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Katy Morgan

Vocal Pedagogy

Professor McMillan

April 6, 2019

What is ​The Inner Game of Music​?

The Inner Game of Music​ by Barry Green with Timothy Gallwey is based off of

Timothy Gallwey’s ​The Inner Game of Tennis​. Timothy Gallwey is a nationally ranked

tennis player, was the captain of the Harvard University Tennis Team, and later became

a college administrator. While on a sabbatical from this position, he began his journey of

gathering knowledge on the Inner Games. During his time as a tennis instructor,

Gallwey learned some of the techniques and concepts he used to write ​The Inner Game

of Tennis.​ This book alone has sold over two million copies since its release.

Barry Green is an accomplished bassist from California. He served as the

Principal Bassist of the Cincinnati Symphony for twenty-eight year. Now, he is the

director of a young bassist program for the San Francisco Symphony Department. He

also teaches privately and organized the Northern California Bass Club and the Bay

Bass Band. In addition to the ​Inner Game of Music,​ Green has also collaborated with

Jeff Neighbor, writing three volumes of ​The Popular Bass Method.

As a child, Barry Green was very competitive with his brother. As young adults,

they competed to see who could teach themselves to be the best skier. Barry learned

every technique he could and took multiple classes, but even with all of his hard work,

his brother always skied with much more confidence and ease. His brother encouraged
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him to read Gallwey’s ​The Inner Game of Skiing.​ It was after reading that book that

Green first approached Gallwey about adapting his book to be for musicians. Gallwey

agreed that it could be useful to musicians, but stated that Green must do his own

research on the Inner Games of music before he agreed.

Green spent over three years testing and applying Gallwey’s methods to music.

He tested these methods on both himself, as a successful bass player, as well as on his

students in their lessons and ensembles. He did not return to Gallwey until he felt he

collected enough research to prove that his theories worked. Gallwey was adamant that

​ ould not just become a copy of ​The Inner Game of Tennis.

The Inner Game of Music w

He, “felt it was important for the Inner Game methods to be re-created to reflect the

unique and special aspects of a particular subject” (vii).

So what is the Inner Game? This theory has been applied to multiple different

fields of work and performance. It is interesting to consider how the same ideas can be

applied in various outlets. The Inner Game describes how a performance can be

derailed and deemed unsuccessful due to different types of interferences. Green’s

theoretical equation is performance = potential – interference.

In regards to chapters, this book maintains a similar format throughout. Green

uses the first three chapters to describe “The Inner Game Basics.” “The Inner Game

Basics 1” is the theoretical equation of performance that was stated earlier. “The Inner

Game Basics 2” is the idea of ‘self 1’ and ‘self 2’, which are terms coined to easily

describe how our brains think. Self 1 is our personal interference, or the judgemental

voice that gets in the way of us reaching our potential. Self 2 is the person being spoken
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to, or the potential that exists within us. “The Inner Game Basics 3” is the performance,

experience, and learning (PEL) Triangle. When all aspects of the PEL Triangle are

balanced, performers reach the height of their success. “Inner Game Basics 4,” the last

basic concept, is Awareness, Will and Trust. These four skills allow us to achieve

relaxed concentration and heighten the PEL triangle. When all of these aspects are

balanced, performers are able to limit their interferences and achieve success.

In each of these chapters, the authors identify the basic ideas of the Inner Game

and then provide the readers with exercises to use to help them. In the later chapters,

they explore the concepts of Awareness, Will, and Trust, providing more detailed

information, as well as multiple techniques to help with each specific skill. Additionally,

Green tells stories about how he applied these skills in both his own studies and his

students’ studies.

Chapter 1, “The Mozart in Us,” describes Barry Green’s reasoning as to why he

wanted to write the book and what prompted him to initially read ​The Inner Game of

​ hapter 2 “The Inner Game,” describes the first two inner games basics as
Skiing. C

described above. He also gives characteristics of ‘self 1’ and ‘self 2’. Self 1 is described

as the voice “that says shoulds and shouldn’ts,” as well as, “not only our thoughts but

those we think of others opinions or expectations.” These thoughts going on in Self 1

can inhibit individuals from performing at their best. Self 2 is described as, “the potential

within us.” Green claims that, “most kids live in the Self 2 world until something

interferes.” Self 2 is present when we are both relaxed and aware, this is when we

perform at our best.

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Chapter three, “The Inner Game Skills,” discusses the last two Inner Game

Basics: The PEL Triangle and Awareness, Will and Trust. In this chapter, Green claims

that “any activity we do has two results: What we manage to achieve, and the way we

feel while we are going about it” (25). As musicians, we worry about how the

performance will go, but when we are successful, we are fully invested in making music

and simply enjoying the experience. By being engaged in the moment, we are able to

focus more on the music and less on the negative thoughts we or others may be

thinking. In order to reap full benefits, we must be aware of three things: 1) the quality of

our experience, 2) what we are learning, and 3) how close we come to achieving our

goal. One thing Green emphasizes is the difference between trying and awareness.

