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    Improvisation: A union of mind, body and music 

    by
    Matty Bannond
    Published on 02-26-2017 09:55 PM     Number of Views: 3417 
    1. Categories:
    2. Motivational, Inspiration
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    Improvising on the saxophone has transformed my life forever. It has awakened me to a completely new level of spirituality – hard words for me to type, as a rationalist. Improvisation is a religious revelation. It is meditation, red mist and the soul. Playing music without a plan showed me the full dignity of the human consciousness and the hot power of the mind. It made me question everything that had gone before, and opened up unlimited possibilities for everything that lay ahead. It very nearly never happened. I want to share my story, and my elation, about how it did. Somebody showed me how.

    When I was about 11, my parents made me start taking lessons once a week for 30 minutes, together with another kid. Our teacher, a clarinet player, would take us through the required pieces for the next grade exam. They were classical: The melodies felt stiff. I thought the saxophone was the stupidest thing on the planet, and I gave up around four years later. I don’t think I played the instrument at home even once.
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    Consistent, High Levels Of Performance Under Pressure 

    by
    Neil Sharpe
    Published on 11-29-2015 04:30 PM     Number of Views: 10970 
    1. Categories:
    2. Education
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    A few years ago, I published a program on SOTW for stage fright and anxiety that has been downloaded nearly 40,000 times.

    After publication, over the years, I received many questions about the emotional and psychological aspects of performing, especially why we can't perform consistently well every time, all the time.

    The answer is "distractions".

    Imagine a circle. When you compete and/or perform at your very best, the circle is 100 percent complete. However, when distractions get in your way (which includes "thinking", nerves, anxiety, and self-doubt), each distraction removes a slice of the circle until you are performing at only a fraction of your potential.

    By far, the most serious distraction is that voice in your head that shows up at the worst possible time to comment on how you're doing, to worry about you making mistakes, wonder what people are thinking about you, and so on.

    It doesn't have to be that way.

    "Pressure Proof- Mental Training For Competition and Performance" is a program that can be accessed for free.
    ...
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    Dental trouble kept me mostly off the horn for four months 

    by
    DanPerezSax
    Published on 03-02-2015 08:56 AM
    1. Categories:
    2. General information

    Let's start with the moral of the story: don't be a dumbass and think you'll hold up forever if you neglect your health. ...
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