The fulfilling drama of performing.(Out of Control?)

For a musician of any age and level of advancement, it's one thing to make music in private, and quite another to do so on stage. When I say "on stage," I mean it metaphorically; performing for two people in a living room can feel every bit as public as performing for two thousand in a hall. Performing is truly an altered state, as we all have discovered firsthand.

We tend to undergo dramatic changes whenever our behaviors are framed as public performances. Telling a good joke in private or voicing a passionate opinion to a friend--these are natural, colorful self-expressions. But if someone told us television cameras would start rolling while we told the joke or ...