Instead of trying to do something, one should be aware of what is going on and what is

being done. If you do this, you may notice things that can improve what you are

attempting to do. He also discusses the concept of having ‘permission to fail.’ As

musicians, we make mistakes all the time. However, when we tell ourselves to fail, it is

actually harder to do so. Green provides us with an example of one of his students in

addition to practice activities that you can try out to help you understand the ideas of

‘permission to fail’ and ‘trying versus awareness.’

Chapter four is entitled “The Power of Awareness.” The idea of awareness is to

allow ourselves to focus and be aware of just one aspect of the musical experience.

Some examples he gives include “being present by paying attention to sight, being

present by paying attention to sound, being present by paying attention to feelings, and

lastly being present by paying attention to what you know” (40). Singers must
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constantly pay attention to feelings. This helps them to connect with a piece and convey

emotions to the audience. Green recommends experimenting with simple awareness,

accepting the problem the way it is, noticing subtle differences, and finding the problem

behind the problem. These ideas of awareness provide us with knowledge about

ourselves and our performance habits. They also allow us to fix some of the problems

what we were not originally aware of.

The power of will is covered in chapter five. Tim Gallwey says, “the quality of our

desires determines the quality of our concentration” (53). In other words, when we have

clear ideas on what we want, it is easier to concentrate on our end goal. In this chapter,

he talks primarily about musical performance goals. He explains the meaning of each

goal and provides real life examples of how to implement these ideas. Performance

Goal 1, ‘using visual cues,’ involves memorizing and understanding all of the dynamic,

tempo, accent and rhythmic markings. By focusing on these expressive tools, we can

be more musical by just following what is written on the page. Goal 2 is ‘using physical

cues.’ This goal describes when students internalize the movements, which allows them

to rehearse those movements before physically going through the motions. According to

the authors, “using your body’s kinesthetic memory will help prepare the body for

accurate performance” (58). Using solfege to hand sign a vocal line before singing is a

form of kinesthetic memory that later helps with our performance. Performance Goal 3

is the ‘authentic sound.’ As musicians, our goal is to perform the piece in the correct

style and in the way the composer intended it to be played. By being knowledgeable

about all different styles of music, one can focus on performing in the most accurate
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way possible. Performance Goal 4 is the ‘the music in your head.’ Much like the Suzuki

method, this performance goal is about making sure we are properly hearing the music.

Most of the time, mistakes happen when we incorrectly audiate the music in our heads.

‘The meaning of the music’ is Performance Goal 5. This is a way to “convey the

composer’s intended effect to your audience”(62). The last performance goal is “the

drama of music.’ This is the idea of text painting, in which the music suggests what is

happening. By listening to the music, noticing different patterns, and creating a meaning

behind the piece, the music becomes more exciting and convincing for both the

performers and the audience. The chapter is concluded by discussing experience goals,

which aim to unify musicians into the musical experience.

In chapter six, “The Power of Trust,” Green describes experiencing trust as what

“comes after hard work, and the trust that comes from knowing there is music inside

you.” The chapter discusses how we should all trust in everything that we have worked

towards. Some find that when they perform, they feel out of control, which can lead

them to have doubt in their performance experience. One way that they suggest to

reduce doubt is to ask the question: what is the worst thing that could happen? When

asked this question, most individuals come up with answers that they soon realize are

not as big of a deal as they thought.

Chapter seven is about letting go of self 1’s critiques and thoughts, and tapping

into the ideas and abilities of self 2. Green and Gallwey come up with eight techniques

that can help musicians let go. These techniques include role playing, becoming the

music, doing something familiar, letting the body take over, letting go to the
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environment, letting go to overload, letting go to the ridiculous, and letting go to the

impossible. Out of these techniques, the one that resonated with me the most is

becoming the music. Green describes this technique as “losing yourself in a character

you portray musically or in the emotions of the music” (94). As a singer who performs a

lot of opera arias, the goal of losing myself in my character is one I strive to focus on.

This would allow me to let go more, as well as give my audience the most captivating

performance.

Coping with obstacles is the topic discussed in chapter eight. Some people may

find that the techniques and skills discussed earlier will not work for them. The ideas of

the Inner Games are to help you get “past the obstacles that stand between you and

your musicality”(112). But when you are so focused on technique instead of making

music, the Inner Games may not work. When struggling with the Inner Games

techniques, one must figure out which area is out of balance: awareness, trust or will.

