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Journal of Excellence Issue No. 1 Talbot-Honeck and Orlick 61
1998 Zone of Excellence - http://www.zoneofexcellence.com
The Essence of Excellence: Mental Skills of Top Classical
Musicians
Carole Talbot-Honeck, Austria and Terry Orlick, University of Ottawa,
Canada
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to use Orlick’s (1992) model of excellence as a framework
for studying elite classical musicians. The picture of excellence which emerged included
such aspects as: a deep commitment to music and/or excelling, non-materialistic goals, a
strong sense of self, a positive perspective based on continued growth and learning, and
an abiding love for and enjoyment of music and music-making. Musicians also
considered creativity, spontaneity and flexibility to be the foremost prerequisites to
performance excellence. A refined performance focus allowed the musicians to translate
this essence of excellence into consistent high level performance.
Introduction
In recent years, as more emphasis
has been placed on improved perform-
ance, the demands placed on performers
have increased. Concomitantly, there has
been an increase in interest in the psy-
chological aspects of excellence. The
domain of music has been no exception
to this trend (Ericsson, Krampe &
Tesch-Römer, 1993; Fogle, 1982; Green
& Gallwey, 1986; Grindea, 1984; Han-
son, 1992; Lipton, 1987; Lorenzi, 1993;
Molo & Ness, 1992; Reubart, 1985;
Ross, 1985; Whitaker & Tanner, 1987).
However, stage fright has been the main
focus of the literature (Grindea, 1984;
Reubart, 1985) and mental preparation,
on the whole, has been seen largely as a
remedial approach for dealing with inca-
pacitating performance anxiety. Thus,
this study represented an attempt to pro-
vide a more holistic view of performance
excellence from the viewpoint of elite
classical musicians.
The main purpose of this re-
search was to explore and document the
mental factors related to excellence of
elite musicians. Orlick’s model of ex-
cellence (1989, 1992) was selected as a
suitable framework as it presented a
comprehensive approach. The model
considered self-belief and commitment
to be the foundations on which five other
aspects of excellence were based: ability
to focus, use of visualization, ability to
control distractions, ability to evaluate
constructively, and mental readiness, a
general construct which includes plan-
ning ability and willingness to learn.
This framework helped develop the in-
terview instrument. A secondary purpose
of the study was to assess the relevance
of Orlick’s model (1992) to the per-
forming arts, namely, elite classical mu-
sicians. This article is based only on one
aspect of the complete study, namely
that which was considered to be the “es-
sence of excellence” for the musicians
interviewed.
Methodology
Subjects
Internationally renowned soloists in
the field of classical music served as
Journal of Excellence Issue No. 1 Talbot-Honeck and Orlick 62
1998 Zone of Excellence - http://www.zoneofexcellence.com
subjects for this research. Participants
were selected on the basis of their repu-
tation for excellence. Criteria used to
judge excellence included:
• musicians’ participation in interna-
tional music festivals (e.g., Salzburg,
Tanglewood, Bayreuth)
• having been a guest soloist with or-
chestras of international standing
(e.g., Berlin Philharmonic, Vienna
Philharmonic, New York Philhar-
monic)
• having made at least three recordings
on national labels
• playing as a member of a world re-
nowned chamber music ensemble
• efforts were made to interview string
and wind players as well as pianists.
A list of the names of all artists in-
terviewed (n=30) was given to ten pro-
fessional musicians along with a list of
the criteria for selection. They were
asked to confirm the subjects’ level of
excellence. Of the thirty, sixteen were
considered by the panel to meet the cri-
teria. These sixteen musicians repre-
sented the sample for the study.
The musicians ranged in age from 15 to
54 years old. Thirteen were male, three
were female. Ten musicians were string
players, four played wind instruments
and two were pianists.
The Interviews
Participants were interviewed
using the Musician Interview Guide,
adapted from Orlick and Partington’s
Athlete Interview Guide (1988). This
guide consisted of 25, mostly open-
ended questions and examined such ar-
eas as goals, practice routines, prepara-
tion for performance, focus during
performance, best and worst perform-
ances, enjoyment, and potential recom-
mendations for novice musicians.
