We've talked about 5 things confident musicians do (click here to listen to that episode!), now we are going to dive into 5 MORE things confident musicians do. So that we can implement a few into our musical lives. Let's dive in and gain our musical confidence!
We've talked about 5 things confident musicians do (click here to listen to that episode!), now we are going to dive into 5 MORE things confident musicians do. So that we can implement a few into our musical lives. Let's dive in and gain our musical confidence!
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Speaker 1:
Quickly before we start. Do you have an audition coming up or you want to make sure that you are ready for it? But maybe you don't want to sort through a bunch of podcast episodes to find the ones about auditioning. Well, guess what? There is already an audition playlist just for you. These bite-sized episodes cover everything from preparing all the way to the secret to thriving in your audition. You don't want to miss it. And they are compact and ready to download for when you are on the go. So click the link in the show notes and get your audition playlist right in your inbox. Now back to the show. So you have clicked on this episode called Five More Things Confident Musicians Do. You may have even listened to its prequel, five Things Confident Musicians Do, which is linked in the show notes, by the way, if you want to go check that out. And you are listening to a podcast called the Confident Musicianing Podcast, so my guess is that you want to wait for it.
Speaker 1:
Become a more confident musician, am I right, or am I right? Well, you are in the right place, my friend, because we're going to be diving right into five more things that confident musicians do and, heck, maybe we can even try a few. Hello and welcome to the Confident Musicianing Podcast. I'm your host, eleanor, and after countless practice sessions, a ton of broken reeds and seven different music school acceptances in three different countries, I have learned a thing or two about savoring your practicing, becoming your best practice companion and actively working towards your musical goals, and I want to share this with you because I want you to become your best musical self. Are you with me on this? Let's get started. Hey there and welcome. I think there is definitely a difference between confidence and not having confidence, and the musicians that possess confidence or that are better at confidence definitely have habits and things that they do which are really helpful and very different from, maybe, musicians who don't have as much confidence, and as musicians, we can always strive to have more confidence. So here are five more things that confident musicians do. Let's dive right in.
Speaker 1:
Number one they don't put others down to bring themselves up. This is a big one. Putting other people down is a nasty, nasty, nasty habit, and it often shows when the person is not confident and you might be thinking okay, putting someone else down could be verbally, could be with actions like outward stuff. Yes, that is a perfect example, but you can also put someone else down on the inside with your thoughts. Even if that those thoughts don't reach that person or anyone else, that can still be putting someone down. A very, very, very interesting example that is not really often thought of is when you think that someone else might be thinking bad things about you. So if you are thinking, oh my gosh, this person is thinking, you know, they're so not very good at their instrument or they're not doing this well, if you're thinking that someone else is thinking badly about you and you have, like, no proof or evidence that that is the case, then that is a reflection of you, because, let's be honest, you do not know what is inside another person's head, like you don't. So you are inferring and if you are inferring that they are saying something bad about you, that is a reflection of you, because you're thinking something bad about them. You're putting them down to the level of they're thinking badly of me, which is another way of putting someone else down. It's not something that we think about, it's not something that comes to mind when we say putting someone else down, but it is so true. So, really having a reflection with yourself of being like do I do this Do I do this with anyone? Because I mean, it's a nasty habit, but it is a habit that creeps in sometimes, especially when you're feeling insecure. So that is a great thing to look out for.
Speaker 1:
Confident musicians celebrate each other. They don't use others to lift themselves up. They celebrate each other. A prime example of this is when I did my Peabody audition. I was auditioning for the Peabody Institute of Music and basically this was one of my more confident moments, definitely because I was standing outside the audition room and the girl before me was, oh my gosh, so amazing. Like her tone, her everything, like it was amazing. And in the moment I decided, you know, an insecure person would maybe want to put this person down, even in their head. So I was like I'm going to outwardly do the opposite of that, to strategically not be insecure and put someone down. So what I did was, when she came out of the audition room, I looked her square in the eye and I was like you did so well, like that was amazing. I just complimented her and not only did that make her feel good, it made me feel good and it helped me have the confidence to play well in the audition and get into the Peabody Institute of Music. So lifting others up can lift yourself up. If you want to learn more about my Peabody experience because there were a few more things that happened in that situation then that is in episode two, transforming a Disaster into a Music Conservatory Acceptance. Ask Me how? I Know that is linked in the show notes, so make sure you go check that out.
Speaker 1:
Okay, number two they take up space, or rather, they aren't afraid to take up space. They aren't afraid to ask questions, to work hard, to be seen striving for their goals. They don't make themselves smaller for the comfort of others. This is an important one. This is an important one. I learned a lot about this when I was at school. So, like high school and this had nothing to do with music, but I remember in German class I was really interested in the grammar, or actually in any class. I would ask a ton of questions, just a ton. I would make sure that I understood everything and if I had a question I wouldn't be afraid to raise my hand and ask it, even if someone else was like that's a pretty dumb question. But the reality of it was that I learned, I grew, I got good grades because I was able to do that and I think it applies to music as well.
