Achieving Peak Performance

in Music

Achieving Peak Performance in Music: Psychological Strategies for Optimal Flow is a unique
and comprehensive exploration of flow in music performance. It describes the
optimal performance experiences of great musicians and outlines ten psycho-
logical steps that can be implemented to facilitate and enhance optimal experience.
Achieving Peak Performance in Music reveals strategies used by experts to prepare
themselves emotionally, cognitively, and physically for performance. Combining
this information with research carried out amongst professional performers and
knowledge gained from decades of study and research by psychologists on how
to achieve a positive experience, the book guides readers on a pathway towards
optimal performance. Using everyday language, it presents invaluable practical
guidance and a toolbox of strategies to help with all aspects of performance,
including memorisation, visualisation, focus, performance anxiety, thought man-
agement, motivation, and pre-​performance routines.
Based on psychological research, the book shares practical knowledge invalu-
able to music students, parents, and amateur and professional musicians. The
strategies on performance provided are applicable to every type of performance,
from a student exam to a gig or a concert, making Achieving Peak Performance in Music
a significant resource for anyone looking to achieve peak performance.

Sarah Sinnamon, Ph.D., psychologist and musician, is a performance con-

sultant actively involved in performance psychology and coaching as practitioner,
researcher, and lecturer. She was lecturer in psychology in All Hallows College
DCU, in performance psychology in Griffith College Dublin, and was assistant
violin teacher in Yehudi Menuhin School, UK.
“This is a must-read for any performer, in any field, who wants to understand the
processes that underlie and govern their experiences on stage.”
—Simon Fischer, Violinist, Pedagogue, and Author of Basics,
Practice, and Warming Up
Achieving Peak Performance
in Music
Psychological Strategies for Optimal Flow

Sarah Sinnamon
First published 2021
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
52 Vanderbilt Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2021 Sarah Sinnamon
The right of Sarah Sinnamon to be identified as author of this work has been
asserted by her in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright,
Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised
in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or
hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information
storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks,
and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing-​in-​Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-​in-​Publication Data
Names: Sinnamon, Sarah, 1971– author.
Title: Achieving peak performance in music: psychological
strategies for optimal flow / Sarah Sinnamon.
Description: [1.] | New York City : Routledge, 2020. |
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2020017556 (print) | LCCN 2020017557 (ebook) |
ISBN 9780367480639 (hardback) | ISBN 9780367480622 (paperback) |
ISBN 9781003037804 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Music–Performance–Psychological aspects.
Classification: LCC ML3838 .S53 2020 (print) |
LCC ML3838 (ebook) | DDC 781.4/3111–dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020017556
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020017557
ISBN: 978-​0-​367-​48063-​9 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-​0-​367-​48062-​2 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-​1-​003-​03780-​4 (ebk)
Typeset in Baskerville
by Newgen Publishing UK
For Lola and Tadhg –​
My source of fun and wacky-​ness, challenge, and
inspiration
Brief contents

List of figures  xiv

List of tables  xv

Introduction  1

1 Music performance  6

2 What flow feels like: how musicians describe being in flow  15

3 How musicians prepare for peak performance: ten steps to flow  24

4 Managing your emotions  40

5 Managing your thoughts  72

6 Motivation  89

7 Concentration and focus  112

8 Mental practice, imagery, and visualisation  127

9 Calming the body and mind  143

10 Pre-​performance routines  157

11 Putting it all together  168

Notes  178
Acknowledgements  195
Index  196
Contents

List of figures  xiv

List of tables  xv

Introduction  1
Is it peak performance, optimal experience, or in the zone? 1
Sport psychology and music performance psychology 2
The research this book is based on 3
The musicians 3
Who is this book for? 4
To parents and teachers: how to use this book 4
Musicians: how to use this book 5