Most of the interviews were con-
ducted during two international festivals
in Austria. Interviews ranged from one
hour to two and a half hours. All inter-
views were tape-recorded in their en-
tirety, and verbatim transcripts were
made from the recordings. Five tran-
scripts were sent back to artists for au-
thentication of content. The five
participants confirmed that the tran-
scripts represented what transpired dur-
ing the interview.
Analysis
Transcripts were qualitatively
analysed. Initial readings of two tran-
scripts resulted in preliminary tags being
made (Wentzell, 1986). Tags with simi-
lar meanings were grouped to create
categories following the procedural
guidelines outlined by Coté, Salmela,
Baria and Russell (1993). A meeting
with another coder experienced in
qualitative studies was held in order to
clarify and agree upon the category la-
bels used, and two further interviews
were subsequently analysed. Categories
were enlarged and other categories were
added to capture ideas not previously
expressed. This process was continued
until all interviews were analysed and
“theoretical saturation” had been reached
(Glaser as cited in Coté et al., 1993).
All sixteen interviews were thor-
oughly re-analysed using the final list of
categories. An independent assessor was
then given descriptors of each of the
categories and was asked to analyse two
transcripts using the list of categories.
Journal of Excellence Issue No. 1 Talbot-Honeck and Orlick 63
1998 Zone of Excellence - http://www.zoneofexcellence.com
Inter-assessor reliability was high
(92.7%).
Results
The purpose of the research was
to elaborate on the “essence of excel-
lence” as it emerged from the interviews.
This essence included: a deep commit-
ment to music and/or excelling, non-
materialistic goals, a strong sense of self,
a positive perspective based on contin-
ued growth and learning, and an abiding
love for and enjoyment of music and
music making. Creativity, spontaneity
and flexibility were considered by musi-
cians to be the foremost prerequisites to
performance excellence. A connected
focus during performance allowed musi-
cians to translate this excellence into
consistent high level performance.
Commitment
It was clear that elite musicians
were highly committed to their musical
pursuits. Those interviewed had made
music the focal point of their lives even
if they had families and/or other inter-
ests, and this commitment was made
very early in their lives. Commitment
was clearly one factor that determined
whether participants achieved their full
potential with their chosen instrument.
The musicians’ involvement with
music had started very early and by the
age of fifteen, 88% had already made the
decision to pursue a career in music.
(Began learning instrument at
10)...a little while later, one or two
years, I got really bad in school because
I wasn’t learning any more. I wasn’t in-
terested in anything else any more and
was just fixated on playing.
...when I became 15, I switched
to (present instrument) and was capti-
vated. I never really did something that I
didn’t like to do and I never liked to
study so...I lived to practice
though....When I was in college, I prac-
tised even more...10 hour days of prac-
tising, and I was always having to take
time off if I had an important concert
coming up because I was practising so
much that my lips were like, worn down
to a frazzle...
For fourteen or the sixteen musi-
cians, music was still the focal point of
their lives.
I came to the conclusion that mu-
sic and all that pertains to it...that’s the
most important. Everything else will
have to, not submit to it, but fit it some-
how.
Very few people are privileged to
combine their profession with their
hobby...something that they love more
than anything else. Music is the most
important thing in my life...music is my
whole life.
Goals and Dreams
All participants readily talked
about their dreams and aspirations con-
cerning their music. These goals could
for the most part be divided into three
distinct subcategories: self-growth or
personal excellence goals, goals con-
cerning the music itself, and a strong de-
sire to express feelings with their music
or to give something of themselves in
their interpretation of it. Some of the
musicians also talked about how their
goals had changed or evolved over the
years.
Journal of Excellence Issue No. 1 Talbot-Honeck and Orlick 64
1998 Zone of Excellence - http://www.zoneofexcellence.com
Nine of the sixteen musicians
interviewed felt strongly that music gave
them an opportunity to grow, to be the
best they could possibly be or to better
themselves.
