About Dr. David Lee Fish, Ph.D.

I grew up in Tucson, Arizona, and began playing saxophone in 5th grade, quickly developing a passion for music. This led me to Western Michigan University, where I studied saxophone and performed alongside legendary artists such as Ella Fitzgerald, Little Richard, and the Temptations.

A turning point came when I saw Harry Chapin in concert, inspiring me to pursue singer-songwriter dreams in the San Francisco Bay Area. While there, I also explored Zen Buddhism at the Empty Gate Zen Center, studying under Korean Master Seung Sahn—an experience that profoundly shaped my approach to life and later, performance anxiety.

When my music career didn’t take off as planned, I returned to school and earned a Ph.D. in Ethnomusicology from the University of Michigan. My studies took me to Japan, where I performed traditional festival music on the bamboo flutewith my teacher, Wakayama Taneo.

I later founded a popular music program at Catawba College in North Carolina, where I spent years teaching and frequently speaking in public. One of my proudest accomplishments was co-founding the Association for Popular Music Education, which continues to shape music education today.

I’ve remained active as a performer, releasing the folk-rock album The Last Troubadour through Renaissance Records, produced by David Kershenbaum and featuring Leland Sklar on bass.

Now in Durham, North Carolina, I'm the principal of College Music Major, a consultancy that helps music students gain admission to college. However, my primary focus is the program I developed to help others overcome performance anxiety—a journey I’ve lived firsthand.

Like Sy Sperling in the old Hair Club for Men ads, I’m not just the creator of mindful solution for stage and speech fright—I’m also a client.

My struggle with performance anxiety began in elementary school, when I stumbled over my words while reading aloud. Later, in Little League, I crushed batting practice but froze in actual games. As a teen saxophonist, I experienced the same paralysis while backing Sonny and Cher—despite performing well in rehearsals.

Even in college, stage fright followed me, yet my music teachers offered no real solution beyond "just push through." It wasn’t until I joined the Empty Gate Zen Center that I discovered a way forward. Seung Sahn’s teachings on detachment helped me realize that I didn’t need to fight my anxiety—I just had to let go of it.

Years later, while co-authoring a book with a therapist, I described my Zen-based approach to handling stage fright. She immediately recognized it as mindfulness, a psychological practice gaining mainstream attention. She lent me a book by Jon Kabat-Zinn, and to my shock, I discovered that he, too, had studied under Seung Sahn—meaning our methods stemmed from the same source.

This realization led me to formalize my approach into the 5-Day Solution, which I first shared with Catawba College students and later expanded to faculty and non-musicians. Over time, I refined the method, adapting it for speakers, performers, and professionals.

When I released the 5-Day Solution book, the response was overwhelmingly positive. Readers found it life-changing, helping them manage performance anxiety and find confidence on stage. 

Now, after pandemic-related delays, I’m launching an online course to ensure this method can reach and help even more people.

If performance anxiety holds you back, I’m here to tell you—there’s a way beyond it. 

I’ve lived it, I’ve studied it, and I can help you move past it, too.