years. Nice to see someone else a bit like myself, who keeps looking for new things to do and new ways to do them!
Congrats on 500k! You’ve been an inspiration to me for a long time. I appreciate that you stay true to yourself. It comes through. Great video. Very relatable.
Nahre, this is such an insanely good video. Wisdom and insight aside, the camera work, editing, sound design, animation.. all of that is inspiring in and of itself! Add some of the most motivating and succinct life/music/mental health advice I’ve ever received, and wow… Your intelligence and passion for your craft(s) is incredibly touching and inspiring. YOU. ARE. AWESOME!!! THANK YOU!!!!
Applicable to all fields of life. Thank you. You're a definite exception to the old rule that "those who can't, teach" . . Your high level communication skills and sense of humour, allied to your knowledge make your videos a joy to watch/listen to - from someone who doesn't usually have the patience to listen to youtubers. Plus, you have a real understanding of complexity and how it's present in so much of our lives.
As a chess player I can relate to your advice. Especially the part about failure. Sometimes, as a teacher, helping the students to face and deal with failure seems more important than the things I am actually teaching.
Seeing my beginnerstudents (flute) gradually becoming more confident in /how to meet challenges/, is one of my greatest joys as a teacher. It's a skill those 8 year olds can apply to their whole life, not just that particular hobby they started
As a math student the part about failure and low confidence was also really relatable. Something that really helped me was to focus on having a growth mindset instead of a fixed mindset. When I tutored highschoolers in maths I found that learning students to have a growth mindset helps them more than any amount of technical knowledge you can give them.
Same as a violin teacher. I learn more about myself teaching my students confidence, addressing self doubt, facing shortcomings, and working with their bodies, not against them. Lessons for life in all areas.
I'm a chess player too but a very bad one. Probably started too late in middle age, but been playing chess for 12+ years with negligible improvement despite thousands of tactics problems, working through strategy books etc. I've given up on chess improvement and trying just to enjoy the game, but piano is a different story - Grade 5-6 level at present, improvement is tangible and very satisfying, correlating to (unlike chess) the time and efforts I'm putting in.
I'm finishing my music studies after more than a decade and I had never seen points so accurate, varied and useful in a video. Everyone watching it should follow at least some, if not every one of the things you say. Congratulations, I found it truly wise.
We become what we practice most Confidence is a misnomer. You don't gain confidence, but lose, fear, insecurity and self doubt. If you are working to gain confidence, you are merely repressing or temporarily diverting your insecurity and fear of failure, If you are clear in who you are and love what you do with overriding joy and passion, fear and insecurity cannot gain a foothold in your being. Living in harmony is about how you live your life balancing and aligning body, mind, soul and spirit which is facilitated by healthy diet and exercise. Music is the sonic flow of life and once you are in that flow and have tasted the supreme joy and bliss of life, all else fades into insignificance.
What an incredibly generous person you are. I’ve always had a latent interest in music and making music, but I’ve barely ever explored that interest. A lot of it has to do with perfectionism and not wanting anyone to hear me not be amazing, which is all on me, but it’s prevented me from really delving into one of the things I love so much in life. This is very valuable knowledge to have, and it’s also very hard won because you’ll never learn it without putting in the long, hard hours that I haven’t. But it’s also broadly applicable to pretty much everything in life, too. So not only are you pursuing your own passions and working hard to improve yourself at them, you’re sharing the results of that with the world, and not to stop there, you’re also sharing the challenges you’ve run up against in that pursuit and the things you’ve learned from running up against them and how to keep making progress. That’s a beautiful thing to do, and I’m grateful to you for doing it. Thank you for teaching those who’d listen how to make their own lives better, and how they can use that to return that favor to others, too.
I was self taught for around two years, saw two teachers during that period, neither of them whom I considered helpful in the ways I most needed. Now I am seeing another teacher who is fully doing their role in pointing out where I need serious improvement (something my previous teachers were too lenient with). A lot of my flaws have finally been brought to light, making me realize how much I’m lacking and have to grow. One thing in particular is rhythm, a concept I didn’t understand upon teaching myself and avoided because of its daunting unfamiliarity and complexity. We are heavily focusing on all my weaker musical points and doing such has really been a blow to my confidence as a pianist. Rather than dedicating more attention to the areas in which I struggled, I preferred to stick to already established skills like rapidly reading notes (solely pitch and not rhythm). Doing such validated all the work I had put into piano because I found I could do something successfully (which turns out is only reading pitch instantly, not nearly enough to comprehend the entirety of sheet music). I found that denying my weak areas made me feel more accomplished because I could pretend they didn’t exist and enjoy playing, but in an ultimately harmful and counter productive ignorance. It’s almost painful to finally confront my flaws with the intention of having them fixed because the first steps in correcting them are excruciating. Both in that old habits die hard but also that I have a teacher who is adamantly (and for the better) forcing me to face musical concepts, such as counting, I procrastinated on. It is immensely uncomfortable to be told that you aren’t playing correctly after all the blood, sweat and tears you pored into your precious craft. Another issue I face is understanding that piano playing is a time consuming, rigorous art that requires great commitment over long durations. One cannot expect to sight-read a Liszt etude perfectly at their first attempt, an entirely unreasonable feat that I pity myself for because I am unable. And am continuously unable from virtuous piece to virtuous piece. All in all, it is a taxing journey to remind oneself that these standards are ridiculous and that even the greats require time to excel in such difficult pieces. The piano has been an incredible addition to my life but because of my own self imposed cruelty and bullying, it has also been a great source of grief. Videos like these, from incredibly skilled and experienced pianists are what I need to find meaning in persevering.
Self-imposed cruelty is the fate of the self-taught musician. I am one myself. I have burnt bridges with more than one decent teacher, just because I couldn't stop torturing myself during lessons and practice. They owed me no understanding and I knew it. Better just to cut things short. It is far better to face raised voices and ultimatums from another - if we believe they truly care! - than to tolerate our inner bully, who is always cruel and never constructive. Even an angry tirade from an honest teacher might allow us to simply settle down and start to adapt. A very important part of what you're doing is learning to give someone else at least a basic level of control over your playing. I'm guessing your teacher doesn't give a damn about what you can do, because you did not learn correctly. It may be a very good, though negative, experience for you to simply submit to the frustration - as long as the teacher is giving you reason to trust them.
After 18 years of playing the piano I agreed to join an ensemble for the first time - for Stravinskys firebird with winds orchestra, of all projects. Dear Nahre, this video was exactly what I needed at this point in time. Thank you for the inspiration
thank you for this approach to tackling mental barriers. I feel like most people hide, withhold, or restrict their findings to a kind of "secret to success" kind of thing rather than outwardly explaining their findings. I get the world is a competitive place at times but seeing people like you who genuinely just want to see people or the world grow is extremely refreshing.
To dovetail: one barrier I have had to overcome as a composer/producer is that I would be seen as a mere hack who can’t make music that sounds original or unique but rather a tenth-rate imitation of better artists. This was a bad idea that I just learned to drop. What helped me to drop this was realising that I am not just my influences or knowledge. By extension, I am not a mere copy of those influences. My own experiences, abilities and tools are what make “my music mine” and no one else’s. And more importantly, I was sincere in making it. Even if I had a template or a reference point in mind, that’s not the same thing as “copying”. In the end, it’s my own thing that just happens to sound like something else. (And I’ve learned that people will respond with their own experiences. Not everyone else has listened to the same things I did … and in the same way.)
I really admire your perspective, especially your honesty and vulnerability about going through certain processes. Many times we as musicians, especially those of a certain level of experience, are hesitant to admit our weaknesses and shortcomings, even to ourselves. I believe that this has the genuine ability to stagnate our growth as musicians. You posting about how you feel when going through the process of creation helps to show us that we're not alone when this happens to us, and gives us useful tools to overcome those troublesome areas of our musical development. Thanks for what you do!
It's interesting that a lot of these lessons actually apply to other high performance activities and professions - lack self confidence = performance anxiety and procrastination is toooo real!
The most comfortable I have felt at the jazz jam was the time when there was only musicians left in the club. An audience can be very intimidating to newbies. One time though I looked at the folks who had come to hear us play and all I saw was smiling, encouraging faces. That was a good day to play. Thank you for this important lesson !