1 Music performance  6
Musicians performing 6
Flow 7
Nine dimensions of flow 8
Flow is for everyone 10
Performance 10
What’s involved in music performance? 10
The two extremes of performing are linked –​fear and exhilaration 11
What cannot be controlled? 11
Can we make flow happen? 12
Is it important to experience flow? 12
Flow might be what drives musicians to work as hard as they do 13

2 What flow feels like: how musicians describe being in flow  15

The nine dimensions of flow: as described by musicians 15
The challenge–​skill balance 15
Merging of action and awareness 16
Concentration 17
Sense of control 18
Loss of self-​consciousness 19
Clear goals and unambiguous feedback 19
x Contents
Time transformation 20
Autotelic experience 21
Flow as a unity 21
During practice 22
To do: take the flow questionnaire 22

3 How musicians prepare for peak performance:

ten steps to flow  24
Ten steps to peak performance 24
1. Take on the challenge 25
2. Automatisation of skill and memorisation 27
3. Use mental practice 27
4. Use of imagery and visualisation techniques 29
5. Engage in positive self-​talk and have a mantra 30
6. Purposeful focus and absorption 32
7. Have a pre-​performance routine 32
8. Feel positive and negative emotions 34
9. Be intrinsically motivated –​love what you’re doing 37
10. Take a risk and let go 38

4 Managing your emotions  40

Music performance anxiety (MPA) 40
What is it? 41
Why does it happen? 41
Fight or flight: responses to danger 42
Emotions-​thoughts-​behaviours loop 44
Negative effects of performance anxiety 45
To do: take this music performance anxiety (MPA) questionnaire 48
How many experience MPA? 51
Is it here to stay forever? 52
Importance of nerves for good performance 54
Making emotions work to your advantage 55
Yerkes–​Dodson model 55
Flow theory 56
The Zone of Optimal Functioning 57
To do: find your zone of optimal functioning 59
Part 1 of finding your IZOF 59
Part 2 of finding your IZOF 60
IZOF: put parts 1 and 2 together and compare 62
You can graph it 63
Managing your emotions 66
Coping with stressful situations 67
What is ‘coping’? 68
Which coping strategy to use 69
To do: your toolkit of strategies 70
Key tips from this chapter 71
 Contents xi
5 Managing your thoughts  72
Is it the situation? Or is it your personality? 73
And so, is it the performance situation? Or is it me? 73
Become aware of your thoughts 74
Become aware of your negative thinking 74
To do: keep a diary of emotions and thoughts 74
To do: rationalise your thinking 76
Cognitive distortions 76
Overgeneralisation 76
Black and white thinking 76
Catastrophising 77
Confirmation bias 77
Thoughts become internalised 78
‘Should’ statements 78
To do: challenge your thoughts 78
To do: stop! and replace 79
The ABC model 80
Disputing negative thoughts and beliefs 81
Using a mantra 83
To do: get a mantra 85
To do: take one or more these mantras and use as your own 85
Examples of mantras for general positive thinking 86
To do: pre-​performance thought management plan 86
Techniques to incorporate into your daily routine 86
To do: your toolkit of strategies 87
Key tips from this chapter 88

6 Motivation  89
Motivational orientation: what motivates you? 89
So, what is intrinsic motivation and what is extrinsic motivation? 89
Motivation and self-​determination 90
Good cop, bad cop –​sometimes you need both! 91
Why is intrinsic motivation better for you? 92
To do: enhancing intrinsic motivation 93
Three basic human needs –​what drives our intrinsic motivation? 93
Feeling competent 94
How you think about your ‘ability’ affects achievement: what is
your mindset? 94
To do: encourage a growth mindset 95
Feeling related and connected to others 96
To do: developing connectedness 97
Feeling autonomous 97
To do: developing a sense of autonomy 98
Another way of thinking about motivation 99
What happens when we are motivated by ‘task’ orientation? 99
What happens when you are motivated by ‘ego’ goals? 99
xii Contents
To do: developing task motivation 100
Good cop, bad cop –​again, you need both! 101
Why do some people practise more? Is it all about motivation? 101
To do: take a short questionnaire to determine your achievement goal orientation 103
To do: setting goals and completing goals 104
Locus of control: do you believe that what you achieve or don’t achieve is within your
control? 105
To do: evaluating a setback 109
To do: evaluating a success 109
It’s all related 110
Key tips from this chapter 111

