The Inner Game of Music is a book inspired by the popular “The Inner Game of Tennis” which deals with, well, the inner game: the voices, the doubts the fears most of us experience when performing.
The book contains quite a lot of very practical and usable tips for improving not only your performances but your experience of making and even just listening to music.
It basically all comes down to trusting yourself. The author describes two triangles: One is
- Awareness
- Will
- Trust,
the other is
- Performance
- Experience
- Learning.
For both these triangles it is important to find a balance. Barry Green describes multiple techniques for how to achieve this in this book.
What did I learn from this book?
The key, it appears to me, is focusing on the moment without judging. This is what the author calls awareness and I am convinced that it is the basis for everything else. This, not surprisingly, reminds one of Buddhist wisdom, living in the Now.
The book is a great read with lots of practical examples. It could be shorter and more concise, there is a small bit of redundant information in there. But I think that only helps to understand the problem(s) from different points of view and makes sure, as many people as possible can profit from this book.
Would I recommend this book?
I highly recommend The Inner Game of Music to anyone who is interested in improving his music-making or -listening experience. People who are having difficulty performing maybe due to stress or fears or those who sometimes even fail to enjoy playing their instrument for unexplainable reasons might profit from this.
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