I have only one long-term goal, I
always had it: through the music,
through the study of music, to develop,
to discover myself, my personality, and
to grow.
...I want to be a very good
musician. I think that’s the only aim a
musician can have.
You want to play as well as pos-
sible. That’s enough. You spend your
whole life with this one goal because
somehow, you always fall short of what
you imagined.
For nine of the musicians, music
itself was a top priority. They had aspi-
rations of interpreting the music as well
as they possibly could, of respecting the
composer’s intent when interpreting a
piece and/or of understanding the music
more and more.
When I practice, when I learn a
piece, I always feel very much respect
for the work. I would like to be an honest
interpreter of the thing I want to play. I
think the rule of an interpreter must be
to try to be as honest as possible re-
garding the composer. So, this is a very
big goal.
I try to keep it very clear - the in-
strument is only a vehicle and the main
goal of my existence, as an interpreter,
is the music. The instrument just helps
you express...Sometimes, priorities get
switched around, music becomes a vehi-
cle in order to show...how wonderful
they can play that instrument, how fast,
how clean, how loud...It’s the end of my
profession in my opinion. The most
important thing, the music, gets to be
secondary.
I only know that this is necessary
in order to do the music justice. You
must learn to give yourself completely to
the idea behind the music notes. There is
always an idea, a tone quality and you
have to be always freer and more knowl-
edgeable to be able to interpret it prop-
erly. Purer somehow.
For many musicians, music was a
vehicle to communicate with the audi-
ence or with their colleagues (e.g., when
playing chamber music). Seven musi-
cians expressed goals in these terms.
It’s very hard to explain, but I
think it’s...all what you feel; you have
to...express it. To let the people feel what
you feel....So all that you think, all that
you want to express, that’s it really - that
the people really can hear it - not just
that you feel it. Because you have to put
it across.
Self-growth, doing justice to the
music, and communicating feelings en-
compassed most of the general goals or
dreams that drove the elite musicians to
even higher levels of excellence. It was
interesting to note that goals were not
expressed in material or competitive
terms at all. Only one participant was
clearly materialistic in his approach to
music because of his problems and gen-
eral disillusionment with it. Four of the
musicians interviewed insisted that it
was wrong and/or impossible to live by
materialistic goals in their profession.
Journal of Excellence Issue No. 1 Talbot-Honeck and Orlick 65
1998 Zone of Excellence - http://www.zoneofexcellence.com
(Those goals)...have nothing to
do with the music itself...I must say hon-
estly that I’d rather play at home to my
heart’s content than say I can play in the
best concert halls of the world and it’s
(the music) not as good.
There are people who dream of
worthless things- he needs a Mercedes
or whatever - material things. I try to
give them (students) more idealistic
dreams, that they dream of the music,
what they can do with a piece, to de-
velop a certain ambition from these
dreams.
I combine enjoyment with my
profession which I think is my greatest
ambition....because I don’t believe in
‘Mr. X’, the number one cellist or vio-
linist or pianist in the world and the
greatest. I don’t believe really that such
things exist in the music anyway...what
does it mean number 1, number 2 or
whatever? You could say who is the most
famous maybe, or the best paid, yes, o.k..
But the greatest? It’s a matter of taste
anyway.
Another five musicians pointed
out that these more materialistic and/or
competitive goals were more often a
strong motivating factor when a musi-
cian was young. In the early years of
learning an instrument when so much of
the work is mastering the technical skills
required to play, they felt it may be nec-
essary to have such goals because one is
not yet able to see the broader picture -
the music.
Children don’t see so far in ad-
vance. My goal as a child was to get out
of (a former communist country) and the
way to do it was to get to be so good
with my instrument that they’d allow you
to go to competitions. That’s what I did.
Later, the goals were always more con-
crete...career oriented goals. Anyway, I
think that goals change a lot with age.
When you’re young, goals are deter-
mined by the need to measure yourself
with others. Later, this becomes bor-
ing...the goals change, they become
more related to the music itself.
