I played the Irish music gig last Friday, and was pleasantly surprised at how things went. The feel of the ensemble was good, and we were complemented on the ensemble sound, despite the fact that we had some sound system difficulties. I had to “reset” my internal balance since we had a stage set up that was different than our rehearsal space, and I had never played the bodhran on stage with the band before now. I used what I had learned from reading the book The Inner Game Of Music (by Barry Green and W. Timothy Gallwey). I listened around the circle, from right to left and left to right, instrument by instrument. Then I listened to the total ensemble sound and used what I heard to keep the groove. Along with rehearsal, listening to music and the experience of live performances, reading books like the Inner Game of Music has helped me both as a musician and a percussion teacher. Getting different perspectives to and from your ears and eyes is always good for the music.