@@davidcox8961- Strangely, I am the opposite. I am not bothered by the audience, I really don’t get nervous playing live, no matter how big the audience. Even if there is a superb professional drummer in the audience- I won’t know about it (If someone introduced me before the show it might be different!) - but the musicians in the band terrify me! They know exactly what is going on and see all of my shortcomings…. Playing live is safest as they are concentrating on the performance, not analysing my playing…
@@SAHBfan In my case the other musicians were friends who were well aware of my amateur status. I just try to have fun these days at the open mic. I've come to realize the most people don't know a mistake when I play a wrong note. It's very liberating !!
I think a lot of this advice is great for anyone just living life. I'm a railroader, and I know how important my daily routine is for me to move through a complicated day with confidence. If I could add one point, getting enough rest, and sleep is crucial, especially before a big day!
I started having piano lessons again today after pausing it for more than half a year. I felt very distant about the piano ,and also i had a bad performance three years ago which still hangs at the back of my mind , its been a very annoying thought to get rid of . This vid really helped, motivate and clarifies a lot of things for me . Thanks ❤❤
You are the most authentic, sincere and captivating personality on TH-cam, I hang on your every word. Thank you for the wonderful content Nahre, gratitude and respect to you!
I've made blunders on stage; it's somewhat liberating to have survived such things. In retrospect, "what went wrong" for me started long before the performance (e.g. not seeking enough other performance opportunities, not pushing the limits of each performance to be as favorable to me and my career as possible).
I completely agree. I just graduated from college with a degree in music as a guitarist. It wasn’t until a few months after did I learn how vital your perspective on yourself is to performing any task. Anxiety and over thought will totally ruin any practice and preparation. Learning to master that will not only help your performances but it will also make performing more enjoyable. You don’t ever want to let anxiety mix with your musical expression. Music is supposed to be fun.
@@RaphaelAmbrosiusCosteau51 complacency; the ends justify the means; i went thru this so everyone must; "standards"; prestige of existing systems and teachers; prestige and perceived rigor of the art; cost of change (financial and otherwise)...
I was actually just having a discussion with another musician about this a few months back. He kept spending his time researching and practicing stuff wanting to get better, but I was telling him all he needed was a bit more experience in uncomfortable situations and more confidence in himself. His talent is there, he had experience, but he was always questioning himself and you could hear it In the few months since that discussion he sounds like he’s gotten years of experience and whatever new stuff he is learning or practicing is making much more immediate impact in our playtime together. So proud of him, and I let him know it
Did I mention that I believe you're a genius? At least I can say that your talent is 360° both vertically and horisontally! I watched your video "Happy Birthday in the styles [...]", and I was not only impressed. I was filled with joy! Someone here (on Earth) understands something profound about music! Please feel great! You are a gift to us all! Please stay safe and ignore the ignorant people who turn to hate, in lieu of the simple task of freeing their minds and thinking outside the boxes they live in.
I am a current student at Berklee Online and I absolutely love it. I am still quite early in my own music journey-just about three or four years in this far-and I started with Berklee Online last year. Totally accelerated my learning. Cannot recommend it highly enough.❤
Thank you for this video, Nahre. I wish I had these advises when i was a music student in university - I was plagued with stress, anxiety, and a lack of self confidence. This feels like a reassuring hug
There’s a lot of great advice in this video. I have started to realize some of it on my own, but it’s always nice to hear someone else corroborating things that you realize. I have started trying to regularly publish my own material on my TH-cam page, I think you were right about doing that regularly. Thanks for making the video. Keep up the good work!
EXCELLENT, Nahre! One of my favorite quotes: “Worry is weaponized imagination.” Just remembering that when I DO worry is often enough to help shift my imagination to be more constructive and supportive.
it is insane to me that someone as good at piano as nahre is this insecure. As someone who never went to any arts related school who publishes videos/music i get insecure as wel, but i always thought it was because i didnt really felt like i was any authority on the subject, becasue i am youtube-trained in everything. hearing this makes me rethink that, i might have also been insecure about these things if i went to art school. thanks for the video, i really like the insight, and you have no reason to doubt yourself, you are an amazing musician/educator in my eyes
> it is insane to me that someone as good at piano as nahre is this insecure. It is not at all surprising to me. Insecurity is virtually a sacrament in music. It awaits us everywhere, and there are only so many ways to cope without compromising our ability. When you're confronting something you've never played right in your life - and absolutely making it your world in that moment, not coping, just grinding out failure after failure - I don't see how you could feel anything _but_ insecure. Existentially alone, even. Under expectations to only give a damn about the music and not yourself.
Hi, Nahre, another lifelong piano devotee here (but untaught), and with experience of low confidence and also the vertigo you reference in your sidewalk analogy. And very appreciative of your talks. True vertigo isn't so much a fear of falling (though there is that!), but the fact that in our normal daily vision, the information cuts off at the ground. It is an opaque surface with things standing up from it. When the sidewalk is elevated, suddenly there is a doubling of the perspective that the mind has to work with - a whole world below us. And for some of us that is a sort of overload, which affects balance judgment and triggers a knowledge that therefore there is this extra danger of falling.
Just speaking as myself--hopefully without too much pride or humbleness--my ultimate level of musicianship is that I do the work, the study, the practice, the listening, and then push my ego to the side to just be a good servant to the spirit of music. After that, just gratitude for the opportunity, and enough respect to keep working.
I can just echo a lot of the comments here. I get so much out of your videos and being walked through the way you approach music. There was a point where I walked away from making music completely because I suffered from imposter syndrome to the nth degree. At this point in my life, I find approaching things with curiosity, joy and a sense of fun has opened up my music world again. You are certainly a part of that journey for me.
An unbelievably important video and an under taught topic in music education. As a pianist, I was tagged fairly early on to be a solo performer but quickly found that I couldn't keep up with the pressure and anxiety. I thankfully found other musical areas to pursue - conductor, church organ, choir (essentially anything where I can hide or not face the audience! 🤣🤣). As a music teacher, I take time in lesson to explicitly teach about performance anxiety and share my own experiences with my classes. Thank you for highlighting this important topic.
As a French I usually understand more easily Brits than Americans, but your voice is so clear and so pleasant ! I can hear your videos in loop just for my pleasure. AND they are great!
If I may also share - The biggest and most recent boost to my confidence around creativity (working with my voice coach) has been to train myself to listen more closely to and connect with my own sense of satisfaction and use this as a guide as to whether something is 'finished' or good enough. I find this has made me feel less anxious about getting things ' right' and, I believe , helping my performances to be more natural and (ironically) enjoyable to others. Loving your videos and appreciate your courage around vulnerability - thank you
There's so much in here, and thank you for getting my brain going! But I just wanted to pop in to note that your "how to sound like" series is what drew me to your videos and they're fantastic. They are awesome explorations of the theory behind these composers and great instruction.
I am a psychologist as well as a pianist and I have been watching your videos for the past two months. I have found that your instructive technics to be excellent. You are gifted in your ability to explain and demonstrate music theory and technics. Today, I finally subscribed. While I have benefited from watching you videos, I found this one to be especially helpful. I have been playing piano since the age of 5. I have also performed in Rock bands, three piece Dinner/Wedding bands, as well as a solo musician. Performance anxiety is a very significant issued that every musician needs to overcome, no matter how proficient they are instrumentally, and also something that is seldom addressed. In this video, you have done an outstanding job of addressing this issue. You are truly a very gifted teacher as well as being an exceptional musician.
Lack of confidence is my biggest barrier when it comes to performing on recitals/auditions, despite of long hours of practicing the pieces. I fully relate to how you feel that you "cannot play" without a warm-up routine of some sort.
Perhaps your finest video. Inspiring and compassionate. Btw your "How to Sound Like ..." videos are priceless and my favorite series on YT. Yes, even over Pitch Meeting
Thank you so much for sharing. I subscribe to dozens of channels covering many topics and fields, and I can say confidently that yours is one of my favorites across the board. I appreciate how hard you work at this and the result is always worth watching. Take care, Cheers.
