The Instrument Inside: Treat Your Mind and Body with the Same Care You Give Your Playing

The mind can be an incredible asset—or obstacle—to practice, performance, and musical and/or technical improvement. Our experience depends on how we cultivate our mindsets to embrace optimism, patience, growth, and acceptance. Just like learning new music, working on mindset takes practice—plus some good perspective and inspiration that can help lift you up in challenging times.

This feature will explore different ways to promote a healthy and positive mindset, which go a long way toward helping your musical success. We’ll explore strategies to deal with performance anxiety, unhealthy competition, and the inner critic. 

Establishing a Healthy Mindset

Music is art, not a competition. Although we may all recognize the truth and value in that statement, it can be challenging at times to stay positive when it feels like everyone is making progress except you. And let’s face it—playing the guitar isn’t easy at first! Indeed, legendary jazz guitarist Wes Montgomery once noted, “The guitar is such a hard instrument . . . because it takes years to start working with it, and it looks like everybody else is moving on the instrument but you. Then when you find a cat that’s really playing, you’ll always find that he’s been playing a long time, you can’t get around it.”

It takes perseverance—and sometimes stubbornness—to break through ruts, even though it doesn’t seem like it’ll ever pay off. As Montgomery says, “When you find guitar players that are playing, you’ll find out that at one time they never cared if they never played, they were going to keep on until they did. After a period of time the beginning player will hear a little difference in his playing, and that little inspiration is enough to go further, and the first thing you know, you won’t back out. The biggest problem is getting started. Then later every time you hear guitar players everybody plays more than you. And those things are not very inspirational, they’re pretty discomforting. And then somebody says, ‘Why don’t you put that thing down, you’re not doing anything with it.’ Well, that’s no help. And you’ll find more people against you than for you, until you get started. Then you’ll find more with you than against you.”

Jazz guitar great Jim Hall was once asked if he was self-critical, to which he answered, “I am, but I do feel good about my playing. The instrument keeps me humble. Sometimes I pick it up and it seems to say, ‘No, you can’t play today.’ I keep at it anyway, though.”

Keep in mind that these are honest comments from two of the greatest guitarists in American musical history. Everyone struggles at some point, but the most important thing is to keep striving and to distance yourself from potentially damaging external or internal criticism. The goal is to cultivate a healthy perspective regarding our playing and progress compared to others, balancing ambition and passion with patience, confidence with humility, and perseverance with letting go. 

Part of establishing a growth mindset is recognizing the long haul. You can easily spend a lifetime engaged with music and still have room for improvement. This is a beautiful practice that is spiritual in nature; in fact, the word practice is both a verb and a noun. A practice is a habit, a custom, and an ongoing work in progress. Life is a journey—practice is the destination. It’s a constant state of movement and flow.

The Benefits of Meditation

Meditation has proven immensely successful for musicians seeking to establish equilibrium, whether enduring the rigors of travel or for simply promoting relaxation, concentration, and mindfulness. There are many traditions of meditation to explore. If you’re new to meditation, start by devoting a short amount of time (even 10–15 minutes) a day to sitting quietly, observing the breath, and letting persistent thoughts pass through the mind like clouds in an open sky.

Several smartphone apps offer guided meditation with soft music or natural sounds. Alternatively, you can practice in silence, focusing on each breath to release tension. One common goal of meditation is to cultivate equanimity, a gentle state where thoughts don’t disturb the mind. Strengthening equanimity involves focusing gently on a home base like breath awareness, slow counting, or a peaceful image or sound.

Establishing a regular meditation practice can be a powerful asset for managing stress and worry, common among musicians facing the pressures of the industry. Meditation promotes mental clarity, reduces stress and hypertension, and complements a practice of gratitude for music and the privilege of being a musician.

Performance Anxiety

Most guitarists have encountered anxiety or some form of stage fright at some point, which can significantly impact their performance. Studies of professional symphony orchestras indicate that up to 59 percent of musicians have been affected by performance anxiety in their careers.

