Mental Health

Mental Health and Horn Playing: The Impact of Private Lessons

For many years, I struggled with performance anxiety. When exposed passages came up in ensemble rehearsals and performances, I would get noticeably nervous. It...

Failure as a Goal for Success

Sometimes when I get contemplative about life, I look back and examine my past failures. Without a doubt, I have made some colossal mistakes...

Music-Making and Personal Identity

In a previous article, I told the story of how I came to study with my mentor, Milan Yancich. At the time I felt broken,...

Transforming negative into positive

This comic strip from Odd Quartet hits on a note of truth and is also great advice.

Dreams and Nightmares Related to the French Horn

Even in middle age I still have fairly vivid dreams that I remember well after awakening. Some of these dreams are horn-related, and the more...

Time Out; Space is Good

When I taught school a common discipline strategy was time out. A misbehaving child could be culled from the flock and placed in a...

It’s Not Easy Being Green – or Stressed Out

The response and comments to "Are All Professionals Kind of … Jaded?" have been eye-opening and enlightening. My hope is that in opening this...

Work Through the Suck: The Cycle of High and Low

We all go through cycles of highs and lows. In any given day, for example, your entire physiological system goes through a cycle of...

Tough Love and Hard Knocks

It's a cruel world - does that merit cruel teaching methods? I have had my share of great coaches and teachers. They were mentors who...

Mental Centering and your Warmup

Personal Safety Tips for Lessons

The Trauma of Elliott Higgins

Mental Health and Horn Playing: Anxiety and Daily Routines

Mental Health and Horn Playing: The 5-4-3-2-1 Grounding Technique