Great video! Thanks for making it. I felt horrible during one performance but everybody said they loved it. Of course I didn’t believe them, but when I heard the playback of the concert a week later, I realized that my level of piano playing was higher than most (maybe all) of the audience, so first of all this level is enjoyable even I could hear that although I didn’t feel it in the moment, and have had better results on other gigs, but the point is that the audience that paid money and had a great time, they are the reason I can keep getting booked, so it’s powerful to snap out of our perfectionism and also embrace the joyful product we just sold the audience. One thing I learned was to not tell the audience how I felt about something they all valued. So I played it off (no pun intended) and became better to embrace the entertainment side of performing and loosen up, and yes then go home and practice
Nahre: We LOVE you! For YOU and your music. You always act with courage and above all empathy and respect. You make it all 'relatable'. We are grateful that such a flower has bloomed in our midst.
I played 2 songs solo, to a full house large crowd. I would usually only perform (nervous) in a band. So, I played /sang well, wasn't too nervous, proud of myself. Stood up, trod on my guitar lead, pulled it out of my guitar KEEERANG !!! Loud echoing noise thru the PA.
I'm not a musician, BUT this video was still helpful to me, I struggle with anxiety and procrastination about starting a new thing or working on/starting a project, so your tips can be modified so they can apply to other hobbies or projects other than music. So thank you for this, it has inspired me to get out there and just try new things that I've wanted to, but have been nervous about.
Adult beginner at piano here, only about 5 months in, but taking lessons. The teacher has had me participate in some student recitals so far. Performance anxiety was unexpected and surprising. Most recent was a larger audience of students from several local teachers as well as some of the student's family and friends, etc. It's getting better but definitely a work in progress and I think your tips here will help. Thank you!!
You are right on target! I search my self daily... find my weakness and put it in a repetitive process until I can dominate the information at a high level. This builds confidence. I laugh when my friends tell me how gifted I am... No, my life is in a cycle of repetitive process... Thanks for the video!!!!
I thought this video was going to be about things like perfect pitch. Self confidence is gained by performing often, and keeping on performing. After a break, the performance anxiety will come back again. So, one just needs to keep on performing. Anywho, excellent videos. Nice to hear from a real accomplished musician. Thank you very much!!!
I guess this is true. And that is exactly the reason, why I am a happy musician NEVER performing. Just why? There will be no going away - it's just another nail in your coffin believing self optimization would be good for you - when indeed it's mostly good for others. No performing, no bad feelings. There is no getting accustomed - as you will never get accustomed to somebody hitting you with a little hammer on your head. And that's the reason, why I am a writer! There is no performance. When the reader's coming, I'm far away. And that's the way it should be. Stay happy, don't let those things fool you.
@@SCWhiteJazz Well, music is a performing art, like acting and dance are. So live performance is a major part of music. But of course writing notes on a staff with a pencil right out of your head, that's also amazing. If you can do that without auditioning what you wrote, that could be the purest intellectual musical expression.
Realistically, a significant number of performers used drugs to handle this problem. I'm not suggesting that was a good idea, or that it's always necessary, but rather that performance anxiety and confidence issues for performers are probably more universal and significant than you'd guess, looking at how many performing and recording artists exist.
@@asafoetidajones8181 Yeah, the drugs like heroin can make any anxiety go away and make one feel alright no matter what. Might work for popular music. However, for classical or jazz, drugs might impair the senses too much to be able to deliver any compelling performance at all.
Great tips, also exploring art but also meeting the artists in all forms of art can break all those barriers down as well. Explore, create and above all have fun!
Man has a fear of the unknown. Rise to the occasion is my attitude. Sometimes the crowd isn't into your music. Sometimes my voice isn't quite working. I push through regardless of the situation. In the end I improve and learn something.
Ih have played trumpet for 50 years and deal with nerves, I appreciate so much your thoughts I can relate to, especially having supportive people around you, now the don't go away but they sit down and wait till I'm done performing, your video will be helpful to many more, thanx for putting this out there, JD from toledo
Great job with those push ups! You are killing it! As a jazz musician nothing boosts my self confidence as having an environment where I can play loud and not worry about making mistakes. That can be one or multiple friends I enjoy playing with. Also if all other aspects of life are going well I'm a lot less self conscious and therefore play better. I never successfully channeled bad feelings into good music!
Nahre thank you so much. Amateur musician here. Performance anxiety often impacts me most when I am in situations with better musicians. When playing at church I seldom have anxiety. Now that I am retired I am writing music, recording it, and I simply think of what I am doing as being creative like the person that paints at home. Since I was never an “educated” musician I never worry about what other people think. I am always happy when professional musicians complement me on a song I have written. For me it is a fun thing and each song has value to me. I am happy that I can learn things from accomplished musicians such as you. You are very down to earth, thanks for sharing and helping the rest of us out!😊
Great video. I like the point about presenting vs sharing. It really does change the perspective on the purpose of outputting things, whether it's music, a video, opinion in a discussion, etc. and making the goal to simply just share. How others feels about it is up to them and the goal shouldn't be to control that.
Nahre, you are amazing!. Thank You for expressing with such empathy and sincerity (and positivity) , how do you deal with the vulnerabilities and self confidence gymnastics that it takes for most of us musicians to keep going . You are a Beautiful and very generous artist.
Hi Nahre. I have sub-zero level of musical knowledge but I still enjoy watching your channel. If there are 50% of admirers and the rest is haters, the ratio is about right. One can never gain 100% support in the public.
I like the last tips! One thing I do, is talk to the audience before I perform, which gives me the opportunity to tell them about my nerves or make a joke, something that narrows the gap between us, so I don’t feel so: I am the only one and they are the judges. I like to create a little bonding that makes the concert feel more like playing for some friends.
I’m a pianist in Hawaii and I adore your content and playing. Please know you videos have more inspirational impact than you know. We see you as supremely talented and hardworking in your craft. And we think you play beautifully and possess a coveted fluid piano technique. You’re adding so much value to the world through your content. Please keep them coming.
Thanks for sharing this Nahre! This was really helpful and I think not enough people talk about their struggles and the hard and bumpy roads and insecurities they have despite how successful they are! You're really an amazing person and I hope you keep continue inspiring us artists and musicians alike out there! Love what you do! And when you're feeling down, just remind yourself that you are more than amazing! And that's already a gift to yourself and to your loved ones and to the world! Stay creative and keep on creating Nahre!
Understanding harmonic theory; understanding the harmony in the piece and and feeling it (synesthetically) Understanding structure Internalizing phrases Proprioception; know where you are and will be next bar without looking or almost so Coordination (few traits are hard per se, but coordinating un-natural combinations can be) Capacity of improvisation
Music is an avocation rather than a vocation for me, as a scientist (astronomer). But it seems to me these practices apply to almost any creative endeavor. Thanks for articulating them so clearly and persuasively. More importantly, congratulations on passing the 500k subscriber milestone-well-earned! I've been a subscriber for much of that climb, and have enjoyed and learned from so many of your videos. -Tom
Before a gig I always try to imagine the job going great. Instead of thinking of all that can go wrong….I try to visualize myself playing well and enjoying the process. I also imagine that I am already on the gig when I am home practicing so when I get there it’s no longer a new venture. Great channel and incredibly useful advise here. 😎. Much love
Thanks for this, Nahre. Such an important segment. I’ve struggled a lot with performance anxiety based on the fear of a memory slip in a recital. So good to hear you talk this out so we don’t feel like we’re the only one out there dealing with this.
So insightful, Nahre. As a musician in later life, I can relate to so much of your analysis. This video will be of much service to musicians of all ages. Your work as a teacher truly makes a difference you will never completely know, but rest assured it does.
I'm always so impressed with how humble you seem to be Nahre, particularly when you're such an incredibly accomplished pianist. Thanks again for sharing your vulnerability. It is a most welcome thing these days! 🤗✌
I enjoy your content very much. I feel like I've hit another plateau with my skill level and videos like these are an excellent boost to motivation. I especially agree with the concept of changing your perspective when met with difficulty. I personally enjoy meditation a lot and it has made this part of the practice routine easier for me. The term headspace is a bit corny given that it's a name of a meditation related product but I feel like it describes the effects of meditation quite well. Your head often feels like a cramped space where everything is stuck in place and it's hard to navigate and rearrange things. To me meditation helps to create a neutral zone in the mind where one can look at things "normally" and manipulate them in an easier way. Thoughts feel freer, there's more "room" so to speak. Implementing a preparation involving meditation before practising the piano has eased some of those mental blockades on certain difficult passages of music I've been struggling with. I also listen better after meditating. Thanks again for the wonderful content.
first tip i got introduced to as identifying perceived vs actual danger - a skill for treating anxiety :) nahre, beyond your amazing musical insights and digestible communication, i always get drawn to your videos because of you as a person. i’m in an uncomfortable time right now and seeing your candid thoughts and desire to help other by getting something out there feels like a friend who genuinely cares. hope you and everyone else reading are receiving what you need in this moment!