Chapter nine is titled “Improving the Quality of the Musical Experience.” Green

begins this chapter by telling a personal story about being in a performance in which he

had 32 measures of the same boring ostinato before changing to a different pitch. He

explains that he was able to stay active and improve his musical experience by studying

the entire score. This allowed him to understand what was going on, the importance of

his part, and what other parts of the music he was assisting. In a choir, having an

understanding of the entire score improves our knowledge and our experience because

it makes us feel connected to those around us. I found his story to be a nice reminder

that, no matter what part you play, you can impact the entire experience for everyone.
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Chapter ten discusses teaching and learning. Green describes an approach

different from just giving instruction: he allowed a student to identify her own problems

and change them without Green having to put it into words. He says that when a

student is playing a passage of music too fast, one should not ask them to just change

the tempo. Instead, ask them questions about that area of the piece so that they can

discover the problem on their own. This method will allow students to also think critically

when they are practicing at home and not just while they are in their lessons. At the end

of this chapter, Green provides different questions that instructors can use with any of

their students learning different types of instruments. These questions are categorized

into visual awareness, feeling awareness, auditory awareness and visual awareness

techniques. Chapter eleven correlates with chapter ten and is entitled “The Inner Game

Listener.” It discusses how we can silence the inner anxieties and conversations in our

head. He lists three different ways we can do this. The first is to understand why we are

listening to the music, the second is to trust our knowledge of the music, and the third is

to be fully aware of the music so we can experience the music in its integrity.

​ re primarily
The final four chapters discussed in ​The Inner Games of Music a

useful to the teacher. In chapter twelve there is information about not judging the

performer who is struggling and finding ways to understand and acknowledge these

struggles. Chapter thirteen provides a quiz teachers can give to their students in order

to identify if their personalities are analytical or global. This can give the teacher a better

insight on how to teach each individual student. Chapters fourteen and fifteen were very
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interesting to me as a music educator because they discuss how these methods can be

used in ensemble practices as well as in improvisation, creativity and composition.

In order to choose a skill that helps in the Inner Games, one must practice with

every skill to see what area is best suited for them. As I was going through the book I

found myself gravitating towards the ideas and exercises of trust. Those who use the

trust methods have interferences that include doubt and fear. This book provides

concepts that are both useful and versatile, and could be applied to almost any student.

All performers have experiences where distractions and other interferences can

negatively impact their performance. What I really enjoyed about Green’s method was

that it was not just one idea, but rather a mixture of various ones. This acknowledges

that different students learn in many different ways.

I really enjoyed this book’s structure. It is laid out by first discussing the purpose

of the three main inner games skills: trust, awareness and will. He then discusses these

three skills in depth and how they work so they can be applied to students. In each of

the chapters, Green uses personal encounters with his students and other musicians to

show these ideas at work. I think that those encounters allow the reader to better

connect to the author and his ideas. I also believe that seeing how Green’s ideas impact

others provides us with a better understanding of what he means. Another thing that I

really appreciated was his exercises, which provided us with concrete examples of how

to apply his theories. These exercises allow us to test things out in small, no-pressure

environments to see what works and what doesn’t. This way we are more prepared to

apply them in our own lessons and classrooms.

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I think this book would be very helpful for those who struggle with performing.

The skills and ideas discussed help us perform by encouraging our discovery of our

inner problems. As a teacher, I would assign this book to students who are having

struggles with performing at an advanced level. The concepts in this book, and the other

Inner Game books, are for more advanced students who have an understanding of how

to perform, but are having difficulties under pressure. The ideas and methods listed in

The Inner Games of Music ​involve a lot of trial and error, and I would be concerned

about my newer or younger students testing out the exercises or methods incorrectly.

With those students, I would personally introduce the methods in their lesson and

maybe give them different exercises for us to try out together so I can see what works

and what doesn’t. For more advanced students, I would send them home with the entire

book and assign them a specific chapter or two to read. We could then revisit the

information during their lesson to test out the specific ideas.

​ y Barry Green with Timothy Gallwey is a

Overall, ​The Inner Game of Music b

wonderful book that provided much insight about how to improve performance tactics

and focus more on the music rather than fear and anxiety. Even though I enjoyed the

book, I sometimes found it difficult to focus on the text while reading, and I think that the

ideas might be a bit more helpful for instrumentalists than vocalists. This may be

because of Barry Green’s background in bass. Overall, I truly do feel that this book can

still be applied to vocalists and our studies as performers and educators.

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Bibliography

Gallwey, W. Timothy, and Barry Green. ​The Inner Game of Music​. Doubleday, 1986.

Gallwey, Timothy. “About Tim Gallwey.” ​The Inner Game​,

theinnergame.com/about-tim-gallwey/.

Green, Barry. “About Barry Green .” ​The Inner Game of Music​,

www.innergameofmusic.com/about/about-barry-green/.