Achieving Peak Performance in Music

Achieving Peak Performance in Music: Psychological Strategies for Optimal Flow is a unique and comprehensive exploration of flow in music performance. It describes the optimal performance experiences of great musicians and outlines ten psychological steps that can be implemented to facilitate and enhance optimal experience. Achieving Peak Performance in Music reveals strategies used by experts to prepare themselves emotionally, cognitively, and physically for performance. Combining this information with research carried out amongst professional performers and knowledge gained from decades of study and research by psychologists on how to achieve a positive experience, the book guides readers on a pathway towards optimal performance. Using everyday language, it presents invaluable practical guidance and a toolbox of strategies to help with all aspects of performance, including memorisation, visualisation, focus, performance anxiety, thought management, motivation, and pre-performance routines. Based on psychological research, the book shares practical knowledge invaluable to music students, parents, and amateur and professional musicians. The strategies on performance provided are applicable to every type of performance, from a student exam to a gig or a concert, making Achieving Peak Performance in Music a significant resource for anyone looking to achieve peak performance.

Sarah Sinnamon, Ph.D., psychologist and musician, is a performance consultant actively involved in performance psychology and coaching as practitioner, researcher, and lecturer. She was lecturer in psychology in All Hallows College DCU, in performance psychology in Griffith College Dublin, and was violin assistant in Yehudi Menuhin School, UK.

Introduction 1. Music performance 2. What flow feels like 3. 10 steps to Peak Performance: How musicians prepare for peak performance 4. Managing your emotions 5. Managing your thoughts 6. Motivation 7. Concentration and focus 8. Mental practice, imagery, and visualization 9. Calming the body and mind 10. Pre-performance plans 11. Putting it all together