The goals of the elite musicians
remained idealistic even after many
years in their profession. Their love for
and commitment to the music remained
strong. It is interesting to note that for at
least four of the musicians interviewed,
their commitment to excelling and/or
making beautiful music transcended the
commitment they made to their instru-
ment.
I love my instrument and I think
it has fantastic qualities, but so does any
other instrument...music is more impor-
tant.
Sense of self
There was no doubt in the musi-
cians’ minds concerning the importance
of having a strong sense of self in order
to survive in their chosen profession.
It’s like in sports, self-confidence
and security are two of the most impor-
tant factors. If you approach something
with fear and think ‘Now I have to play
this’, I’m only able to function at 40 to
50 percent of my abilities. I always have
to think, ‘I can do everything’.
I believe there is enough space
for many different kinds of musicians
and I have my own qualities even though
I know that some colleagues have some
other qualities which are stronger than
Journal of Excellence Issue No. 1 Talbot-Honeck and Orlick 66
1998 Zone of Excellence - http://www.zoneofexcellence.com
mine. But, I have something that I want
to say and people want to hear.
This belief that a strong sense of
self was very important, even necessary,
in order to excel did not always translate
into unwavering confidence in one’s
ability to be the best or play one’s best.
Most of the musicians interviewed ap-
peared to experience some fluctuations
in their level of self-confidence.
You think, ‘I hope nothing goes
wrong!’...Of course, then the self-confi-
dence comes in: ‘You can do every-
thing’. It’s a constant up and down...I
think that when I’m playing on the stage,
then the confidence wins.
Some musicians felt that while a
strong sense of self was important, too
much of it could be detrimental.
I find that humility is one of the
most important things in your approach
to music. I can’t say any more than that.
You have to defer to music and not have
the feeling that you have to make the
music. Humility in the face of something
really great.
Self-esteem...is a condition that
everyone wants to have because they as-
sociate it with inner strength. I aspire to
it but...I don’t think much of having self-
esteem and nothing else...I have a pic-
ture in mind of a child who plays totally
without self consciousness...open to eve-
rything in the world. When this child
would say, ‘I have self-esteem’, he would
get all caught up in himself and couldn’t
play any more.
Self-effacement is a very inter-
esting concept raised by the musicians. It
reaffirms the musician’s belief in and
commitment to music. Self-effacement
and a strong sense of self were not mu-
tually exclusive. On the contrary, one
must have a very strong sense of self to
have the courage to forget oneself and
focus on the music.
Perspectives for excellence
As a result of listening to these
elite musicians talk about their goals and
aspirations, their approach to music, as
well as the focus they aspired to attain, it
became clear that they carried some
common perspectives into their musical
endeavours. First, they viewed playing
music as an on-going developmental ex-
perience and as such had goals of con-
tinued growth. Second, they felt that it
was important to keep the “big picture”
in mind. Third, they were positive think-
ers. A fourth perspective for excellence
raised by a limited number of the musi-
cians interviewed was a feeling of being
in control of one’s self or one’s life,
while accepting things that could not be
changed. With the exception of one mu-
sician, who had given up his career aspi-
rations, they viewed their work as an
opportunity for self-growth, and they felt
that one should never stop learning.
Opportunities for self-growth
and lifelong learning
Most musicians commented on
the fact that they greatly enjoyed learn-
ing and looked for opportunities to grow
in their music and other areas of their
lives. They constantly sought out op-
portunities to play with different and
better musicians in order to continue to
learn. They felt that they were always
growing and learning, and that any given
concert only represented a stage in their
development, not their last word on a
given piece of music.
Journal of Excellence Issue No. 1 Talbot-Honeck and Orlick 67
1998 Zone of Excellence - http://www.zoneofexcellence.com
Above all, I hardly think that
there is someone who can claim to know
everything. He’d have to be at least 500
years old....Everything is relative and
that’s why I say you have to be flexible,
you must be like a chicken pecking corn
- I need this, I can learn something here,
I can benefit from that, I can contribute
there....Everywhere kernels are lying
around. Some eat everything in sight and
have nothing from it. Others won’t touch
anything. You have to find out what ker-
nels you need.
