The Mindful Musician: Mental Skills for Peak Performance

by Vanessa Cornett

Overview

In The Mindful Musician: Mental Skills for Peak Performance, author Vanessa Cornett offers guidelines to help musicians cultivate artistic vision, objectivity, freedom, quiet awareness, and self-compassion, both on- and offstage in order to become more resilient performers. Contrary to modern culture's embrace of busyness and divided attention, Cornett's contemplative techniques provide greater space for artistic self-expression and satisfaction. With the aid of a companion website that includes audio files and downloadable templates, The Mindful Musician provides a method to promote attentional focus, self-assessment, emotional awareness, and creativity. The first of its kind to combine mindfulness practices with research in cognitive and sport psychology, this book helps musicians explore the roots of anxiety and other challenges related to performance, all through the deliberate focus of awareness.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780190864637
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	05/28/2019
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	256
Sales rank:	323,488
File size:	1 MB

About the Author

Vanessa Cornett is Director of Keyboard Studies and Associate Professor of Music at the University of St. Thomas in Minneapolis-St. Paul where she teaches classes in music performance, teaching, mindfulness, and the contemplative nature of art and music. She has worked with students and professional musicians around the world, and her honors include awards for her research publications and outstanding teaching. A certified meditation instructor, she frequently lectures and publishes on topics of mindfulness, performance psychology, anxiety management, and mental skills for musicians.

Table of Contents

Preface Acknowledgements About the Companion Website Chapter 1: The Mindful Musician Chapter 2 Habits of Successful Performers Chapter 3 Music and the Mind: Performance Anxiety and Other Challenges Chapter 4 Mindful Performance Psychology Chapter 5 The Art of Mindful Breathing and Relaxation Chapter 6 Imagery for Peak Performance Chapter 7 Mindfulness Practice and Meditation for Musicians Chapter 8 The Mindful Achiever: Practical Applications for Long-Term Success Chapter 9 The Mindful Visionary: More Practical Applications for Long-Term Success References

Editorial Reviews

"While The Mindful Musician will be particularly helpful to readers who struggle with self-defeating behaviors, negative self-talk, or difficulty focusing during performance, its ideas and insights would help any musician learn to reframe his perspective to lead to more focused performance, greater resilience, more patience, and greater happiness overall." — Lesley McAllister, Piano Magazine

From the Publisher