I Was Told Not to Do This — And I Did It Anyway 🫢

I was told not to do this.

And to be fair…

I never imagined myself as a “coach” either.

That job didn’t even really exist when I was growing up.

And certainly not in the world of music, where you’re either a performer, a teacher… or you quietly disappear into side jobs.

So yes, on paper, it makes no sense.

Why would I leave a steady, respected path in teaching…

To talk to musicians about fear, doubt, sweaty palms and shaky hands?

Because if not many people are doing it… surely that means there’s no demand for it, right?

That maybe it’s not important.

Or worse…

That no one really cares.

But here’s the strange part:

I didn’t hesitate.

Not even a little.

Because I’d lived it.

I’d watched my friends live it.

I’d seen my students — some of the most gifted people I know — completely unravel in front of a jury.

Not because they weren’t skilled...

But because they were never shown how to deal with the pressure.

And that’s when it became crystal clear to me:

Music education doesn’t prepare you for the emotional reality of a performance career.

Technique? Sure.

Theory? Absolutely.

But the crushing anxiety before auditions?

The internal chaos mid-performance?

The spiral of self-doubt after a “not-quite-perfect” gig?

No one gives you tools for that.

So I decided to do something about it:

Share the tools I’d studied, tested, and refined over the years with as many musicians as I could.

Because being a musician isn’t like being an accountant or a software engineer.

You don’t do this because it’s logical (or lucrative).

You do it because you have to.

Because something in you lights up in a way that nothing else ever could.

But sometimes… that light gets dimmed.

The pressure.

The fear.

The frustration of feeling like you’re not showing the full extent of what you can actually do...

And that’s when the dream starts to lose its shine.

Truth is, this path might not look exactly like you imagined it as a kid — but it can be even more rewarding.

You don’t have to keep dragging yourself through every gig, hoping this will be the one that “feels better”.

You can learn how to actually make it better.

So what do you say?

Shall we make it happen together?

[Apply for 1:1 coaching here]

With warmth and music,

Gökçe 💙