When I think of future life about
music, I like to see it with no arrival
point. Like a road, you always have to
keep going, I like to think that when I
will be old, it will still be going on.
You have to be open, to play with
different people - that’s my leitmotiv,
always play with better people....Always
something new from pianists, from vio-
linists, from winds...you always learn
something. I believe that’s very impor-
tant.
I always hope that my best con-
cert is still to come! If I feel one day that
I have played my best, I’d probably quit,
change professions....I don’t think I ever
will feel this way because I feel that
there’s an unlimited amount of feelings.
Keeping sight of the whole
picture
Generally, musicians felt that the
“big picture” was the process of ongoing
development and the pursuit of their
long-term goals.
Events are important milestones,
but in music, you have so many events
(concerts) that there’s no point in fo-
cusing on every event exclusively, you
should really focus on the developmental
side and see the big picture....That takes
a little bit of pressure off. You can feel
more relaxed, that you are working to-
wards a long goal....
The big picture was also felt to
be important in the music itself. Musi-
cians felt that there was sometimes a
danger of concentrating too much on
minor details in a piece and thereby los-
ing sight of what the piece was all about.
At first, you have the whole pic-
ture, that`s the music. Then I start to cut
it up or take it apart, pieces at a time, to
turn them over and look at them
closely...totally apart from the music
actually. You don’t even know where this
part fits in the whole...I know earlier
(when the musician was younger), I
found it extremely difficult to put it to-
gether again. Today, I try not to lose the
whole picture from the beginning even
as I am taking it apart...to keep the mu-
sic whole in my head. Even if I practise a
tiny little piece, I try to slip it back in
where it belongs at the end.
...there are different kinds of
lenses which you can use and two major
kinds are the zoom lens and wide-angle
lens. So, I think...I kind of upgraded my
assortment of lenses. When I was young,
I was using the zoom much more you
know, to zoom in to little details of music
and play this little phrase more beautiful
or whatever. Now, I use a wide-angle
lens more often, together with the zoom,
to try to see the whole long line in the
music...which is, finally, most important
because those little things are important
too but they still are secondary, and the
shape of the music and the long line is,
in my opinion the most important.
Journal of Excellence Issue No. 1 Talbot-Honeck and Orlick 68
1998 Zone of Excellence - http://www.zoneofexcellence.com
Not losing sight of the big picture
in terms of the music itself, obviously
has important implications in terms of
the focus and perspective musicians
want to carry into a performance.
Positive thinking
Ninety-three percent of the musi-
cians shared a very positive attitude.
They were optimistic in their approach;
they always tried to see setbacks and/or
mistakes in a positive light, they learned
from them or even used them as a cata-
lyst to performance excellence.
Every once in a while we’ll miss
a note....I try not to think of it. It’s gone.
And if it happened in a solo concert, I’m
always relieved because now, I can play
better.
(About a not-so-good concert) It
was very upsetting for me, very disap-
pointing. But, in a way, it was good to
recognize I have to change something. It
was one of the best things that happened
to me...It’s good it happened at that
time, at the beginning; I had more time
to do better.
Mistakes or difficult situations
(e.g., when conductors made mistakes)
became opportunities to be even better
or to take control and to make it all right
again. Similarly, stage fright or pre-per-
formance nervousness was accepted as
normal, or even viewed in a positive
way.
Of course, there’s always stage
fright, and it’s always there, but, for me,
it’s a thing that inspires me more than
anything.
Conductors get a bit haywired!
That’s quite exciting too...it frees you to
play even better because you’re not
thinking about yourself.
Feeling in control
Another component of what
might be considered a perspective for
excellence which surfaced in a number
of interviews was a feeling of being in
control of one’s life or one’s destiny, ac-
cepting the things one does not have
control over, but working hard at
changing what you can. For example,
one musician refused to accept the view
that he was the victim of a non-receptive
audience.
