During any musician’s career, there will always be ‘standout performances’.
Those that you remember.
Because it was a special venue, a special programme, or just because everything really clicked for you in that performance.
Becoming consistent
But once that fabulous show is over, perhaps one of the most difficult aspects of musical performance is gaining a good level of consistency, that allows you to perform to a high standard in every performance, but without any feeling of overwhelm or intense stress.
The importance of consistent performance is not something confined to music. It is important in any profession.
However, unlike some professions where mistakes can sometimes be corrected after the event, in music, there is often no room to hide.
A split, squeak or wrong note on stage can make you feel like you want to magically disappear out of sight of the audience or colleagues – worse still, on a subconscious level, it can make you feel that you aren’t good enough.
Consistency includes the bad days
If misinterpreted, the word consistency can be a complete misnomer.
Rather than consistency being the same level of performance day in and day out, it is in reality achieving an average level of overall performance, which whether viewed objectively or subjectively, allows you to sustain a career, or a level of success within it.
For example, the consistency of the great Roger Federer (who still lost matches) vs. the consistency of a tennis player who on more occasions than not reaches the third round of the grand slam tournaments but doesn’t advance beyond that.
So, if you have an off day, week or month where you miss some notes, that does not in and of itself mean that you are not performing consistently well – it is just one day, week or month of many that make up an overall average level of performance over a whole career.
Why trying to emulate standout performances affects consistency
When you’re having a tricky performance patch where things don’t feel quite right, your subconscious might turn on you and question why you’re not creating more standout performances.
If you feel like things are an uphill struggle, it is worth stopping to ask yourself – am I trying to re-create that standout performance? And what is driving that?
If you are (and that might just be on a subconscious level), here is the bad news – the chances of re-creating a past performance, or past way of playing are nil – because they are just that, past events. And whatever is driving that could be steering you towards fatigue and burnout if left unaddressed.
The good news
But the good news is that moving forward and creating something new when you’re going through a tricky patch, can ultimately elevate your performance and levels of consistency even further.
That’s because stopping, taking a step back, checking that the foundations that underpin your musical technique are sound, and making sure that your health, your posture and your mind’s approach to music are all in good shape can provide new energy and allow you to enjoy performing again – via re-learning of how you work best, through fresh curiosity and greater enjoyment, which can all help to propel you forward to new heights.
Humans create – robots re-create
So the next time you’re having an off day and think back to a special performance, don’t try and re-create that performance – remember that you’re a human being and use it as an opportunity to check the foundations are strong, so that you can fuel new growth, fun and longevity into your career.