5 MORE Things Confident Musicians Do

We’ve talked about 5 things confident musicians do (click here to read that article!), 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!

Multi-tasking? Listen to the podcast episode about this!

1. They Don’t Put Others Down To Bring Themselves Up

Putting someone else down to lift yourself up is a nasty nasty habit. When someone does it, it often means that they are insecure. This can happen outwardly, but it can also happen inwardly.

For instance, if you are thinking that someone else is thinking badly of you, and you actually have no proof of it, then that means that you are making an assumption that this person is thinking something bad — which is actually a reflection of you.

This habit can creep in very easily, and we all struggle with it a little bit (even if it is very small), so I invite you to challenge these thoughts.

Confident musicians lift each other up. They celebrate each other. So let’s try to do that. If you want to learn more about this, there is an article that has to do with it. Click here to read: Transforming A Disaster into A Music Conservatory Acceptance (ask me how I know)

2. Confident Musicians 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.

I learned a lot about this when I was in high school. I remember in German class I was really interested in the grammar. I would ask a ton of questions. 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 judging me (which was really hard sometimes!). But the reality of it was that I learned, I grew, I got good grades because I was able to do that. This applies to music as well.

So take up space, ask questions, learn and grow. You deserve to.

3. They Understand That 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, there will be differences. Maybe you also want to do chamber music, maybe they want to record an album. Maybe you want to move abroad to work, and they don’t. Everyone is on their own path.

This makes comparing yourself to others absolutely pointless, because everyone is different and they want different things — even if it is the same overall thing.

4. 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 article: Five Things Confident Musicians Do (click here for that!).

When those inspiring people give them constructive criticism, they welcome it because it’s valuable!

Now if someone is giving criticism that actually isn’t helpful and is more harmful, that is not welcome and is not worth your time. It often shows that they are feeling insecure.

Your time is too precious for unnecessary negativity.

5. They Journal

Now, maybe not every confident musician journals, but every musician who journals is striving to be more confident. Journaling your thoughts and feelings can be so helpful and beneficial — and through that, you are striving for emotional intelligence, which is so important for a musician.

Whether it is a recital that went well, and/or that you learned a lot from, or an audition, journaling can really help clear your head and be grateful for your experiences, even if they were difficult.

After we’ve gone through these five things, my invitation to you is choose one or two of them to start implementing in your life.

These things might take time and effort to work into your life, and I believe that you can do it.

I hope you found these insightful and beneficial.

All my best,

Eleanor