Musician Self Doubt – 8 Ways to Conquer It
How to conquer musician self doubt
Musician self doubt can be a big problem for all of us and I think you’ll agree with me when I say we’ve all experienced it at some point to some degree. That awareness of self is part of what makes us human so it’s definitely not something to be ashamed of.
But it can be inhibiting when getting on stage and performing in front of an audience. Below I want to discuss 8 key strategies for conquering musician self doubt. And the great news is that this can 
apply to all areas of your life as well!
Ok so I’ve stated that you shouldn’t be ashamed of this. This is very normal and some high level professional performers suffer from high anxiety levels and musician self doubt. It’s totally normal and trying to pretend that it doesn’t happen is not helpful to anyone.
But although we may be willing to accept it’s real, that doesn’t mean we just want to put up with it. And that is why we should work on our mind set to overcome the problem and allow ourselves to perform at our best under pressure.
So let’s check out some simple steps:
Prepare for the worst
By thinking about the worst case scenario and making plans to overcome that problem we instantly remove most of the fear. We can then replace that by imagining the successful performance to make that feel like a more likely and realistic outcome.
Raise Self Awareness
Learn to recognise the situations that trigger heightened anxiety and self doubt and then create solutions. Is it unknown venues? Try to visit the venue ahead of the show. Is it unknown equipment? Try to take your own gear and ensure that hire gear is to your specifications. Is it lack of rehearsals? Insist on more rehearsals.
Be Compassionate
Third party perception is often the route of our worries. We are fearful of what others think of us. Try being supportive to your fellow musicians. Encourage them, offer support and make them feel at ease. You will probably find that you get the same back in return and it allows you to realise that everyone isn’t being so judgemental as you first thought.
Trust Yourself
Avoid constantly needing validation from others. Trust your own musical choices and be confident in every note that you play.
Keep A Diary
If things get bad you might like to keep a log of what you are feeling. This helps to spot patterns over time. If you notice that you always have greater anxiety and self doubt the day before a gig then you might take certain actions to stay busy and positive on those days.
Don’t Worry About What Others Think
Often people play it safe because they are scared of failure. Don’t be. Follow your heart, play with passion and be inspiring on your instrument. Although that doesn’t necessarily mean playing lots of notes to boost your ego!
Follow Your Gut
Learn to follow your musical intuition. Trust your judgement, trust your instinct. This might apply to decisions whilst playing music as well as creative decisions that surround music; such as which gigs to take, song choices, album artwork, etc.
Focus on Now
It’s a classic mistake to worry about the past. As musicians if we make a small mistake in a song we often spend the rest of the gig fixating on that and ignoring all the other great playing that we’ve done. This can actually lead to more mistakes so let it go.
I hope these tips help create a more positive mind set to overcome musician self doubt. But like I’ve said, it’s very natural so you just need to work on ways to control it rather than pretending it doesn’t exist.
If you want to study this topic further a great book is The Inner Game of Tennis
You might also be interested in seven drumming audition tips as well as an article to help conquer stage fright.
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We all want faster hands on the drums but so many drummers I see are missing the basic aspects of drumming that will take them to the next level.
Many of those drummers are not lazy. In fact it’s the opposite. They are putting in the work but they are missing the fundamental techniques that will allow them to play faster and smoother. This leads to inevitable frustration and despondency.
In effect they are wasting their time!
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It will show you:
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