Speaker 1:
Confident musicians take up space, they're not afraid to ask questions, be seen trying, be seen striving for their goals. That is an important one, okay, number three they understand everyone is on their own path. This plays into not comparing yourself to others, because everyone is on their own path. Even if you and someone else both want orchestral jobs in an orchestra with the same instrument, you want different things, like, if you really think about it, maybe one person wants to be in an orchestra in this country or that country, or maybe one person wants to be in an orchestra and maybe the orchestra is an opera orchestra and another one wants a symphony orchestra. Like, everyone is on their own path, even if it's one person wants to be in this orchestra but they also want to be in a chamber, ensemble outside and record albums, and the other person just wants to be in the orchestra and maybe doesn't want to do anything else. That is also different paths.
Speaker 1:
I realized that when I was in high school. Again, I learned a lot in high school. Apparently, I realized that when I was in high school because I was constantly being compared to this other kid at school and it was so bizarre because he wanted completely different things than I did. He was a band kid as well, but he also really enjoyed mathematics and like stem engineering, like all of the math stuff. And for me, I was more interested in the music side of things and I was always being compared to this kid, like, oh, he did this amazing thing in math. Did you do that? And I was like no, I didn't, because I'm not interested in that, I'm interested in music. And it really kind of showed me people are on different paths and there's absolutely no point in comparing yourself to other people because or having other people compare you to other people, because everyone is on their own path. So celebrate each other, celebrate each other. We're all. We're all going for things and it's great.
Speaker 1:
Number four they welcome constructive criticism. This is because they see people who are better than them as inspiration. That goes right back to the prequel of this episode, five Things Confident Musicians Do, which is linked in the show notes. So go check that out if you haven't already. It's inspiration. And so when those people give them constructive criticism, they welcome it because they're like heck, yeah, I want that. You know you're so inspiring. Give me the deets, give me the criticism Like I want. I want to learn, I want to grow and they welcome it and let it help them grow into a better musician. Constructive criticism is so important.
Speaker 1:
Now, criticism like mean criticism goes back to the first point, which is putting others down to lift yourself up. Mostly, I mean everyone who is better than you will not give you mean criticism Like they won't. If you are getting mean criticism, that is from someone who is most likely insecure and maybe they think that you're better than them Like they're insecure and they're putting you down to try and lift themselves up but we talked about in the first point, that doesn't work. So if you're getting like actual mean criticism, that's not worth your time. That is not worth your time. Your time is too precious for unnecessary negativity. Okay, that is not worth your time. But constructive criticism from people who maybe you admire and that you know that is so good, remember, don't take mean criticism from someone that you wouldn't take advice from. Take constructive criticism from people that you would take advice from. If someone who is better than you is giving you constructive criticism, welcome it, it is valuable. Or if someone who is you know you find inspirational, or you look up to take that constructive criticism. Oh my gosh.
Speaker 1:
Okay, number five they journal. Maybe not every confident musician does this, but I think every musician who journals is striving to be more confident. They try to be emotionally intelligent and this can come in handy with auditions. Right, they try to be emotionally intelligent. So what does that look like? Well, for instance, when someone is trying to put you down through actual mean criticism, maybe you have two options to combat that. The first one is to get you know bothered by it and be like, hey, that's rude and you know, be kind of bothered by it. The second option is to realize you're not, that's not worth your time, and to kind of move on with it. And maybe it does bother you, but process it and journaling is so important with that.
Speaker 1:
Journaling can also come in handy with auditions. If you have an audition that maybe doesn't go well, journaling, sitting with it, being like why didn't it go well? Maybe that is me who is being overly criticizing of myself. What can I do to improve? How can I work through that? All of these things are so helpful to be written in a journal, and also the feelings about it. If an audition doesn't go well, journal about it, like your feelings. If an audition does go well, journal about your feelings. Right, that is so important. You know, as I have struggled and worked through different auditions and audition seasons, I have tested out and collected strategies for all aspects of the auditioning process, not just working, but also, you know, the before, preparing to the middle, to the after of the audition process, and this is to go in a special guidebook for you and the link all about this is in the show notes, so go check that out.
Speaker 1:
So after we've gone through these five things, my invitation to you is choose either one or two of them to start implementing in your life. Whether that is, they don't put others down to bring themselves up. So maybe you could do a self-reflection and think is there anyone who I kind of not necessarily like outwardly, but maybe inwardly put down to try and bring myself up? Even if that is through thinking that they're probably saying something mean about you, that's also putting someone down because you don't know for sure. So maybe it's that, maybe it's understanding that everyone is on their own path. I mean, these things you can't just quickly put in your life Like they do take time, they do take energy, they do take practice, but I believe in you, like you can totally do this 100%. You can do this, maybe welcoming constructive criticism more, or maybe even journaling, and that can help with auditioning as well. That is about it for this episode. Thank you so much for listening.
Speaker 1:
As always, all the stuff to do with this episode will be linked in the show notes, from the blog post that goes with this episode to the link to the audition playlist Go check that out, that is good fun To the link for episode two, transforming a Disaster into a Music. Conservatory Acceptance Ask Me how I Know. And episode 10, the prequel to this episode. Five Things Confident Musicians Do. Make sure to go check that out. And, last but not least, the link for the audition guide. That is some good stuff, so make sure to go look at that. Make a habit of doing yourself a favor and looking at these show notes because, let's be honest, there is some good stuff in those show notes. If you want to show your love and support for the Confident Musician podcast, make sure you give it a follow and I will, as always, see you in the next episode. All right, bye-bye.