7 Concentration and focus  112

The mental spotlight 113
Selective attention 113
Unconscious attention 114
Impact of anxiety on focus: ‘choking under pressure’ 115
Why does ‘choking under pressure’ happen? 115
Typical distractions for musicians 116
What distracts the experts? 117
The audience 117
‘Playing to the audience’ 118
Nerves 119
Co-​performers 119
Pressures of performing 119
The commercial side of music 121
Internal or external? 122
To do: strategies for effective focus 122
Key tips from this chapter 126

8 Mental practice, imagery, and visualisation  127

How do mental practice and use of imagery and visualisation
differ? 128
Mental practice: key factors to remember for effective mental practice 129
When to use mental practice 130
What to use mental practice on 130
Memory 131
How memory works 131
Use all types of memory 133
Keys to memorising 135
To do: mental practice ­exercise 1 138
To do: mental practice ­exercise 2 140
To do: a visualisation and imagery exercise 140
Key tips from this chapter 142
 Contents xiii
9 Calming the body and mind  143
Breathing 144
How breathing impacts on the fight or flight system 144
Activating the vagus nerve and the Relax! system 146
How to do diaphragmatic breathing 148
To do: slow, deep breathing 149
Sudarshan Kriya Yoga breathing or SKY technique 149
To do: SKY breathing technique 149
Ujjayi breathing technique: ‘to be victorious’ 150
To do: 4-​4 breathing exercise 150
Pranayama breathing and the 4-​7-​8 breathing technique 150
To do: the 4-​7-​8 breathing technique 150
‘Emergency’ breathing-​relax combo 151
To do: emergency breathing-relax combo 151
Progressive muscle relaxation 152
To do: progressive muscle relaxation exercise 152
Mindfulness meditation 152
Doing mindfulness meditation 153
To do: e­ xercise –​take a minute to be mindful of your current state 154
Key tips from this chapter 155

10 Pre-​performance routines  157

Have an overview of the day 158
Planning your pre-​performance routine for the day 158
Attach a coping strategy to each activity 159
To do: planning sheet –​add in the times for carrying out each activity 160
Ask yourself 160
What do the experts do? 162
Letting go! 165
Key tips from this chapter 167

11 Putting it all together  168

Preparation 168
Practise! Practise! Practise! 168
Practise performing 170
Psychological strategies 171
Small steps 172
Making mistakes … failing 172
Evaluate your performances 173
Resilience, mental toughness, ‘grit’ 174
The ten steps to peak performance and more positive experiences of performance 175

Notes  178
Acknowledgements  195
Index  196
Figures

3.1 The ten steps to peak performance and flow  25

4.1 Where fear is located in the brain: the amygdala  43
4.2 The emotions, thoughts, behaviours loop, and impacting
performance factors  44
4.3 The inverted-​U relationship of pressure and performance  55
4.4 The flow model –​where flow occurs  57
4.5 Graph your emotions for your IZOF  64
4.6 Sample IZOF of student musician 1  65
4.7 Sample IZOF of student musician 2  65
5.1 ABC model: consequences of beliefs  80
6.1 The continuum of motivation  91
6.2 Three basic human needs  94
7.1 Typical distractors  118
9.1 The nervous system  145
9.2 The bodily functions affected by the sympathetic and the
parasympathetic nervous system  146
9.3 The vagus nerve and its projections to the body and brain  147
11.1 The ten steps to peak performance and flow  176
Tables

4.1 Symptoms of performance anxiety  46

4.2 List of perceived positive and negative emotions  63
4.3 Strategies toolkit  70
5.1 Strategies toolkit  87
6.1 Locus of control  107
6.2 Locus of control with sample self-​statements  108
Introduction

Is it peak performance, optimal experience, or in the zone?