Exercising is great, but sometimes I feel musicians can injure themselves and that can hinder their performance. How do you protect your hands, wrists, fingers etc? Also congrats on 500k!!
Fantastic topic! Very helpful. I'm old now and I have been a musician for all my life. It was very different back when I was young. I would have needed a good teacher and I never found one. "Play what is written there and learn your scales and arpeggios!" was what I did for eight years. I found it extremely boring and begged for someone to explain stuff to me and teach me something else than uninteresting Sonatinas. There was this myth about super talented people who find out everything by themselves: super complex jazz voicings, gorgeous improvisation with fluidity.... I struggled like crazy and jazz records didn't help. Toom many notes and too fast. I did find out a ton on my own, just enough to become a professional musician, but without a great teacher I never got there where I felt confident. Eventually I found the information and it was confirmed: I would have needed that decades earlier. Now I'm a piano teacher and I help my students by spicing up the repertoire with nice tunes of their choice, also explaining the "what and why". I have nothing but praise for Berklee, Boston. I did one of their first online course programs way back in 2005-2007. Unfortunately no piano courses or degrees back then, but that changed meanwhile. If I had the money, I would take the most complete piano online course available. You must study, but studying without knowing exactly what and how from a competent and trusted source, you go nowhere. Thanks for doing this. Love you playing and your great personality!
I had abusive parents, and after I finished music school they pretty much convinced me to quit. I don’t have a relationship with them now, and I’m trying to get back so that I can make music my actual career instead of working a full time office job to survive while teaching some lessons and freelancing on the weekends. It’s so hard, and I don’t have anyone to talk to about it except myself, so this video is literally exactly what I need thank you!
Have you thought about taking a less administration-related job ? Ex: cashier ? School driver? Photographer (for weddings and events)?
Any job that is more hands on than your old job.
That way you will do things with your hands, without obsessing over paper. What do you think?
You don't have any friends? A therapist?
I would really encourage you and anyone in a similar situation to go to counseling. A good counselor can not be replaced with any other substitute like friends, 12 step programs, books, etc. I’m not a counselor. This advice is coming from my own personal experience.
You gotta do you, all day everyday. Making/teaching music is your calling so follow it. Your parents are probably more concerned with your financial stability. Prove to them money can be made via music and they might have a change of heart.
Many of us can relate. My learning center leaves me little time but I'm making myself work to make music and TH-cam videos this year. Each of and connect.
I’m so glad you said what you did about self-confidence, performance anxiety and procrastination. It took me a LONG time to realize that procrastination was a symptom of low self-confidence, not the cause of it.
A light bulb turned on in my head when she said that.
This applies to procrastination in areas other than music, as you surely know. Knowing what you are looking at is so vital. Do not be tricked by reverse causality. The fear comes first. The procrastination is an effect of fear response.
What procrastination is, to society, is self-_indulgence._ A root cause, not a symptom of anything. Follow simple steps to conquer it or be deservedly punished, says society.
And that attitude will persist along after we know better. It's good for the people who don't have the problem. It makes them feel righteous.
Confidence can be learned. Take an acting class, learn to fake confidence. Put on a show! Act like you know what you are doing. When you flub, it's part of the act.
I'd like to recommend a book to this comment tread; the 6 pillars of self esteem
It offers a very good insight into self esteem and its importance.
I just started taking lessons with a professional as an adult. While feeling that I've been a pretty dedicated, relatively advanced pianist over these years, she has made me aware of how lacking my childhood teacher was. It's been a hard (but necessary) blow to my already low self esteem as a musician. I'm already a very anxious performer. So this video is just what I needed right now. Thanks!
Congrats on starting lessons! I hope everything will continue to go well 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻
In my opinion, a teacher who denigrates an earlier teacher is insecure and seeking to convince you (and themselves) that they are superior to others. I would encourage you to seek a teacher who celebrates all you have learned from others, and only wants to help you build on that to perform even better.
@@iampracticingpiano doesn't sound like his/her new teacher has said anything about the last teacher, seems the poster just became aware of it by being taught by a new different teacher.
Same here. I have to unlearn what i've thought as right for the past 10 years. It's painful to start from the beginning but at least I'm making progress :D
Also thank you for your comment, it shows that I'm not the only one
A strange thing I started throwing into my practice- practicing “messing up” and recovering as smoothly as possible. Intentionally playing an incorrect note or two, but keeping the entire momentum smooth and carrying on with the performance.
I noticed that it helped my confidence immensely when playing in front of others- I started to feel like “I am prepared to mess up, if it happens” and I wasn’t thinking “don’t mess up, don’t mess up!”
contrast that with the traditional method of learning sight reading - which is all "DON'TS!" stopping counting? don't! getting lost? don't!! breaking concentration? don't!!! it's a live fire exercise in negativity and it's centered on an essential skill. its a damn shame.
Funny thing is, I learned how to do that from playing Guitar Hero. :p
My piano teacher taught me to intentionally start playing in the middle of the piece to be prepared in case i made a mistake!:)
I don't have to intentionally mess up I have that talent mastered to the point no one knows when I mess up or play perfectly. Perfection is boring, mistakes are what make you human. You are human not a digital playback device. I make guitar faces, gaping mouth and my AI accompaniment loves it when I play flamboyantly. AI can't do that.
absolutely. That deep, paralysing fear (for me) is not about messing it up but not being able to continue if I mess it up.
There is so much music produced nowadays that even good musicians work can be left unappreciated. It's important to sometimes stop comparing ourselves with others.
But it's important to start again. There really is always someone better than we are, and running away from that and only trying to be "good enough" is a cope.
@RatPfink66 I think you’re missing the point. Sometimes you give it all you got and its not enough. You have to cope with that. Some people need to chose “good enough” over quitting because for success you just have to keep moving forward
@@zekiel2574 true....as a violinist I always think (there is always someone who is better) i think this mindset has helped me focus only on my improvement and stop comparing myself to others....however it doesn't not stop me from pushing through and keep motivating myself to better myself
right, stop comparing yourself to others: the audience will do it for you 😉
I've been playing for well over 50 years and teaching for over 30. This video is great. Excellent insightful content well articulated with a just right delivery. Bravo!! and thank you.
Another amazing video honestly, applicable for musicians of all levels
Hiii
The grace and humanity embedded in this generous artist's personality and work must not go unnoticed.
Your comments about reframing situations is spot on. When I was in music school I was terrified of recitals. Oddly, juries never bothered me. But, the school I went to had what they called "sophomore comprehensives" . Basically a jury exam performed in front of the entire faculty. Your performance determined whether or not you got to continue as a music major. I was in the wings sweating all over my tux and my classical guitar and started thinking through the possible outcomes. One of which was, "Chances are, nobody's going to die from this." That single thought entirely flipped my terror on its head. I played the best I ever had, and it's become my "thought" any time I'm faced with anxiety like that.
30 years on, I haven't literally killed anyone with my performances yet.
Love this!
"Yet" being the operable word...
Thank you! Three thoughts:
1. This isn’t just one of the best videos on your channel, but one of the best videos on TH-cam, because it applies not just to musicians but to everybody.
2. It’s really interesting that most of your tips for self confidence are actually tips for getting better. This maybe isn’t surprising. The better we get, the more confident we feel. You’re clearly interested both in self confidence and improving as a musician. I never made this connection before, but it’s so obvious; how are you going to feel confident in something if you suck at it? Brutal but true. Thanks for bringing me to this insight.
3. For me, the key to self confidence is humility. Humility doesn’t mean putting yourself down. A psychologist who researches humility told me: humility is an accurate assessment of where you are. Wow! This means, don’t think you need to pretend to be better than you are. If you’re just starting to learn something new, why would you be good at it? If you’re good at it, then why doubt yourself? Accurate self-assessment is actually crucial to self-confidence. We don’t need to pretend.
Only an amateur musician here, but I just had to leave a comment thanking you for your positive attitude. It's a breath of fresh air on the internet of today
i quite agree...and i'm a former pro, sidelined by an amateur's temperament.