Because you have them (the au-
dience) in your hand, you’re the one to
make them attentive...Only for very spe-
cial performances would they all be to-
gether, euphoric and all
concentrated....Usually, they are all over
the place and you should consider that
there are many individuals sitting there,
that you have to gather them! You can
gather them yourself or not!
Another musician accepted that
he was not in control of some things,
such as winning a competition. He went
in to the competition to do his very best
and hoped to win, but realized that he
was not responsible for that part of it.
Of course, if you play a competi-
tion, everybody wants to win. Or, he
hopes to win. When I played my compe-
tition...I didn’t think, ‘I have to win oth-
erwise’..... But I thought, ‘Just do the
best and (the rest) doesn’t depend only
on you.’ It doesn’t depend on you if you
win, not only on you. When you play
your best, then you can be pleased.
Journal of Excellence Issue No. 1 Talbot-Honeck and Orlick 69
1998 Zone of Excellence - http://www.zoneofexcellence.com
Enjoyment
Musicians were asked whether
their enjoyment of playing had changed
over the years. All but one participant
said that they enjoyed music at least as
much or more now than in the early
years.
Generally speaking, unless I feel
lousy...physically or whatever, I enjoy
playing...usually it’s a festive occasion. I
am nervous of course, but in a kind of
positive way, because I enjoy it and look
forward to it.
For the most part, the increase in
enjoyment came from feeling that they
knew more or understood more about
music now, that they appreciated it more
or that they had extended their horizons
by including new music.
I’ve got more (enjoyment). A lot
more! I’ve learned to enjoy the moment,
to create in the moment....I started really
enjoying it now. Now, at this time, it’s
optimal because I really enjoy seeing
that I’m getting something across.
(The enjoyment is)...more intense
now. Because I think I understood much
less before about what I was doing....
It changed a lot. A whole lot...I
always enjoyed it a lot, but now, I’m like
addicted...I’m really addicted.
In summary, similar to the find-
ings of Barbour and Orlick (2000) in his
study of the mental readiness of profes-
sional hockey players, enjoyment of
their profession seemed to be determi-
nant in elite musicians’ readiness to per-
form and excel. Musicians interviewed
greatly enjoyed playing and making mu-
sic. For a majority of musicians, years of
hard work had not in any way dimin-
ished their enjoyment of music; on the
contrary, it had increased and intensified
over the years as their levels of expertise
has risen. They felt that they knew and
understood more and loved it even more.
Concentration/focusing
Musicians discussed their pre-
ferred pre-performance and performance
focus during the interviews. Musicians
felt that concentration was a necessary
element of excellence and that having
the right focus was a determining factor
in a quality performance.
Concentration is the thing you
have to learn first and foremost....You
have to guide them (the students) so they
learn these things. Discipline is also a
ground rule of the ability to concentrate,
that you have to learn to turn off what-
ever thoughts are going around in a cir-
cle. These are very important. There are
many things going through your head
and you must see to it that these things
bring you to one point and you leave the
others.
The musicians interviewed
pointed out that the kind of concentra-
tion they were seeking could not be
forced. It was “there”, or just happened
if they connected properly with the mu-
sic, and if one tried to force it, one
would lose it.
It’s a prerequisite, but if you try
to have it, if you pursue it, then it’s an
obstacle. Only as long as it’s not forced
and not willed, but is just there, is it
helpful. But then it’s very helpful.
These musicians considered con-
centration an essential element of excel-
Journal of Excellence Issue No. 1 Talbot-Honeck and Orlick 70
1998 Zone of Excellence - http://www.zoneofexcellence.com
lence, something one could never hope
to perform well without. However, they
recognized concentration more as a
frame of mind or a mental state than
anything else. The ability to choose the
right focus or enter the right frame of
mind, and control distractions to regain
the desired focus was considered highly
important.
