Q&A with Andrew Joy

With a career spanning over four decades, Andrew Joy has had to overcome significant obstacles to maintain an elite level of performance. In this interview he talks about the strategies he’s used, and how these have helped him sustain a long and successful career, and thrive under the pressure.

Can you tell us a bit about your career path – where did you start playing professionally, and what are you up to now?

I began playing brass instruments in Perth in 1961 as part of a newly created schools music program. In 1967, I switched to a Boosey and Hawkes Single F piston valved horn that had extra crooks for E, Eb, and D. Two years later I purchased a second hand double horn with which I began my professional career in the ABC Training Orchestra in Sydney in 1970. This led to my first professional engagement in The Elizabethan Trust Orchestra (now Orchestra Victoria) in Melbourne in 1971.

I was a member of WDR Symphony Orchestra Cologne from 1978 for thirty-nine years and eight months – thirty-two of them as principal horn.

Landing and keeping the job involved some amazing luck and HUGE amounts of hard, dedicated work. Surviving and thriving in that environment required constant learning and occasionally reinventing my playing technique.

The biggest discovery was Jeff Smiley’s “The Balanced Embouchure” (www.trumpetteacher.net). At age fifty-eight (ten years ago) it revolutionised my understanding of brass playing and allowed me to add a fifth to the top end of my range. Another major benefit it provided was greatly enhanced endurance and the ability to get back into playing in just four days after a long break.

The position also opened many doors and allowed me to create and realise recording projects that were literally beyond my wildest dreams until they were accomplished. During those years, I was privileged to listen to (and learn from) the stunning playing of many of my colleagues and work together with some excellent conductors and soloists.

In September of 1980, I met Dieter Otto and his wife Lotti and bought my first instrument from them. It was the beginning of a special, lifelong friendship between our families. Dieter and I also developed firstly a Bb/ high F horn together, and then in 1998 a brilliant triple horn that I still use to this day.

My career highlight: Johannes Goritzki introduced me to a concerto from Hans Georg Pflueger that he composed working together with Hermann Baumann. I played the first performance in the version for Horn and Organ in 1986 in Freiburg. It was the beginning of another very special friendship until he suddenly and unexpectedly passed away in 1999. In 1997, Pflueger composed the piece “…icy is the world outside…” for Tenor, Horn, Strings and Percussion. It was inspired by my oldest, severely handicapped son Chris. The premiere performance in Neuss was conducted by Johannes Goritzki, and the Tenor was Andreas Weller.

Who or what inspires you as a musician?

I was fortunate to cross paths with two very generous cellists and several other string players and world class singers. The cellists fine-tuned my hearing software for an overtone rich sound. Johannes Goritzki taught me invaluable lessons about the impact of body use on sound, phrasing and endurance. Back at work for a Bruckner 2 recording with Gunther Wand after a break-through session with Goritzki days before, three quarters of my colleagues asked me if I had a new horn! 

Barry Tuckwell, Hermann Baumann and Dale Clevenger LPs shaped my horn playing taste and ambition, as did the many occasions when I was fortunate to hear Barry live. Campbell Barnes taught me valuable aspects about sound, breathing, and being a reliable, trustworthy colleague. Excellence from other musicians in all genres and high achievers in other fields of human endeavour (particularly sport) continue to be sources of inspiration.

You’ve had an extensive orchestral, chamber, and solo career spanning over four decades. What have been some of the specific pressures associated with the work that you do? Have you found the pressure is different when playing in the WDR Symphony Orchestra Cologne, than being on tour, performing as a soloist, or as a chamber musician?

This is an interesting question. Being on tour, organising and finding good food was often a challenge. Because I have a tendency towards hypoglycaemia, I developed a ritual of eating a large bowl of muesli before concerts and recording sessions. The downside of that is that alcohol tastes awful after concerts. Getting in enough practice and mastering the negative effects of jetlag also remained career long challenges. Good planning and healthy habits and rituals proved to be invaluable for coping with the different situations. I’ve used self-hypnosis, EFT tapping, PSTec releasing and PEAK PERFORMANCE tracks, diaries, affirmations etc. to prepare for delivering excellence in all of the various professional settings. Regular physical exercise, enough sleep, relaxation and deep breathing exercises were also part of the mix.