I'm a fake musician, a fraud to some but I don't care if they still pay me.
Nahre, you’ve been on such a roll recently with your videos for me. They have been so inspiring and I especially needed this one because motivation is so much harder than actually difficult music to me. A lot of times having to deal with technology that I barely know how to use is extremely frustrating to me and I just give up immediately when I can’t do something. This video has reinvigorated me to try some of of those things again, so thank you!
This makes me so happy to read, thank you 🧡
Hi Nah Re. As an English teacher, I consider your "how to sound like" videos extremely valuable in terms of pedagogy. It comes to my mind that legendary video from walking the bass, "all about piano scales". There is structured and conceptualized substance that fosters people to rewatch it many more times
I had an audition the other day and on that day I realized that practice is only 40% of the equation the other 60% is mental. I knew when I walked in that room I didn't know the cut as well as others but when I auditioned I played with the confidence of someone who knew it perfectly so I did well, indifferent to the very lazy practice I did for the audition.
I learned that in college about giving presentations. If you speak well it doesn’t matter that your content is not so good
me when it comes to writing. knowing how to write a good paper and inject personality can make up for lack of content .
A new golden age of music theory is happening on TH-cam. ❤
that's lovely, i agree
Why do you say that?
@@drakewright6403 because TH-cam has made it easy for musicians, to not only bring us unusual styles and types of music but how best to teach it.
@@drakewright6403 Nahre Sol, Adam Neely, Rick Beato, etc. These exceptionally talented musicians are breaking new ground in theory while reaching a mass audience. I can say that I learned more from them than years in conservatory. I feel extremely grateful and lucky to have access to their work!
All those people you’ve named havent done anything with their “careers” musically. The best teachers are and will always be the musicians who are musically original. Monk,Hendrix,Coltrane, etc..
Wow yes I totally agree. Confidence is such a big thing. It's so difficult to stay away from the negativity. Just when I think I can reach all my musical goals I'm sent crashing down by the smallest of things. I always feel like I am having to build up to try to reach my goals.
> It's so difficult to stay away from the negativity.
Negativity is a traditional tool in music learning. Teachers may embody it. The ethos of playing and becoming a professional pushes it. It's all we have to get us thru sometimes.
There's no saying, "this is a problem but that's ok." It's our responsibility to own it and fix it. And weeks or months of everyday frustration trying to nail the smallest of things can make a person sick.
I think a complete musician comes to terms with negativity rather than locking it out.
Thank you Nahre. Your suggestions here are what I try to instill with my students. First rule: Don't be afraid of "making mistakes" or "hitting a wrong note". Just keep going and enjoy learning how it might be improved.
Also, it seems that some musicians take themselves way to seriously, personally associating their playing skills with their self ego and sense of social esteem. All of that just "gets in the way" of the joys of playing music with and for friends.
Indeed. For many years I suffered from my identity being wrapped up in musicianship, and I was insufferable as a result. Only once I surrendered to Jesus and began to understand how I was loved despite my flaws was I free to play without fear of making mistakes because I was finally confident in the fact that I am loved.
@@scottdotjazzman Yes. We all have flaws.
It's okay. Play music.
So true Matt! And most importantly; that self ego and social esteem can get in the way of friendship!
Hi Nahre. I am not a musician but I still find this video of yours endearing and inspiring. Beyond being erudite and talented, you are also authentic and humble. Please keep sharing the experiences you have on your artistic journey - they are much appreciated. May the world play your music one hundred years from now.
All of this is wonderful. Heading into my third decade as a professional musician, every minute of this video resonates with my experience. And as someone who's consumed countless books, conference presentations, and videos on the various psychological pitfalls of a musical career, I find your framing of the subject very refreshing. Congrats on the 500k, too. I think I joined around the 50k mark and have really enjoyed watching these past few years. Nice to see someone else a bit like myself, who keeps looking for new things to do and new ways to do them!
Congrats on 500k! You’ve been an inspiration to me for a long time. I appreciate that you stay true to yourself. It comes through. Great video. Very relatable.
Nahre, this is such an insanely good video. Wisdom and insight aside, the camera work, editing, sound design, animation.. all of that is inspiring in and of itself! Add some of the most motivating and succinct life/music/mental health advice I’ve ever received, and wow… Your intelligence and passion for your craft(s) is incredibly touching and inspiring. YOU. ARE. AWESOME!!! THANK YOU!!!!
Applicable to all fields of life. Thank you. You're a definite exception to the old rule that "those who can't, teach" . . Your high level communication skills and sense of humour, allied to your knowledge make your videos a joy to watch/listen to - from someone who doesn't usually have the patience to listen to youtubers. Plus, you have a real understanding of complexity and how it's present in so much of our lives.
As a chess player I can relate to your advice. Especially the part about failure. Sometimes, as a teacher, helping the students to face and deal with failure seems more important than the things I am actually teaching.
Seeing my beginnerstudents (flute) gradually becoming more confident in /how to meet challenges/, is one of my greatest joys as a teacher. It's a skill those 8 year olds can apply to their whole life, not just that particular hobby they started
As a math student the part about failure and low confidence was also really relatable. Something that really helped me was to focus on having a growth mindset instead of a fixed mindset. When I tutored highschoolers in maths I found that learning students to have a growth mindset helps them more than any amount of technical knowledge you can give them.
Same as a violin teacher. I learn more about myself teaching my students confidence, addressing self doubt, facing shortcomings, and working with their bodies, not against them. Lessons for life in all areas.
I'm a chess player too but a very bad one. Probably started too late in middle age, but been playing chess for 12+ years with negligible improvement despite thousands of tactics problems, working through strategy books etc. I've given up on chess improvement and trying just to enjoy the game, but piano is a different story - Grade 5-6 level at present, improvement is tangible and very satisfying, correlating to (unlike chess) the time and efforts I'm putting in.
I signed up sonny boy for chess precisely so he can learn how to lose gracefully.
I'm finishing my music studies after more than a decade and I had never seen points so accurate, varied and useful in a video. Everyone watching it should follow at least some, if not every one of the things you say. Congratulations, I found it truly wise.
We become what we practice most
Confidence is a misnomer. You don't gain confidence, but lose, fear, insecurity and self doubt.
If you are working to gain confidence, you are merely repressing or temporarily diverting your insecurity and fear of failure, If you are clear in who you are and love what you do with overriding joy and passion, fear and insecurity cannot gain a foothold in your being. Living in harmony is about how you live your life balancing and aligning body, mind, soul and spirit which is facilitated by healthy diet and exercise. Music is the sonic flow of life and once you are in that flow and have tasted the supreme joy and bliss of life, all else fades into insignificance.
These tips are not only useful for piano, but also for life 😁
Thanks for these amazing videos!
Truth.
That is often the way of things .. truth is universal
What an incredibly generous person you are. I’ve always had a latent interest in music and making music, but I’ve barely ever explored that interest. A lot of it has to do with perfectionism and not wanting anyone to hear me not be amazing, which is all on me, but it’s prevented me from really delving into one of the things I love so much in life. This is very valuable knowledge to have, and it’s also very hard won because you’ll never learn it without putting in the long, hard hours that I haven’t. But it’s also broadly applicable to pretty much everything in life, too. So not only are you pursuing your own passions and working hard to improve yourself at them, you’re sharing the results of that with the world, and not to stop there, you’re also sharing the challenges you’ve run up against in that pursuit and the things you’ve learned from running up against them and how to keep making progress. That’s a beautiful thing to do, and I’m grateful to you for doing it. Thank you for teaching those who’d listen how to make their own lives better, and how they can use that to return that favor to others, too.