There are many terms used to label and describe what can be called ‘optimal
experience’ both in research and in everyday contexts. In psychology, peak experi-
ence was first described by Abraham Maslow,1 and the concept of ‘flow’ has been
pioneered by Mihalyi Csikszentmihalyi,2 with a vast amount of research on flow
carried out in the domain of sport by Susan Jackson.3 The term ‘in the zone’ has
been popularised in mainstream sport culture, and so it’s one that most people
have heard of. There is also the ‘paratelic state’ which was put forward in Apter’s
Reversal theory;4 ‘trance’ has been described by Becker5 and Rouget6 in the field
of ethnomusicology and the jazz pianist Kenny Werner7 wrote about ‘effortless
mastery’.
There are some differences in the detail of descriptions by various academics,
but for the purposes of this book, I will refer to the experience of flow, peak experi-
ence, and optimal experience as similar experiences because these are the psy-
chological terms that are often used by musicians to label or describe what they
have experienced. Musicians tend to use words such as ‘buzz’, ‘rush’, or ‘zone’ to
describe flow in everyday language –​I won’t use these ambiguously defined terms
in the book.
Musicians’ descriptions of flow are strikingly similar, even when compared
across different types of music, different genres, different instruments, and different
performance settings. One of the key outcomes of flow seems to be that when
experiencing flow, people play their best, they play at their peak.
We’ll read more about this in Chapter 1, but for now I want to emphasise
that whilst flow happens and can be experienced by any musician under the right
conditions, peak performance does not have to and does not always incorporate
an optimal experience such as flow. Expert, professional musicians perform at
their peak consistently, but they may not experience flow every time or indeed,
any time. When in flow, people perform at their peak, however, performing at
your peak does not automatically result in a peak experience. Mostly, performing
at your peak, is plain hard work. When in flow, musicians describe performing at
their peak as performing with effortlessness and ease.
2 Introduction
To put it more simply: there is flow, there is peak performance, and there are
positive experiences of performances (even if not peak or flow). This book aims
to show you how expert musicians prepare for peak performance and for flow.
Whether they experience one or both, by preparing the way they do, they certainly
enjoy more positive experiences of performance. By passing on their methods of
preparation, their guidelines, the strategies they use, combined with what we’ve
learnt from psychological research on how best to use these strategies, I hope that
you too can enjoy more positive experiences of performance, more peak perform-
ance, and as an added bonus you may even experience flow more often.

Sport psychology and music performance psychology

In many ways, sport and music performance are clearly very different activ-
ities; but whilst there are indeed differences –​the artistic production of sound
and the expression of emotion in music being the most obvious –​there are also
many similarities. Performance in these activities requires similar mental skills,
long hours of practice, and a great deal of motivation and persistence over years
of training.8 Some sports have more in common with music performance than
others. For example, figure skating, synchronised swimming and some gymnastics
include such features as the conveyance of emotion and communication with the
audience, as well as the memorisation and execution of complex skills and pre-​
ordained routines combined with improvisation. Both sport and music involve an
audience, although the actual experience of the audience in sport has not always
been considered an essential ingredient of the overall performance as it is in music.
Having said that, recently, during the early stages of the pandemic of COVID-​19,
empty sports arenas have affected the enjoyment of the sport. Research has yet to
be carried out on how players felt about this and the impact of it on their game
and performance.
The execution of coordinated complex skill that is performed at a particular
moment in time in front of an audience is the key factor that is common to sport
and music; it requires similar mental skills and psychological strategies in the prep-
aration and execution of performance in each of the domains.
Therefore, what musicians do and what athletes do in psychological prepar-
ation for performance are often similar and the research in either domain can
benefit the other. The current research and knowledge in sport psychology on how
best to carry out the (shared) strategies is beneficial to musicians.
In interviews with expert professional musicians, they described how they pre-
pare for performance, and they actually talked about many of the techniques that
are used by athletes and recommended by sport psychologists.
Another vital factor that is common to both sportsmen/​women and expert
musicians is the hours and years of training and practise that they carry out. The
‘10,000 hours’9 rule or ten years of training, that was proposed by Anders Ericsson
and popularised by Malcolm Gladwell in Outliers,10 and ‘deliberate practice’,11
also put forward by Anders Ericsson, has been shown by a body of evidence to
be well founded not just in sport and music, but also in many other domains.
 Introduction 3
The psychological strategies that are discussed in this book will only be effective
when the necessary practise and training have been done. Musicians speak about
‘no stone unturned’; in order to effectively employ the strategies in the book, it is
necessary to have done the work with your music and your instrument first. No
amount of psychological strategies can take the place of the practising and prep-
aration of music that is necessary before a performance.

