This is the first in a series of three articles devoted to exploring the world of headjoints with a goal of arming you with knowledge to overcome (or at least reduce) the stress and confusion of finding a new headjoint. This article discusses preliminaries and includes general advice about preparation for the hunt, an overview of the headjoint market, and an overview of influences on headjoint design. The second article will explore in detail the various qualities of sound that can be affected by different headjoints, such as projection, loudness, tuning, color, and responsiveness. The final article will discuss the effects of different materials, such as gold, silver, platinum, and wood, and the effects of alterations in the design of parts such as crown and stopper assemblies and risers; it will conclude with a brief discussion of how to learn more and what to do next....

Maria is a 67-year-old amateur flute player who has been in love with music all her life. Brent is an intelligent 51-year-old businessman, a capable and responsible executive who runs a medium-sized company. Kathy is a talented college student who majors in voice. While Maria, Brent and Kathy all perform confidently as soloists and in their ensembles, they have one anxiety in common: they get nervous about going to a music lesson.

Nadine couldn’t attend concerts. She’d sit in the audience and get too anxious for whomever was performing. “What if that were me?” She’d imagine herself on the stage making mistakes, being hypercritical, and feeling terrified. “Sometimes I felt like I needed an oxygen tank,” she stated. Nadine lived in a big city with a plethora of concerts, but she deprived herself of hearing the live music she loved because it was such a painful experience.

One of the first things you can do to reduce your performance fears is to use positive self-talk in the form of ‘affirmations’... Facing your fears takes courage. Keep a notebook with you, and every time you notice a mental fear, write it down. These fears will become the rich, fertile soil where the solution to confident performing is already beginning to bloom.

As human beings, you have the power to change your thoughts, but not your emotions. Could you stop loving your daughter or your pet? Of course not. If someone you cared about moved far away or died, you need to grieve and feel sorrow in order to adjust to life without the presence of that person. These are natural feelings over which you have little control. You don’t, however, have to continue to think the thoughts that create anxiety about performing.