I was self taught for around two years, saw two teachers during that period, neither of them whom I considered helpful in the ways I most needed. Now I am seeing another teacher who is fully doing their role in pointing out where I need serious improvement (something my previous teachers were too lenient with). A lot of my flaws have finally been brought to light, making me realize how much I’m lacking and have to grow. One thing in particular is rhythm, a concept I didn’t understand upon teaching myself and avoided because of its daunting unfamiliarity and complexity. We are heavily focusing on all my weaker musical points and doing such has really been a blow to my confidence as a pianist. Rather than dedicating more attention to the areas in which I struggled, I preferred to stick to already established skills like rapidly reading notes (solely pitch and not rhythm). Doing such validated all the work I had put into piano because I found I could do something successfully (which turns out is only reading pitch instantly, not nearly enough to comprehend the entirety of sheet music). I found that denying my weak areas made me feel more accomplished because I could pretend they didn’t exist and enjoy playing, but in an ultimately harmful and counter productive ignorance. It’s almost painful to finally confront my flaws with the intention of having them fixed because the first steps in correcting them are excruciating. Both in that old habits die hard but also that I have a teacher who is adamantly (and for the better) forcing me to face musical concepts, such as counting, I procrastinated on. It is immensely uncomfortable to be told that you aren’t playing correctly after all the blood, sweat and tears you pored into your precious craft. Another issue I face is understanding that piano playing is a time consuming, rigorous art that requires great commitment over long durations. One cannot expect to sight-read a Liszt etude perfectly at their first attempt, an entirely unreasonable feat that I pity myself for because I am unable. And am continuously unable from virtuous piece to virtuous piece. All in all, it is a taxing journey to remind oneself that these standards are ridiculous and that even the greats require time to excel in such difficult pieces. The piano has been an incredible addition to my life but because of my own self imposed cruelty and bullying, it has also been a great source of grief. Videos like these, from incredibly skilled and experienced pianists are what I need to find meaning in persevering.
Self-imposed cruelty is the fate of the self-taught musician. I am one myself. I have burnt bridges with more than one decent teacher, just because I couldn't stop torturing myself during lessons and practice. They owed me no understanding and I knew it. Better just to cut things short.
It is far better to face raised voices and ultimatums from another - if we believe they truly care! - than to tolerate our inner bully, who is always cruel and never constructive. Even an angry tirade from an honest teacher might allow us to simply settle down and start to adapt.
A very important part of what you're doing is learning to give someone else at least a basic level of control over your playing. I'm guessing your teacher doesn't give a damn about what you can do, because you did not learn correctly. It may be a very good, though negative, experience for you to simply submit to the frustration - as long as the teacher is giving you reason to trust them.
everytime I see an artist I really like and look up to admit to mental challenges and how they push through them, it makes me feel encouraged.
After 18 years of playing the piano I agreed to join an ensemble for the first time - for Stravinskys firebird with winds orchestra, of all projects.
Dear Nahre, this video was exactly what I needed at this point in time. Thank you for the inspiration
thank you for this approach to tackling mental barriers. I feel like most people hide, withhold, or restrict their findings to a kind of "secret to success" kind of thing rather than outwardly explaining their findings. I get the world is a competitive place at times but seeing people like you who genuinely just want to see people or the world grow is extremely refreshing.
To dovetail: one barrier I have had to overcome as a composer/producer is that I would be seen as a mere hack who can’t make music that sounds original or unique but rather a tenth-rate imitation of better artists. This was a bad idea that I just learned to drop. What helped me to drop this was realising that I am not just my influences or knowledge. By extension, I am not a mere copy of those influences. My own experiences, abilities and tools are what make “my music mine” and no one else’s. And more importantly, I was sincere in making it. Even if I had a template or a reference point in mind, that’s not the same thing as “copying”. In the end, it’s my own thing that just happens to sound like something else. (And I’ve learned that people will respond with their own experiences. Not everyone else has listened to the same things I did … and in the same way.)
I really admire your perspective, especially your honesty and vulnerability about going through certain processes. Many times we as musicians, especially those of a certain level of experience, are hesitant to admit our weaknesses and shortcomings, even to ourselves. I believe that this has the genuine ability to stagnate our growth as musicians. You posting about how you feel when going through the process of creation helps to show us that we're not alone when this happens to us, and gives us useful tools to overcome those troublesome areas of our musical development. Thanks for what you do!
It's interesting that a lot of these lessons actually apply to other high performance activities and professions - lack self confidence = performance anxiety and procrastination is toooo real!
You definitively are welcome to make more videos, Nahre - I enjoyed - Every. Single. One.
The most comfortable I have felt at the jazz jam was the time when there was only musicians left in the club. An audience can be very intimidating to newbies. One time though I looked at the folks who had come to hear us play and all I saw was smiling, encouraging faces. That was a good day to play. Thank you for this important lesson !
Many people have no idea whether you play like crap or kill it. Always act like you are killing it. They don't know you aren't.
@@MrDogonjon Ha ha.. yeah you're right. But there's always that one person in the room who knows how to play that you are trying to impress, eh?
@@davidcox8961- Strangely, I am the opposite. I am not bothered by the audience, I really don’t get nervous playing live, no matter how big the audience. Even if there is a superb professional drummer in the audience- I won’t know about it (If someone introduced me before the show it might be different!) - but the musicians in the band terrify me! They know exactly what is going on and see all of my shortcomings…. Playing live is safest as they are concentrating on the performance, not analysing my playing…
@@SAHBfan In my case the other musicians were friends who were well aware of my amateur status. I just try to have fun these days at the open mic. I've come to realize the most people don't know a mistake when I play a wrong note. It's very liberating !!
Yeah sitting in with fellow musos is a great confidence builder and musicians are often very supportive.
I think a lot of this advice is great for anyone just living life. I'm a railroader, and I know how important my daily routine is for me to move through a complicated day with confidence. If I could add one point, getting enough rest, and sleep is crucial, especially before a big day!
I started having piano lessons again today after pausing it for more than half a year. I felt very distant about the piano ,and also i had a bad performance three years ago which still hangs at the back of my mind , its been a very annoying thought to get rid of . This vid really helped, motivate and clarifies a lot of things for me . Thanks ❤❤
She actually did a video specifically talking about returning to your instrument after a pause th-cam.com/video/1oVwlKZgsWA/w-d-xo.html
You are the most authentic, sincere and captivating personality on TH-cam, I hang on your every word. Thank you for the wonderful content Nahre, gratitude and respect to you!
I've made blunders on stage; it's somewhat liberating to have survived such things. In retrospect, "what went wrong" for me started long before the performance (e.g. not seeking enough other performance opportunities, not pushing the limits of each performance to be as favorable to me and my career as possible).
I completely agree. I just graduated from college with a degree in music as a guitarist. It wasn’t until a few months after did I learn how vital your perspective on yourself is to performing any task. Anxiety and over thought will totally ruin any practice and preparation. Learning to master that will not only help your performances but it will also make performing more enjoyable. You don’t ever want to let anxiety mix with your musical expression. Music is supposed to be fun.
There is a list of reasons as long as your arm that explain why the above philosophy is NOT taught in music schools.
@@RatPfink66 and those reasons are?
@@RaphaelAmbrosiusCosteau51 complacency; the ends justify the means; i went thru this so everyone must; "standards"; prestige of existing systems and teachers; prestige and perceived rigor of the art; cost of change (financial and otherwise)...
I was actually just having a discussion with another musician about this a few months back. He kept spending his time researching and practicing stuff wanting to get better, but I was telling him all he needed was a bit more experience in uncomfortable situations and more confidence in himself. His talent is there, he had experience, but he was always questioning himself and you could hear it
In the few months since that discussion he sounds like he’s gotten years of experience and whatever new stuff he is learning or practicing is making much more immediate impact in our playtime together. So proud of him, and I let him know it
Did I mention that I believe you're a genius? At least I can say that your talent is 360° both vertically and horisontally! I watched your video "Happy Birthday in the styles [...]", and I was not only impressed. I was filled with joy! Someone here (on Earth) understands something profound about music! Please feel great! You are a gift to us all! Please stay safe and ignore the ignorant people who turn to hate, in lieu of the simple task of freeing their minds and thinking outside the boxes they live in.
I am a current student at Berklee Online and I absolutely love it. I am still quite early in my own music journey-just about three or four years in this far-and I started with Berklee Online last year. Totally accelerated my learning. Cannot recommend it highly enough.❤
Please ignore the fake spam account comments... and I'm sorry they've been plaguing my comments. Thank you -Nahre
Thank you for this video, Nahre. I wish I had these advises when i was a music student in university - I was plagued with stress, anxiety, and a lack of self confidence. This feels like a reassuring hug
There’s a lot of great advice in this video. I have started to realize some of it on my own, but it’s always nice to hear someone else corroborating things that you realize. I have started trying to regularly publish my own material on my TH-cam page, I think you were right about doing that regularly. Thanks for making the video. Keep up the good work!