The research this book is based on

This book is based on and inspired by the research that I carried out with expert
professional musicians for a PhD thesis.12 In carrying out the research under
the supervision of sport psychologist Prof. Aidan Moran,13 a few years were
spent designing and deploying a survey of 200 student musicians, carrying
out and analysing interviews with over 100 professional musicians, testing the
effectiveness of a program for musicians, having discussions and focus groups
with expert professional musicians, music psychologists, and sport psychologists,
giving seminars and talks, publishing and presenting parts of the research at
conferences.
Through analyses of the interviews with musicians, I drew together thousands
of statements made by the musicians, and categorised them systematically into
themes. From this lengthy and complex type of analysis, the factors that were
most often talked about by the expert musicians became evident and I was able to
compile the top ten steps that experts take in order to prepare for performance.
I myself was a musician, a violinist, and I performed and taught violin for over
ten years before becoming a psychologist. It was when working as an assistant
violin teacher at the Yehudi Menuhin School (a specialist music school in the
UK),14 that I became fascinated with the ways in which the students there were
taught, and learned how to perform at their best with the aid of psychological
strategies. That led me to my research investigating music performance –​peak
performance and flow, the experiences of expert and novice musicians and the
strategies that expert musicians use to prepare for performance.

The musicians
During my research, in interviews I asked musicians about their most recent
favourite and best performance. They responded by describing performances that
were inspiring and approaches to preparation for performance that were intri-
guing, intelligent, detailed, enlightening, and personal.
The musicians who took part in interviews and gave generously of their time
and shared their personal experiences, were all expert musicians who had been
performing professionally at an elite level for over ten years; many were recording
and touring performing artists. The musicians were recommended for the research
by other performing musicians, therefore their reputation in the music domain
and amongst other musicians was important for the validity of the research,
rather than their level of public acclaim. They shared their personal experiences
4 Introduction
of performances, and described in detail how they prepare for performances, and
what they’ve learnt over the years, about themselves and about performing.

Who is this book for?

This book is for music performance students, music teachers, parents of aspiring
musicians, amateur musicians, and professional musicians. I would also say that
anyone who ever finds themselves having to perform in their job or personal life (at
meetings, pitches, and public speaking of any kind), will find the psychology and
performance strategies in this book extremely helpful.

