5 Tips To Boost Your Confidence As A Musician

My advice to feel like you’re good enough as a musician (Cuz You Are).

Written By Devyn Rush

If you’re like me (and every other musician in the world), you might have times when you compare yourself to other artists and feel like you’re not good enough. I call these “confidence flare-ups.” It’s that feeling I get when I’m feeling good on my own path, but then I see someone else’s videos or numbers of likes, streams, etc. It can feel really hard to stay in my own space when that happens, but I’ve found some effective ways to get through it. So here are my confidence-building tips to get your musical energy back on track!

1. Listen to other artists

I get it - this might be the last thing you want to do when you’re not feeling good enough. But, if you’re listening to other musicians with an open mind, it can lead you to feeling inspired instead of inadequate. You might even discover more about who you are as a musician.

I love going back and listening to the artists that made me fall in love with Music in the first place! Billie Holiday, Ray Charles, Victor Wooten, Stevie Wonder, Led Zeppelin… or the songs that bring me back to the Summer of 2005 when I got my first kiss, the music that made me want to start singing jazz, the tunes I listened to with the top down in my dad’s purple Mustang convertible that became mine when I got my driver’s license. We all know how sensory and nostalgic music is; it can be so therapeutic to go back in time and find my own roots again.

2. Lean into simplicity

When I was recently in a slump, a friend gave me some great advice: Lean into other things that you know you’re good at and that make you feel good. She likes snuggling with her dog, cooking a great meal to share with her family… Simple things like this bring perspective and remind us that there’s more to us - and life - than making music.

3. Keep a list of your wins and strengths

Of course, there’s always room to grow! And that kind of zen mentality is what helps us stay humble and hungry to learn. But tune into what makes you good as you are. Refer to your list when you’re feeling like you’re not good enough. 

Any time someone texts or emails you about something you did well, take a screenshot and add it to a folder in your phone. Name the folder something fun and loving toward yourself, and when you’re feeling like you need a pick-me-up, go to your folder and read through all the positive things other people had to say about you. I also keep a list of wins in my phone. I’m the only one who has ever, or will ever, see it. It’s not about the flex, it’s about the reminders because we ALL need them sometimes. And who better to cheer us on than ourselves? 

4. When in doubt, just play!

Play by yourself at home, play with people that you love being around, or get yourself out there and book a show if you’re feeling pulled toward that! You might be surprised at how confident it makes you feel to get on stage and share your heart and soul with people. 

After I had my son, I booked a show that I was so nervous about. I was shocked at how much I felt at home on stage, and how supportive the audience was. Post-partum can be a really vulnerable time, and playing Music was exactly what I didn’t know I needed. 

When my son turned one, I felt like I could get out of the house a bit more, so I started taking guitar lessons. I purposely did it without any big, long-term goals in mind. I just wanted to be able to pick up my guitar and play, and it’s been AMAZING to feel myself progressing. I truly believe that this no-pressure way of going about it is why I’m loving it so much. I pick up my guitar when I feel like it. I don’t think of it as “practicing.” I think of it as PLAYING.

5. Take a social media break

Sometimes… ya just gotta do the digital detox. I think we’ve all been there. I personally get exhausted and drained from social media if I’m not careful and intentional. As much as I can see it as a marketing tool for my music career, I also feel like it’s the bane of my existence many, many days. 

If I’m honest, I don’t think social media is a healthy place to be, and I strongly caution all of us to use it responsibly. Algorithms are designed to show us things that are like us, which can sometimes lead to feelings of being small or not special. But we have to remember that it truly is all by design, to keep us hooked and making more content. That’s why I take social media breaks and set limits for myself, which also means only making content that resonates with my core. 

Remember - We are all on our own paths AND together in this, at the same time.
Somewhere down the line, music became a competitive art form… from TV competitions to social media numbers and streams. It can be too easy to get away from what Music is for, which is expressing ourselves and uniting with each other! So stick to your path - even if it’s a dirt road, even if it’s unconventional. If it makes you happy, go with that warm feeling in your heart and give yourself permission to release the rest. There is more than one right way to do something! And hey - you never know where your unconventional dirt road might lead you… 🙂

Enjoy the journey

The reality is that you ARE good enough, as you are, right now, on your own path. So be gentle with yourself. In my favorite book, The Music Lesson by Victor Wooten, he says… “Try easy.” We tend to grow up with a ‘try hard, do more’ mentality. But, it just doesn’t have to be that way.

There are so many more ways to boost your confidence, but these can get you started. I wouldn’t claim to be an expert in all this, but I would estimate that I have at least 10,000 hours in being hard on myself, and I’ve been working to make significant changes that are leading up to my 10,000 hours in being super good to myself, while I remember that I - like all of us - am a work in progress. So, I hope you’ll WIP yourself into shape by remembering that you ARE enough, exactly as you are!

Above all, just please, please know that you’re not alone. It can be tough to remember that your music and passion is more than algorithms and numbers. Keep on keepin’ on with what makes YOU happy. You got this.