Feeling butterflies before a performance is natural, and it can provide excitement and extra energy. When performance anxiety leads to marked impairment, however, it can make it difficult to concentrate and manifest through symptoms like rapid heartbeat, shaky hands, dry mouth, sweating, dizziness, and shortness of breath. These responses are triggered by cortisol, a hormone released by the adrenal glands as part of the fight-or-flight response, designed to protect us from danger. 

Experiencing anxiety that feels life-threatening before a show is undesirable, but in my extensive experience as a performer and teacher, I have observed that practicing particular physical and mental exercises can replace these feelings with positive anticipation.

Mental Strategies

Take a close look at an upcoming performance and consider it from various perspectives, including that of the audience. No one attends a show hoping to see a musician fail; rather, they come to experience your artistic expression through the guitar. Many audience members make significant efforts to attend, despite fatigue or other commitments, which should reassure you that they are on your side and rooting for your success.

Preparation is irreplaceable. Investing time in practice will boost your confidence onstage. Instead of performing with doubts, trust that your thorough preparation enables you to surrender to the music and enjoy the experience of sharing music with fellow musicians and listeners. Seek inspiration from bandmates, peers, and guitar legends alike, embracing the collaborative spirit of music making. Even as a soloist, you collaborate with your audience, which is a beautiful aspect of performing, not something to fear.

This article was excerpted from The Holistic Guitarist, available at store.acousticguitar.com

Fear often arises from lack of preparation or irrational thoughts. Negative thinking can spiral into unrealistic fears, such as catastrophic outcomes from mistakes. Some musicians find cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) helpful in managing general anxiety issues. Onstage, there’s no place for unhealthy competition, self-criticism, or imposter syndrome. Believe in your capability to share your musical gifts confidently and admirably.

Depending on the performance, you can mitigate pressure by starting with a setlist that includes pieces you know intimately and are comfortable playing. This approach ensures a strong start and allows flexibility; if one piece feels challenging in the moment, switch to another without stress. Keeping the stakes low doesn’t mean playing only easy music but rather selecting well-prepared pieces that showcase your readiness through practice and visualization.

Physical Strategies

Musicians don’t necessarily think of themselves as athletes, but it’s important to recognize that just like athletes, we must train our bodies and adhere to essential principles of health and performance. A big part of that is making sure you are taking steps to ensure overall physical health through exercise, adequate sleep, rest, and nutrition. These will also pay dividends toward your mental well-being and your focus.

Eating foods that are high in potassium can help alleviate anxiety and tension. These foods—including bananas, leafy greens, antioxidant-rich fruits, garlic, saffron, and low-fat dairy products such as yogurt or milk—are sometimes known as natural beta blockers. Beta blockers have been shown to block the release of adrenaline, noradrenaline, and related compounds to the beta-adrenergic receptors, which can cause symptoms of high blood pressure and a racing heartbeat.

The most immediate way to physically counteract the symptoms of anxiety and stress is through breathwork. Learning various breathing techniques can have a powerful effect on your ability to relax, sharpen focus, and be present. Two common techniques include box breathing and an ancient yogic 4-7-8 breathing strategy.

The box breathing technique involves finding a relaxed position (sitting or standing), inhaling to a slow count of four, holding the breath for four, exhaling for four, and holding again for a count of four. The 4-7-8 breath is similar in its ability to relax the body and mind: Inhale for a count of four, hold for seven, and slowly exhale to a count of eight before your next inhale. You can play with this one with the counting. For example, if you’re feeling a little lethargic and need to build up some energy, try reversing the count to 8-7-4, and exhale strongly while bringing in oxygen to the slow count of eight on the inhalation. Both techniques produce wondrous and immediate physiological results that you can access anywhere, at any time.

This article was excerpted from The Holistic Guitarist, available at store.acousticguitar.com

This article originally appeared in the November/December 2025 issue of Acoustic Guitar magazine.