EXCELLENT, Nahre! One of my favorite quotes: “Worry is weaponized imagination.” Just remembering that when I DO worry is often enough to help shift my imagination to be more constructive and supportive.
it is insane to me that someone as good at piano as nahre is this insecure. As someone who never went to any arts related school who publishes videos/music i get insecure as wel, but i always thought it was because i didnt really felt like i was any authority on the subject, becasue i am youtube-trained in everything. hearing this makes me rethink that, i might have also been insecure about these things if i went to art school.
thanks for the video, i really like the insight, and you have no reason to doubt yourself, you are an amazing musician/educator in my eyes
> it is insane to me that someone as good at piano as nahre is this insecure.
It is not at all surprising to me. Insecurity is virtually a sacrament in music. It awaits us everywhere, and there are only so many ways to cope without compromising our ability.
When you're confronting something you've never played right in your life - and absolutely making it your world in that moment, not coping, just grinding out failure after failure - I don't see how you could feel anything _but_ insecure. Existentially alone, even. Under expectations to only give a damn about the music and not yourself.
With greater ability come harder pieces and a broader, meaner repertoir of self-nitpicking
Hi, Nahre, another lifelong piano devotee here (but untaught), and with experience of low confidence and also the vertigo you reference in your sidewalk analogy. And very appreciative of your talks.
True vertigo isn't so much a fear of falling (though there is that!), but the fact that in our normal daily vision, the information cuts off at the ground. It is an opaque surface with things standing up from it. When the sidewalk is elevated, suddenly there is a doubling of the perspective that the mind has to work with - a whole world below us. And for some of us that is a sort of overload, which affects balance judgment and triggers a knowledge that therefore there is this extra danger of falling.
Congratulations on 5K subscribers. I truly believe yours is the best music channel on TH-cam. One million subscribers is just around the corner!
Just speaking as myself--hopefully without too much pride or humbleness--my ultimate level of musicianship is that I do the work, the study, the practice, the listening, and then push my ego to the side to just be a good servant to the spirit of music.
After that, just gratitude for the opportunity, and enough respect to keep working.
Love your pep talk. Wish I had this kind of talk a lot earlier. You are absolutely right about procrastination. I am an example of it.
Don't under value your procrastination time. Some times procrastination is the only thing you do right every time.
I can just echo a lot of the comments here. I get so much out of your videos and being walked through the way you approach music. There was a point where I walked away from making music completely because I suffered from imposter syndrome to the nth degree. At this point in my life, I find approaching things with curiosity, joy and a sense of fun has opened up my music world again. You are certainly a part of that journey for me.
An unbelievably important video and an under taught topic in music education. As a pianist, I was tagged fairly early on to be a solo performer but quickly found that I couldn't keep up with the pressure and anxiety. I thankfully found other musical areas to pursue - conductor, church organ, choir (essentially anything where I can hide or not face the audience! 🤣🤣). As a music teacher, I take time in lesson to explicitly teach about performance anxiety and share my own experiences with my classes.
Thank you for highlighting this important topic.
As a French I usually understand more easily Brits than Americans, but your voice is so clear and so pleasant ! I can hear your videos in loop just for my pleasure. AND they are great!
Love your videos and your love of music 😊 it’s such a treat every time you pop up in our feeds!
Thank you so much!!
If I may also share - The biggest and most recent boost to my confidence around creativity (working with my voice coach) has been to train myself to listen more closely to and connect with my own sense of satisfaction and use this as a guide as to whether something is 'finished' or good enough. I find this has made me feel less anxious about getting things ' right' and, I believe , helping my performances to be more natural and (ironically) enjoyable to others.
Loving your videos and appreciate your courage around vulnerability - thank you
There's so much in here, and thank you for getting my brain going! But I just wanted to pop in to note that your "how to sound like" series is what drew me to your videos and they're fantastic. They are awesome explorations of the theory behind these composers and great instruction.
I am a psychologist as well as a pianist and I have been watching your videos for the past two months. I have found that your instructive technics to be excellent. You are gifted in your ability to explain and demonstrate music theory and technics. Today, I finally subscribed. While I have benefited from watching you videos, I found this one to be especially helpful. I have been playing piano since the age of 5. I have also performed in Rock bands, three piece Dinner/Wedding bands, as well as a solo musician. Performance anxiety is a very significant issued that every musician needs to overcome, no matter how proficient they are instrumentally, and also something that is seldom addressed. In this video, you have done an outstanding job of addressing this issue. You are truly a very gifted teacher as well as being an exceptional musician.
This video isn't only brilliant for musicians, also to non-musicians in real life. Fantastic insight - thank you so much!
Lack of confidence is my biggest barrier when it comes to performing on recitals/auditions, despite of long hours of practicing the pieces. I fully relate to how you feel that you "cannot play" without a warm-up routine of some sort.
Perhaps your finest video. Inspiring and compassionate. Btw your "How to Sound Like ..." videos are priceless and my favorite series on YT. Yes, even over Pitch Meeting
Thank you so!!
Thank you so much for sharing. I subscribe to dozens of channels covering many topics and fields, and I can say confidently that yours is one of my favorites across the board. I appreciate how hard you work at this and the result is always worth watching. Take care, Cheers.
Great video! Thanks for making it.
I felt horrible during one performance but everybody said they loved it. Of course I didn’t believe them, but when I heard the playback of the concert a week later, I realized that my level of piano playing was higher than most (maybe all) of the audience, so first of all this level is enjoyable even I could hear that although I didn’t feel it in the moment, and have had better results on other gigs, but the point is that the audience that paid money and had a great time, they are the reason I can keep getting booked, so it’s powerful to snap out of our perfectionism and also embrace the joyful product we just sold the audience. One thing I learned was to not tell the audience how I felt about something they all valued. So I played it off (no pun intended) and became better to embrace the entertainment side of performing and loosen up, and yes then go home and practice
Nahre: We LOVE you! For YOU and your music. You always act with courage and above all empathy and respect. You make it all 'relatable'. We are grateful that such a flower has bloomed in our midst.
Never forget it is all an act.
I played 2 songs solo, to a full house large crowd. I would usually only perform (nervous) in a band. So, I played /sang well, wasn't too nervous, proud of myself. Stood up, trod on my guitar lead, pulled it out of my guitar KEEERANG !!! Loud echoing noise thru the PA.
I'm not a musician, BUT this video was still helpful to me, I struggle with anxiety and procrastination about starting a new thing or working on/starting a project, so your tips can be modified so they can apply to other hobbies or projects other than music. So thank you for this, it has inspired me to get out there and just try new things that I've wanted to, but have been nervous about.
Wonderful Wonderful advice. And I'm a 76 yr old classical singer who found your insights valuable no matter where you are on your music journey.
The AUDIO QUALITY of your voice sounds much cleaner/better in this video. Did you make changes to your recording equipment? Sounds FANTASTIC!
Adult beginner at piano here, only about 5 months in, but taking lessons. The teacher has had me participate in some student recitals so far. Performance anxiety was unexpected and surprising. Most recent was a larger audience of students from several local teachers as well as some of the student's family and friends, etc. It's getting better but definitely a work in progress and I think your tips here will help. Thank you!!
Great video on a super important topic! Thank you! (and congrats on 500K of course!)
You are right on target! I search my self daily... find my weakness and put it in a repetitive process until I can dominate the information at a high level. This builds confidence. I laugh when my friends tell me how gifted I am... No, my life is in a cycle of repetitive process... Thanks for the video!!!!
I thought this video was going to be about things like perfect pitch. Self confidence is gained by performing often, and keeping on performing. After a break, the performance anxiety will come back again. So, one just needs to keep on performing. Anywho, excellent videos. Nice to hear from a real accomplished musician. Thank you very much!!!
I guess this is true. And that is exactly the reason, why I am a happy musician NEVER performing. Just why? There will be no going away - it's just another nail in your coffin believing self optimization would be good for you - when indeed it's mostly good for others. No performing, no bad feelings. There is no getting accustomed - as you will never get accustomed to somebody hitting you with a little hammer on your head. And that's the reason, why I am a writer! There is no performance. When the reader's coming, I'm far away. And that's the way it should be. Stay happy, don't let those things fool you.
