How to enjoy criticism (or at least see it in a different light!)

As artists we receive an exorbitant amount of feedback: sometimes it is good, but other times it can feel crushingly critical:  too much vibrato; not enough line;  you don’t look right; you don’t sound right; you’re too blonde; you’re not blonde enough; not enough expression; not technically accurate; you need to work on this; you need to work on that (and this may all be from the one performance!).  It can be especially crushing when you thought you were doing your best to achieve all of these things.

Of course these statements can either cut us to the bone, or slide right off our backs - depending on our interpretation.  The same statement can either be a factual suggestion of how you can become even better, or a scathing comment on your worth as both a performer and a human being.  The key is in understanding the nature of feedback.

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