You and Your Guitar is a series of eight articles which I wrote with the chartered physiotherapist Jane Kember, who at the time was also working as an advisor for BAPAM, the British Association for Performing Arts Medicine; they were published in Classical Guitar magazine from November 1995–September 1996. While the illustrations are ‘rudimentary’, hopefully the text might have some useful ideas.

Part VII: Emotional Stress

BEING a professional musician means having to play under any circumstances, and many things affect your ability to prepare for a performance and make the best use of your talents. The life of a musician can be lonely and isolating; trying to maintain the necessary unsociable hours and work patterns of a musician at the same time as fulfilling desires for a normal family life can be difficult. There are normal stress patterns which occur in everyday life, but when the emotional stress predominates, causing anxiety, poor performance and an inability to cope with normal routine, help might be needed.

This series of articles aims to raise the level of awareness of musicians to their bodies. It is not a substitute for seeking professional help when problems arise. Each of the articles in the series focuses on one aspect of the body, but please remember that no part can be considered in isolation. The body and mind work together as a whole.

Published in Classical Guitar magazine, Vol. 14, no. 12, August 1996, pp. 26–27.

© 2016 Thérèse Wassily Saba