What do you do to prepare for a concert, both physically and mentally?

If possible, get enough sleep. Prepare well in advance – sometimes months to a year or more. I used to jog daily until I sustained an injury to my left heel. Vigorous yoga workouts and hitting a golf ball with a heavy hammer became my new normal. Take care to have fresh chops if possible. Doing rounds of EFT to release unnecessary tension and PSTec to put myself into an optimistic positive frame of mind are still part of my pre-concert routine. One of my techniques is to create texts (often about love and loved ones) for solos and or whole pieces. This helps to divert attention away from negative self-talk and redirect that energy towards sharing a special message with the audience.

We’ve had a conversation about your struggles with performance anxiety, in particular the symptoms of amygdala hijack. Could you explain what your experience has been with this, and the things you’ve done to overcome the condition?

My experience with amygdala hijacks has been both humiliating and humbling. I found out about the fight or flight syndrome fairly early on. FREEZE was a major AHA experience when reading Matthew Syed’s book BOUNCE which I discovered in a Darwin bookshop. A few months ago, Joe Dispenza’s book “Evolve Your Brain” opened up new understandings about this phenomenon. Then, the combined information from two other books, “Change Your Questions, Change Your Life” by Marilee Adams and “Words That Change Minds” by Shelle Rose Chavet helped me to finally perform amygdala highjack free after a nine year long battle. It was one of the most monumental and satisfying “inner victories” of my playing career. Basically, I found a different way of communicating with myself – using a different form of self-talk based on using empowering and enabling questions (see Shad Helmstetter on YouTube or read his book).

If fear, self-doubt, or negativity creeps in during a concert, what do you do to get into a more positive frame of mind?

I’ve developed a “trigger” – tapping the palm of my left hand rapidly with the middle finger of my right and doing a “Jim Fannin 90 seconds reboot” (The 90 Second Rule). Consciously taking long, slow deep breaths, and reminding myself that I’m not a surgeon in an operating theater, and that it is only a music performance and not about life and death also helps.

What advice would you give to students today in regards to the mental side of performing?

Know thyself. Find out what type of personality type you are. A good place to begin is with Shelle Rose Chavet’s book, “Words That Change Minds”. Check out Clean Language developed by David Grove. Learn about self-talk. Discover how you talk to yourself and continually UPGRADE it. Marissa Peer has some great programs (I Am Enough) that have been highly beneficial for me. Actively and consciously choose, install and maintain the habits and rituals that empower and enable you to deliver excellence.

Now that you’ve retired, how has your life changed and what do you have planned for the future?

The biggest change is the absence of work related stress.

End of January 2020 I became a first-time grandfather. A wonderful, ongoing experience. 

Now I have time for three major projects that are keeping my mind sharp, keeping me on my toes.

Firstly of course, the JoyKey. There are the daily activities of running the business. Then the challenge of successfully presenting the concept of automatic water drainage to brass/wind players such that it gains wide-spread acceptance. This is far more challenging and interesting that I ever imagined. 

Secondly, I’m working on building a practice mute, an idea from 1996! The goal is to create a system that feels like you’re playing with an open bell, gives you an excellent response and intonation, and can be used at midnight without disturbing a hotel neighbour! 

This involves learning to use a CAD program and successfully 3D print as many prototypes as it takes to get things right.

The third project involves building up a website to share the insights, tools, habits and rituals, as well as books and courses that helped me to not only survive, but also thrive in a hostile work environment for over forty years. 

Almost more than anything else, I enjoy teaching. This mainly involves facilitating others to see, access and realise some of their hidden potential – as others like Campbell Barnes did with me.

If you would like to find out more about Andrew’s product for brass and wind players, then check out the JoyKey website: https://thejoykey.com/

If you want to learn about the tips and strategies Andrew has used over his career, then send him an email at andrew@thejoykey.com.