Inner qualities required to excel
In the course of the interviews,
the musicians often referred to the quali-
ties they felt were necessary to excel as a
classical musician. They also talked
about what they felt made them excel-
lent. The basic elements of excellence
proposed in Orlick’s Wheel of Excel-
lence (1992) were evident for these top
classical musicians including commit-
ment, belief in the meaningfulness of
their pursuit, mental readiness for learn-
ing, full focus, positive imagery, distrac-
tion control, and constructive evaluation
of their pursuits.
However, three additional inter-
related qualities/skills were viewed as
adding enormously to musicians’ “big
picture” of mental readiness for excel-
lence: spontaneity, creativity and flexi-
bility. None of these three qualities were
mentioned by Ericsson et al. (1993) in
their discussion of the differences be-
tween expert and eminent musicians, yet
the musicians interviewed consistently
referred to them as “making the differ-
ence” between a good and a great musi-
cian. Indeed, many would have called
“talent” a combination of creativity,
spontaneity and flexibility.
Spontaneity and creativity
It is very difficult to separate
spontaneity and creativity. Creativity
appeared to be a process that musicians
described when they talked about visu-
alization, imagination and/or musical
interpretation.
Musicians took up a new piece,
learned it, and then lived with it. They
drove around with it on the train, tram or
car, carried it into every situation of their
lives, and even took it to bed with them.
What eventually came out in a concert
was a personal expression of the feelings
and emotions that music had aroused in
them, refined and perfected by the hard
work of preparing the piece technically
on the instrument. This appeared to be
the creative process of the artist at work.
Spontaneity was interpreted as being the
musicians’ openness to the creativity of
the moment, expressing impulses or in-
spirations as they were felt or experi-
enced during a performance. Musicians
valued creativity and spontaneity and
felt that it was these elements that could
make their performance special.
A lot is automatic...even the
phrasing is automatic...it’s the slight im-
provisation that you sprinkle above the
skill...that you do differently from what
you’ve learned or studied about the
piece. There’s something extra there that
you didn’t do at home when you were
practising. It comes in the concert but
you can’t explain it. I comes from talent,
from the desire to lay something per-
sonal down on the table. These things
play a big role - the situation of the mo-
ment and the creativity, the stimulation
of creativity is so determining.
I’ve learned to enjoy the moment,
to create in the moment. Something you
can’t practise beforehand or rehearse
beforehand! The conditions are to be
well prepared, be physically fit and not
to have done too much. If (these factors)
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are positive then, playing is a lot of fun;
you just start and it just happens.
Musicians felt that they must
protect and nurture these qualities.
Eleven of them said that they did not like
to do too much repetitive work in prac-
tising, or in rehearsing just before the
performance, or in playing the same
concert too many times in a row.
I’m not one of these people who
think I have to play this passage through
400 times when I practice so that I’m
guaranteed that it’s perfect that night.
I don’t like to practice like a ma-
chine...There are people I know, they are
very good because they practice a pas-
sage maybe a 100 times and then, they
are very good because it’s like a ma-
chine, it’s automatic. I don’t like this
very much and when I practice, I try to
put new ideas in what I do, not just move
my fingers.
If you’re on tour, you have to
play the same concert 10 times in a row,
the same program. Every night, you have
to be playing like it was the first time.
It’s very difficult...When you do a thing
over and over again, there’s an auto-
matic that sets in...That’s why this kind
of routine work is not good for us.
Fourteen of the sixteen musicians
interviewed felt that spontaneity and
creativity were prerequisites to excel-
lence in their field. Creativity was de-
fined as the process of interpreting a
piece and making it into a personal ex-
pression. Mental imagery or visualiza-
tion was the major tool by which this
process was achieved. Musicians lived
with a piece in their mind for such a long
time that it became a part of themselves.
Spontaneity was very important
for the musicians. They also referred to
it as inspiration or improvisation. The
biggest danger to spontaneity and crea-
tivity was seen to be routine or repetitive
work. While repetition and perfection-
ism gave security in automatization, mu-
sicians felt that it destroyed creativity
and spontaneity.
Flexibility
If spontaneity was being open to
the creativity of the moment, flexibility
could be seen as being open to the dy-
namics of the situation.