To parents and teachers: how to use this book

You could assist your young student musician(s) with the reading of this book, with
understanding the information if required, with putting strategies into practise
and, as you are already doing, with your compassionate and informed support.
Read the strategies and ask your aspiring musician(s) how you can help with
employing strategies. You may be able to help with specific strategies such as chal-
lenging their thoughts if they are negative, engaging in positive self-​talk (Chapter 5),
and helping them to create their own mantra (Chapters 5 and 10). You can assist
them in finding their individual zone of optimal performance (Chapter 4). You can
read about motivation and then support them in maintaining their love of music
and performing. Assist them in feeling like they are competent, that they belong
in music or to music groups by supporting them in other musical activities, and by
helping them to feel they have some control over their musical development (see
Chapter 6). You can help with applying strategies for focusing and with limiting
distractions (Chapter 7). You can help them with memorising and support them
in trying to carry out mental practice and visualisation techniques (Chapter 8).
You can support them in experimenting with breathing exercises and mindfulness
meditation (Chapter 9) and you can help them put together a pre-​performance
plan for the day of an upcoming performance (Chapter 10).
Gently encourage them to try strategies and to identify strategies that would be
useful for them to implement into daily routines. None of the strategies have to be
carried out during designated practising time, although they can be and it’s a good
idea to start building them into practise time. However, you can also support your
young musician(s) by helping them to carry out strategies at times when they feel
relaxed or have nothing else to do.
Your compassionate help and support are crucial to your young musician’s
development. It’s not a coincidence that some research has shown that children
with exceptional ability tend to be first children or the baby of the family, children
for whom parents tend to have more time, resources, financial resources, patience,
and energy. I have to accompany that by saying exceptional ability is not neces-
sarily something you should desire for your young musician –​in adulthood typ-
ically progressing children achieve as much or more and are as happy or happier
than adults who showed exceptional ability as children. Children with exceptional
 Introduction 5
abilities tend to ‘plateau’ in their early 20s, whilst typically developing children who
show an early interest in their domain tend to catch up and even overtake them.
Mental health and wellbeing are critical factors to be appreciated and supported
in all children, whatever their level of progression and enjoyment.

Musicians: how to use this book

Read all the strategies. Try all of them. Decide which strategies are most useful to
your needs, and tailor them to your own individual needs.
Make a plan, and factor the strategies into your everyday routine. Different
strategies will be relevant for you at different points in the performance schedule
and at different times of your life. Set aside time to implement strategies into your
daily routine.
Strategies must be used daily. They must be part of your daily practice
schedule. They are as important as the physical practice that you carry out every
day. Strategies are not useful if only used on the day of a performance and if they
haven’t been practised prior to that day. Even though you know all the ‘notes’ in
a piece of music, you still need to practise and plan putting them all together in
a musical, technically proficient manner with fluent execution of motor skills and
in an emotionally expressive way. Likewise, mental strategies have to be tried out,
tested, planned, and practised, so that they can also be executed proficiently and
fluently on the day of a performance.
This might seem like a lot of hard work on top of the work you already have
to do. But it could also be fun! It is a psychologist-​recommended, scheduled time
for you to think about yourself and look after yourself a little, amidst all the hard
work you do when preparing for performance.
Notes

