Carolyn Christie: On Overcoming Nerves With Healthier Internal Dialogue - and Phrasing!

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Feb 2, 2025

Carolyn Christie, a seasoned flutist with 23 years at the Montreal Symphony, dives into overcoming performance anxiety and managing nerves. She shares her journey of battling stage fright with positive self-talk and mental preparation techniques. Carolyn emphasizes the importance of adaptable practice, focusing on controlled aspects like phrasing to enhance musical expression. Listeners will gain insights on creating a supportive internal dialogue and strategies to thrive during auditions and significant milestones in their musical careers.

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ANECDOTE

Early Career Calm, Later Stage Fright

Carolyn Christie experienced little to no nerves early in her career during auditions and orchestra jobs.
Her severe stage fright emerged about 20 years into her Montreal Symphony career due to lack of mental preparation.

ADVICE

Shift Negative Self-Talk

Replace negative self-talk with a positive mantra to help manage performance anxiety.
Focus on something honest that you can control rather than fabricating unrealistic beliefs.

ADVICE

Focus on Controllable Musical Elements

Focus on phrasing and sound to redirect attention away from distractions and anxiety.
Concentrate on musical elements you can control to improve performance consistency.

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Ever notice how mean the voice in your head can become on stage? Where it generates YouTube comment section-like levels of criticism and abuse?

Or maybe you haven’t even gotten on stage yet. But as you’re waiting your turn, you overhear the person playing right before you, who sounds amazing? And then the voice suddenly makes you question and doubt everything?

Yeah, the voice that lives in our head is not always such a good friend. But what can we do about it? How can we turn that off when it’s not helping us?

In this month’s episode, flutist Carolyn Christie explains how she overcame her own experience with “terrifying” nerves when she was a member of the Montreal Symphony, and shares other insights on practice planning, how to avoid overthinking, and staying in a more positive headspace with “clinical” self-evaluation.

Get all the nerdy details and learn how to cultivate these essential mental skills for performance:
Carolyn Christie: On Overcoming Nerves With Healthier Internal Dialogue - and Phrasing!

* * *
Have you been feeling a little stuck or stagnant in the practice room? Or has performance anxiety and the gap between practice and performance been a nagging issue that hasn’t changed, no matter how well you've prepared for performances, auditions - and even lessons?

If you’ve been wanting to experience more joy in the practice room and play more like yourself on stage, but haven’t been quite sure how to make that happen, starting July 22, 2025, I’ll be teaching a live, online, accelerated 2-week class on the most essential mental skills and practice strategies that can make a difference in your practicing and performing.

We’ll meet twice a week via Zoom and work on a series of exercises and techniques in four essential skill areas (effective practice, managing anxiety, focus, and confidence), together as a group. And to make sure the concepts become consistent habits, I'll show you how to gently integrate these new skills into your (or your students’) daily practice through bite-sized practice challenges alongside a supportive group of practice buddies from around the world.

Over 2000 musicians, educators, and students and learners of all ages have participated in the course to date. You can find out what alumni are saying, and sign up to join Cohort 24 at:

bulletproofmusician.com/essentials