Not as many musicians talked
about flexibility directly, but it was
viewed as essential to achieving excel-
lence in music. They talked about the
importance of not being so set in “in-
strumental habits” when going into re-
hearsals that they could not see a better
way of doing things when presented with
one.
It’s better to practice less than
too much. Spending too much time with
the instrument and being too concerned,
too busy with solving technical problems
and repeating again and again technical
things is rather dangerous because un-
consciously...you get a certain routine
and you get certain instrumental habits
that become hard to change.
It may sound stupid, but I hardly
ever practice the parts for a string
quartet ...I always have the feeling that if
I practised my part exactly then I’d be
fixated in it. I’ll have drilled it into me.
Then I can’t be flexible when I play with
the others. They’d have to go with me
constantly. But so, I can still be open, I
can mark the notes during the rehearsal:
‘Aha, maybe that’s a good way of
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bringing this out!’ ...But when I say, ‘It’s
the only way to play this’ - maybe it
doesn’t sound so good when you mix it
with the others.
The musicians spoke of flexibil-
ity in terms of being open to what was
happening during a performance and
going with the flow rather than trying to
fight it.
I taught myself to let a concert
develop. At the beginning, I’m not quite
so tense any more or aggressive: ‘This
must be good’. No! Consciously I just let
go at the beginning. I wait and see what
will happen, how the atmosphere is....It
helped me a lot because it’s the only way
I’m in a position to control the piece.
I depend on the ‘now’, on the
hall, on the acoustic. When I can go with
that, I can get ‘in’. On the contrary, if I
try to force something so it’s like I
imagined - that’s how I practised, that’s
how it must be - then I don’t come into
what happens.....If I don’t accept the
conditions as they are now, it means I’m
out.
Being flexible was also implicit
in the musicians’ perspective for growth
and continuous learning.
I’ve always been someone...if I
say today this is black, it doesn’t mean
that tomorrow I’ll still say that. You
know, there are ground rules, but also
there are always things where you must
be willing to revise yourself. I can’t
swear that when I said something is like
this 20 years ago, that I’ll still say that
today. Then I’m stupid, inflexible and
have no possibility to develop! As long
as I’m not totally calcified, I’ll still try to
throw everything on it’s head, not to let
it set in cement. That’s very important.
To summarize, flexibility was the
third interrelated quality that musicians
considered necessary in order to excel.
Although only five musicians talked
about it directly, flexibility was added to
the list of skills/qualities required to ex-
cel because it seemed implicit in the mu-
sician’s attitudes: in their perspective for
excellence; in their willingness to forego
a very detailed pre-performance routine,
preferring to settle for some broad or
general perspective outlines; and, in the
mental state they wanted to carry into a
performance.
Conclusion
The picture of the “excellent”
musician that emerged from this study
was that of a person clearly dedicated to
music and to personal excellence with
the chosen instrument. He or she was
committed to achieving his or her goals,
and as the performer grew, goals
evolved and became more visionary in
nature.
A strong sense of self was essen-
tial in order to withstand the pressures of
the high profile career of a musician. He
or she maintained a very positive per-
spective based on growth and continued
learning, and a feeling of being in con-
trol of his or her life. A final component
of this healthy perspective might be de-
scribed as open-mindedness: being open
to inspiration or to the creativity of the
moment (spontaneity), and being open to
the dynamics of a specific situation or
performance (flexibility).
The ideal focus going into a per-
formance was in the “here and now”, on
living the experience of the concert and
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1998 Zone of Excellence - http://www.zoneofexcellence.com
letting it happen, concentrating alter-
nately on the big picture of the music or
on specific technical details of playing as
required by the demands of a particular
piece.
Other specific mental factors
such as refocusing, mental imagery and
constructive evaluation (Orlick, 1989,
1992) were important tools used by elite
performers in order to achieve and
maintain high levels of excellence.
These and other themes pertinent to per-
formance excellence among musicians
are discussed in the complete report of
this study (Talbot-Honeck, 1994).
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1998 Zone of Excellence - http://www.zoneofexcellence.com
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