1 Maslow, I. (1954). Motivation and personality. New York: Harper and Row; Maslow,
I. (1962). Toward a psychology of being. Princeton, NJ: D Van Nostrand Co. doi:10.1037/​
10793-​000.
2 Csikszentmihalyi, M., & Csikszentmihalyi, I. S. (Eds.). (1992). Optimal experience: Psychological
studies of flow in consciousness. Cambridge University Press; Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2002).
Flow: The classic work on how to achieve happiness. London: Random House; Csikszentmihalyi,
M., & Nakamura, J. (2018). Flow, altered states of consciousness, and human evolu-
tion. Journal of Consciousness Studies, 25(11–​12), 102–​114; Csikszentmihalyi, M., Montijo,
M. N., & Mouton, A. R. (2018). Flow theory: Optimizing elite performance in the
creative realm. In S. I. Pfeiffer, E. Shaunessy-​Dedrick, & M. Foley-​Nicpon (Eds.), APA
handbooks in psychology®. APA handbook of giftedness and talent (pp. 215–​229). Washington,
DC: American Psychological Association. doi:10.1037/​0000038-​014.
3 Jackson, S. A., & Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1999). Flow in sports. Champaign, IL: Human
Kinetics; Jackson, S. A., Ford, S. K., Kimiecik, J. C., & Marsh, H. W. (1998).
Psychological correlates of flow in sport. Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 20(4),
358–​378. doi.org/​10.1123/​jsep.20.4.358.
4 Apter, M. J. (2001). Motivational styles in everyday life: A guide to reversal theory. Washington,
DC: American Psychological Association. doi:10.1037/​10427-​000.
5 Becker, J. (1994). Music and trance. Leonardo Music Journal, 4, 41–​51. doi:10.2307/​
1513180; Becker, J. (2004). Deep listeners: Music, emotion, and trancing. Bloomington and
Indianapolis: Indiana University Press.
6 Rouget, G. (1985). Music and trance: A theory of the relations between music and possession.
University of Chicago Press.
7 Werner, K. (1996). Effortless Mastery. New Albany, IN: Jamey Aebersold Jazz.
8 Martin, J. J., & Cutler, K. (2002). An exploratory study of flow and motivation in
theater actors. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 14(4), 344–​ 352. doi:10.1080/​
10413200290103608.
9 Ericsson, A., & Pool, R. (2016). Peak: How all of us can achieve extraordinary things.
London: Penguin Random House.
10 Gladwell, M. (2008). Outliers: The story of success. New York: Little, Brown and Company.
11 Ericsson, K. A., Krampe, R. T., & Tesch-​Römer, C. (1993). The role of deliberate
practice in the acquisition of expert performance. Psychological Review, 100, 363–​406.
doi:10.1037/​0033-​295X.100.3.363; Ericsson, A., & Pool, R. (2016). Peak: How all of us
can achieve extraordinary things. London: Penguin Random House.
12 Sinnamon, S. (2008). Musicians in flow: An empirical investigation of the peak performance
experiences in novice and expert performers. University College Dublin.
 Notes 7
13 Moran, A. P. (2016). The psychology of concentration in sport performers: A cognitive analysis.
Exeter: Psychology Press. doi:10.4324/​9781315784946; Moran, A., & Toner, J. (2017).
A critical introduction to sport psychology: A critical introduction (3rd ed). New York: Routledge.
doi:10.4324/​9781315657974.
14 The Yehudi Menuhin School, A specialist music school in Stoke d’Abernon, Cobham,
Surrey, UK.
1 Werner, K. (1996). Effortless Mastery. New Albany, IN: Jamey Aebersold Jazz.
2 Csikszentmihalyi, M., & Nakamura, J. (2018). Flow, altered states of consciousness, and
human evolution. Journal of Consciousness Studies, 25(11–​12), 102–​114; Csikszentmihalyi,
M. (2008). Flow: the psychology of optimal experience. New York: Harper Perennial Modern
Classics.
3 Csikszentmihalyi, M., & Csikszentmihalyi, I. S. (Eds.). (1992). Optimal experi-
ence: Psychological studies of flow in consciousness. Cambridge University Press;
Csikszentmihalyi, M., Abuhamdeh, S., & Nakamura, J. (2014). Flow. In Flow and the
foundations of positive psychology (pp. 227–​238). Dordrecht: Springer. doi:10.1007/​978-​
94-​017-​9088-​8_​15. Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2008). Flow: the psychology of optimal experience.
New York: Harper Perennial Modern Classics; Csikszentmihalyi, M., & Nakamura,
J. (2018). Flow, altered states of consciousness, and human evolution. Journal of
Consciousness Studies, 25(11–​12), 102–​114.
4 Jackson, S. A., & Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1999). Flow in sports. Human Kinetics.
5 Araujo, M. V., & Hein, C. F. (2016). Finding flow in music practice: An exploratory
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14 Duda, J. L., Appleton, P. R., Stebbings, J., & Balaguer, I. (2017). Towards more
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9 Sinnamon, S. (2008). Musicians in flow: An empirical investigation of the peak performance
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10 Moran, A. (2011). Concentration. In D. J. Collins, A. Button, & H. Richards (Eds.),
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