@@SCWhiteJazz Well, music is a performing art, like acting and dance are. So live performance is a major part of music. But of course writing notes on a staff with a pencil right out of your head, that's also amazing. If you can do that without auditioning what you wrote, that could be the purest intellectual musical expression.
@@dvamateur I'm irritated: if I play, I can listen to it, if you call that performing, ok...
Realistically, a significant number of performers used drugs to handle this problem. I'm not suggesting that was a good idea, or that it's always necessary, but rather that performance anxiety and confidence issues for performers are probably more universal and significant than you'd guess, looking at how many performing and recording artists exist.
@@asafoetidajones8181 Yeah, the drugs like heroin can make any anxiety go away and make one feel alright no matter what. Might work for popular music. However, for classical or jazz, drugs might impair the senses too much to be able to deliver any compelling performance at all.
Great tips, also exploring art but also meeting the artists in all forms of art can break all those barriers down as well. Explore, create and above all have fun!
Congrats for 500k subs!! You really do deserve it!!
Man has a fear of the unknown. Rise to the occasion is my attitude. Sometimes the crowd isn't into your music. Sometimes my voice isn't quite working. I push through regardless of the situation. In the end I improve and learn something.
I genuinely cannot imagine what mean things someone can write below your videos. They're just brilliant and very helpful! Thank you 💕
I totally agree! I've been thinking the same for a long time. Nahre is just brilliant on every level and so humble at the same time.
Ih have played trumpet for 50 years and deal with nerves, I appreciate so much your thoughts I can relate to, especially having supportive people around you, now the don't go away but they sit down and wait till I'm done performing, your video will be helpful to many more, thanx for putting this out there, JD from toledo
Great job with those push ups! You are killing it! As a jazz musician nothing boosts my self confidence as having an environment where I can play loud and not worry about making mistakes. That can be one or multiple friends I enjoy playing with. Also if all other aspects of life are going well I'm a lot less self conscious and therefore play better. I never successfully channeled bad feelings into good music!
> I never successfully channeled bad feelings into good music!
That's a classical technique.
Nahre thank you so much. Amateur musician here. Performance anxiety often impacts me most when I am in situations with better musicians. When playing at church I seldom have anxiety. Now that I am retired I am writing music, recording it, and I simply think of what I am doing as being creative like the person that paints at home. Since I was never an “educated” musician I never worry about what other people think. I am always happy when professional musicians complement me on a song I have written. For me it is a fun thing and each song has value to me. I am happy that I can learn things from accomplished musicians such as you. You are very down to earth, thanks for sharing and helping the rest of us out!😊
Great video. I like the point about presenting vs sharing. It really does change the perspective on the purpose of outputting things, whether it's music, a video, opinion in a discussion, etc. and making the goal to simply just share. How others feels about it is up to them and the goal shouldn't be to control that.
Congratulations on 500,000 subs!! The road to a million will be a fantastic one!
Nahre, you are amazing!. Thank You for expressing with such empathy and sincerity (and positivity) , how do you deal with the vulnerabilities and self confidence gymnastics that it takes for most of us musicians to keep going . You are a Beautiful and very generous artist.
Hi Nahre. I have sub-zero level of musical knowledge but I still enjoy watching your channel. If there are 50% of admirers and the rest is haters, the ratio is about right. One can never gain 100% support in the public.
Nahre, great video as always. And your pushup form is perfect despite the declaimer as a not-so-active person 😊
Thank you 😅
I like the last tips!
One thing I do, is talk to the audience before I perform, which gives me the opportunity to tell them about my nerves or make a joke, something that narrows the gap between us, so I don’t feel so: I am the only one and they are the judges. I like to create a little bonding that makes the concert feel more like playing for some friends.
I’m a pianist in Hawaii and I adore your content and playing. Please know you videos have more inspirational impact than you know. We see you as supremely talented and hardworking in your craft. And we think you play beautifully and possess a coveted fluid piano technique. You’re adding so much value to the world through your content. Please keep them coming.
Thanks for sharing this Nahre! This was really helpful and I think not enough people talk about their struggles and the hard and bumpy roads and insecurities they have despite how successful they are! You're really an amazing person and I hope you keep continue inspiring us artists and musicians alike out there! Love what you do! And when you're feeling down, just remind yourself that you are more than amazing! And that's already a gift to yourself and to your loved ones and to the world! Stay creative and keep on creating Nahre!
This is not just for musicians, but for everybody.
Understanding harmonic theory; understanding the harmony in the piece and and feeling it (synesthetically)
Understanding structure
Internalizing phrases
Proprioception; know where you are and will be next bar without looking or almost so
Coordination (few traits are hard per se, but coordinating un-natural combinations can be)
Capacity of improvisation
Music is an avocation rather than a vocation for me, as a scientist (astronomer). But it seems to me these practices apply to almost any creative endeavor. Thanks for articulating them so clearly and persuasively. More importantly, congratulations on passing the 500k subscriber milestone-well-earned! I've been a subscriber for much of that climb, and have enjoyed and learned from so many of your videos. -Tom
Before a gig I always try to imagine the job going great. Instead of thinking of all that can go wrong….I try to visualize myself playing well and enjoying the process. I also imagine that I am already on the gig when I am home practicing so when I get there it’s no longer a new venture. Great channel and incredibly useful advise here. 😎. Much love
Thank you very much for this, not only performers but also composers should practice this! :)
Thanks for this, Nahre. Such an important segment. I’ve struggled a lot with performance anxiety based on the fear of a memory slip in a recital. So good to hear you talk this out so we don’t feel like we’re the only one out there dealing with this.
So insightful, Nahre. As a musician in later life, I can relate to so much of your analysis. This video will be of much service to musicians of all ages. Your work as a teacher truly makes a difference you will never completely know, but rest assured it does.
I'm always so impressed with how humble you seem to be Nahre, particularly when you're such an incredibly accomplished pianist. Thanks again for sharing your vulnerability. It is a most welcome thing these days! 🤗✌
I enjoy your content very much. I feel like I've hit another plateau with my skill level and videos like these are an excellent boost to motivation. I especially agree with the concept of changing your perspective when met with difficulty. I personally enjoy meditation a lot and it has made this part of the practice routine easier for me. The term headspace is a bit corny given that it's a name of a meditation related product but I feel like it describes the effects of meditation quite well. Your head often feels like a cramped space where everything is stuck in place and it's hard to navigate and rearrange things. To me meditation helps to create a neutral zone in the mind where one can look at things "normally" and manipulate them in an easier way. Thoughts feel freer, there's more "room" so to speak. Implementing a preparation involving meditation before practising the piano has eased some of those mental blockades on certain difficult passages of music I've been struggling with. I also listen better after meditating. Thanks again for the wonderful content.
first tip i got introduced to as identifying perceived vs actual danger - a skill for treating anxiety :)
nahre, beyond your amazing musical insights and digestible communication, i always get drawn to your videos because of you as a person. i’m in an uncomfortable time right now and seeing your candid thoughts and desire to help other by getting something out there feels like a friend who genuinely cares. hope you and everyone else reading are receiving what you need in this moment!
Exercising is great, but sometimes I feel musicians can injure themselves and that can hinder their performance. How do you protect your hands, wrists, fingers etc?
Also congrats on 500k!!
Fantastic topic! Very helpful. I'm old now and I have been a musician for all my life. It was very different back when I was young. I would have needed a good teacher and I never found one. "Play what is written there and learn your scales and arpeggios!" was what I did for eight years. I found it extremely boring and begged for someone to explain stuff to me and teach me something else than uninteresting Sonatinas. There was this myth about super talented people who find out everything by themselves: super complex jazz voicings, gorgeous improvisation with fluidity.... I struggled like crazy and jazz records didn't help. Toom many notes and too fast. I did find out a ton on my own, just enough to become a professional musician, but without a great teacher I never got there where I felt confident. Eventually I found the information and it was confirmed: I would have needed that decades earlier. Now I'm a piano teacher and I help my students by spicing up the repertoire with nice tunes of their choice, also explaining the "what and why".
I have nothing but praise for Berklee, Boston. I did one of their first online course programs way back in 2005-2007. Unfortunately no piano courses or degrees back then, but that changed meanwhile. If I had the money, I would take the most complete piano online course available. You must study, but studying without knowing exactly what and how from a competent and trusted source, you go nowhere. Thanks for doing this. Love you playing and your great personality!