Stagefright Cures

Dear Fluteplayers,
I was updating my articles on "How to cure stagefright" and I came across a new book by Michael Goode (trumpet performer and stagefright workshop leader from Chicago) that seems to be VERY interesting indeed.
In one interview in a Chicago newspaper, Goode stated:

Classical music is losing audiences in part because they’re hearing technically perfect but boring performances. One reason for that is rampant use of drugs that stem performance jitters, primarily the beta-blocker propranolol. Sold under the brand name Inderal, this medication, which lowers heart rate and blood pressure, is intended for patients with cardiac conditions. But over the last 20 years or so it’s become a crutch for classical musicians who use it to get through grueling job auditions and performances. Inderal blocks the adrenaline-fueled fight-or-flight response to stress and, Goode says, also blocks access to the emotional depths necessary for great art. “A conductor of one of the top five orchestras in the world told me 90 percent of the musicians in his orchestra are on betablockers. That’s a problem.” Goode says even Charles Brantigan, a Denver physician and tuba player who did influential early research on Inderal use by musicians, has now backed away from advocating it. Brantigan, however, says he’s an investigator, not an advocate, and his position is unchanged: “On every occasion that this has been studied in a controlled trial the performances have been better on the drugs than off. The idea that it creates a mechanical performance is flat-out wrong.”

Well, that was enough to do it!!!
I rejoiced and hurrah'd for Goode, who stated that too many beta-blockers can be detected by an audience as "too perfect", "too boring".
What a rebellion against perfectionism!
So I rushed to Goode's website to read more about his book:

Stage Fright in Music Performance and Its Relationship to the Unconscious by Michael Goode Book, Trumpetworks Press (August 2003) ISBN: 097439341X
Order "Stagefright" by Michael Goode at Amazon or other stores or at:
Goode's Webpage.

But what was even more fabulous on a Sunday, was that I could listen to two radio interviews with Goode online, and the second was even more fabulous than the first.
Check out the radio interviews!!

JUST FABULOSO! Really and truly NEW food for thought. At least for me.

Happy listening to new ideas, and of course, I'm very open to comments (below, just hit the comment button.)
Best,
Jen :>)