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Touring and Mental Health: The Music Industry Manual
This comprehensive manual will help musicians and those working in live music to identify and cope with the various physical and psychological difficulties that can occur during, or as a result of, touring. It covers topics including mental health, peak performance and performance anxiety, addiction, group dynamics, relationship problems, dealing with the media, physical health, diversity and inclusion, crisis management and post-tour recovery. Written by health and performance professionals, this timely and essential book provides robust clinical advice, cutting edge research, practical strategies, resources and detailed illustrations. Each chapter is underpinned with personal recollections from musicians and prominent touring personnel, including Nile Rodgers, Justin Hawkins, Philip Selway, Charles Thompson, Katie Melua , Kieran Hebden, Jake Berry, Tina Farris, Taylor Hanson, Trevor Williams, Lauren Mayberry, Pharoahe Monch, Jim Digby, Will Young, Angie Warner, Dale ‘ Opie’ Skjerseth and many more. Touring and Mental Health is designed to be picked up, put down, read at length and passed around the tour bus.
- GenresMusic
640 pages, Paperback
Published March 23, 2023
27 people are currently reading
151 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
March 22, 2023
A guide for a psychologist NOT a musician in need...
I'm slightly disappointed... It does come across that the author did an extensive research writing this book. However, this reads like a book for a master student in psychology - difficult to read and too academic.
The book could certainly do with some editing as there is a lot information that could be simplified avoiding ambiguities that arise as in the chapter on anxiety (where we are told to ignore thoughts but then told to pay attention to them and accept them, then again to function irrespective of thoughts?)- all these in 12 steps that could be simplified into 3-4 steps.
Lastly, this book would have been so much better if it tackled specifically questions that an artist might have coming into a therapy. I was excited to read the book to find that the most obvious questions (given the insight into the chapters) such as "How do you face being cancelled?" "How not to compare yourself?" "Should you sleep or sext fans?" "How do you navigate dating apps as an artist?" were not covered...
I feel bad for giving this two stars but I think the author was too stuck in their research that this ended up as a guide for a therapist than a manual for a musician....
I'm slightly disappointed... It does come across that the author did an extensive research writing this book. However, this reads like a book for a master student in psychology - difficult to read and too academic.
The book could certainly do with some editing as there is a lot information that could be simplified avoiding ambiguities that arise as in the chapter on anxiety (where we are told to ignore thoughts but then told to pay attention to them and accept them, then again to function irrespective of thoughts?)- all these in 12 steps that could be simplified into 3-4 steps.
Lastly, this book would have been so much better if it tackled specifically questions that an artist might have coming into a therapy. I was excited to read the book to find that the most obvious questions (given the insight into the chapters) such as "How do you face being cancelled?" "How not to compare yourself?" "Should you sleep or sext fans?" "How do you navigate dating apps as an artist?" were not covered...
I feel bad for giving this two stars but I think the author was too stuck in their research that this ended up as a guide for a therapist than a manual for a musician....
April 18, 2023
Touring and Mental Health, a music industry manual, is an invaluable resource for identifying the mental health pitfalls for the life of a touring and professional musician. Edited by seasoned psychotherapist Tamin Embelton, this thoughtful volume is a critical must-read for any music executive, manager, booking agent, or band leader. Chapters, interweaving musicians’ first-person narratives, psychological research, and treatment approaches include topics such as performance anxiety, band dynamics, healthy touring, and addiction.
As a psychotherapist who has worked with artists and bands for over thirty years, I will consult and share this manual with artist/musician patients. As mental health concerns have intensified since the pandemic, this volume offers a keen understanding of the unique demands of artists and musicians in this changing cultural landscape.
Heather Ferguson, LCSW, is a psychoanalyst and faculty and supervisor at the Institute for the Psychoanalytic Study of Subjectivity, the National Institute for the Psychotherapies, and the Manhattan Institute Trauma Studies Program, NYC.
As a psychotherapist who has worked with artists and bands for over thirty years, I will consult and share this manual with artist/musician patients. As mental health concerns have intensified since the pandemic, this volume offers a keen understanding of the unique demands of artists and musicians in this changing cultural landscape.
Heather Ferguson, LCSW, is a psychoanalyst and faculty and supervisor at the Institute for the Psychoanalytic Study of Subjectivity, the National Institute for the Psychotherapies, and the Manhattan Institute Trauma Studies Program, NYC.
November 16, 2023
I can tell you I am going to read this book again right after i've passed it to all of my band members first. My personal verdict is ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ or 10/10. Completely essential! I have toured Europe twice over myself. You need this book in your bands tour bus! 💯
April 21, 2023
An excellent resource for both musicians and music industry professionals with well-researched and practical advice for dealing with the many complicated aspects in the life of a creative.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews