Klarinet Archive - Posting 000802.txt from 2003/04

From: "Stacy-Michelle" <stacy-michelle@-----.com>
Subj: Re: Re: [kl] Performance Anxiety techniques/remedies
Date: Sat, 26 Apr 2003 00:42:18 -0400

To me, minimizing performance anxiety goes beyond just practicing
until I know the part. One would think thats a given. I hear that all
the time, but for some of us (as you understand), its not that
simple. Someone else mentioned yoga and meditation, which I have
started looking into. There is a yoga center here in NYC that has a
workshop specifically for performers,actors, public speakers, etc..
so I signed up for it and will see what it brings me. Also, have you
looked into Creative Visualization?? I just started practicing that
and it is definitely helping also. I first learned of it from a well-
known basketball player. Its a type of meditation where you go
through specific exercises to visualize your performance beginning to
end; visualize your confidence, visualize the audience's reaction,
etc.

Its good to know all of your suggestions, because what may work in
front of a Senior Citizen home, may not work in a hall full of
musicians... :) Very enlightening.
On Fri, 18 Apr 2003 18:02:16 -0400, "Patricia A. Smith"
<patricia@-----.net> wrote :

> Stacy-Michelle wrote:
> > Besides prescription meds, Alexander technique and bananas,
anyone
> > have any tips/tricks/natural herbal remedies that have worked to
> > minimize performance anxiety? I started reading "Inner Game of
> > Music" which some of the techniques help, but Im just seeking
other
> > alternatives. Thanks for any info.
> >
>
> Oh my. Ever since I was a high schooler, performance anxiety has
been
> the bane of my existence!
> I am quite glad someone FINALLY brought this quite serious malady
up! I
> believe I have tried just about everything out there that I could
find.
> I will detail as many items as I can think of, and discuss what I
felt
> about each one. Others' mileage may vary, of course.
>
>
> 1) Eating lightly before a performance/audition:
>
> I know some folks cannot eat at all. I found that I needed to eat
> something that was protein, yet not spiced very much, very little
salt,
> almost dull. The one thing I came up with was stewed chicken
gizzards.
> Strange? Yes. Did it work? I think so. Pasta can also be a
good
> thing to eat before a long performance, if you don't put a spicy or
> greasy sauce on it, and don't eat too much of it - I'd say not more
than
> 3/4 cup.
>
> 2) Deep, SLOW breathing exercises
>
> Not only beneficial right before the audition or performance, these
> helped me settle down for practice sessions as well, and focus my
> attention on what I needed to do that day. (Staying in the present
> moment has not been one of my stronger points!)
>
> One particular technique is to close your eyes, and simply watch
> yourself breathe in slowly, deeply to the count of eight, hold to
the
> count of eight, then release to the count of eight. About, oh,
quarter
> note = 72, if you need a mm. for it.
>
> 3) Meditation
>
> Some people find meditation techniques useful. I would recommend
> looking into hatha yoga, or another method of meditation. Myriad
books
> have been written on the subject, and some religions also practice
it.
> Also, certain schools of martial arts practice forms of Zen
meditation
> as well. I found this true when I used to practice aikido some
years
> ago in San Diego. My instructor had practiced za-zen and found it
most
> beneficial. Also, some believers of Christianity, Islam and
Judaism
> also have schools of meditation that have proven useful to their
> adherents. If you don't have any sort of religion, don't be
> discouraged. Meditation is NOT a religious practice, as much as it
is a
> mind focusing practice. One does not need to be religious in order
to
> obtain its benefits.
>
> 4) Long tone practice
>
> Before some especially tiresome performances whose preparatory
> rehearsals had been really stressful, I found extensive long tones
to be
> most helpful. (I used to work for one director -remaining nameless
to
> protect the guilty - who believed in leadership by temper tantrum)
Just
> watching myself breathe in and out and listening to my own sound
while
> playing these long sounds helped me focus on the music at hand, and
> leave behind the anxiety that was coming up in the performance. I
> believe I used this technique for auditions as well. (As you can
see,
> it has been a while. Since my children cause me a great deal of
stress,
> perhaps a daily session of long tones would help with that!)
>
> This is all I can think of atm. Maybe more ideas will come up as
this
> topic develops. I think it is one that reaches across a LOT of
> different disciplines, and touches many of us in some way or
another.
>
> Patricia Smith
>
>
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>

--
Soulfully,

Stacy-Michelle Valentine
http://clarinetvibe.com
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ClassicallyBlack

"Music is your own experience, your own thoughts, your wisdom. If you
don't live it, it won't come out of your horn. They teach you there's
a boundary line to music. But, man, there's no boundary line to
art." - Charlie Parker

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