 The Clarinet BBoard
|
Author: grenadilla428
Date: 2009-12-29 21:01
We all know students or fellow musicians (or ourselves!) who get into an audition or a performance and tense up, tremble, blush, sweat, etc., some to more severe degrees than others. So, the question is:
What is your best remedy for nervousness in a performance?
I tell students to _be prepared_.
In auditions, I personally find a bit of comfort in my iPod and a Reese's cup! :-)
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: FDF
Date: 2009-12-29 22:36
Number one, recognize that nearly everyone, pro or am, suffers from stage fright when they are put on the spot. Rehearsal and preparation is important because it is a basis for confidence, as well as competence. Just before performing relax with deep breathing. Finally, use the energy from stage fright as a positive force in performance.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Pilot
Date: 2009-12-29 23:27
Preparation is fundamental as the above posters have pointed out.
If he/she/they make a mistake, let it go and focus on moving onwards. There is no point in dwelling on something in the past and if the player(s) does, then it will just cause even more stress and anxiety, which in turn will increase the chance for further mistakes that will be noticed by the audience. But it's easier said than done.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Chris P
Date: 2009-12-29 23:55
Treat a concert/recital/exam as if it was a rehearsal or practice session with someone who you trust present (ie. your teacher) - try to forget you have an audience there in front of you, but don't ignore them completely - play to the audience/examiner as you'd play to your teacher.
Try not to get distracted, so focus on what you're doing (having the music on the stand in front of you is the best focal point) and try to think of the positive encouraging comments that have been made that mean a lot.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Ed Palanker
Date: 2009-12-30 17:41
It might help to play though your program a few times for family and or friends before the "big" performance to get confidence. Even if it's just for the students parents or siblings. I've always found what helps me is to be so prepared that I'm extremely confident of myself before playing in public. I would be more nervous if I had doubts about how prepared I was. ESP http://eddiesclarinet.com
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: BobD
Date: 2009-12-30 22:02
Maybe eat a banana; it always seems to quiet monkeys down. Actually, I heard a soloist in a radio interview say she eats 2 bananas prior , one an hour before and one 15 minutes before.
Bob Draznik
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: kathryn777
Date: 2009-12-30 22:39
I once went to competition and (of course) had a pad come loose moments before going in front of the judge... i just kind of said "screw it i'll try it anyways",and played my butt off... still got ones all across the board.(One being the best, two the next, three pretty bad, etc)... My tone just below the mid c still sounded fine so i still don't know if they figured I had a leak and just judged me on the technical aspect of it or not. If I can play through that, then a good player should feel pretty confident with a working horn. I never had such bad stage fright either
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: grenadilla428
Date: 2009-12-30 23:21
I know a few musicians who eat bananas. A couple of them eat one an hour before and another 15 minutes before. I've also heard of people who do a short regimen: a banana the night before, for breakfast, then the two before the performance. (Someone please correct me if I'm mistaken!) I think the idea is that the potassium in the banana is a calming agent and helps prevent nervous symptoms like shaky hands. I've not yet tried bananas, but the people I know who do consistently use them.
Anybody tried it?
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Alseg
Date: 2009-12-31 00:04
Beta blockers calm knee-knockers
But liquor is quicker. ![[grin]](http://test.woodwind.org/clarinet/BBoard/smileys/smilie5.gif)
(the author is NOT recommending the use of any drug or alcoholic agent, and aint it a shame that I had to resort to this anti-liability statement)
Former creator of CUSTOM CLARINET TUNING BARRELS by DR. ALLAN SEGAL
-Where the Sound Matters Most(tm)-
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: OmarHo
Date: 2009-12-31 01:16
I highly recommend Dr. Kageyama or Don Greene's strategies. It teaches you how to use your adrenaline to your advantage, rather than denying it and trying to eliminate it.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Dan Paprocki
Date: 2009-12-31 02:28
Here is a link to a paper I've done on peak performance and anxiety. I hope this will help.
http://web.archive.org/web/20011015205817/www.ocr.sneezy.org/articles/paprocki1.html
Dan
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: EEBaum
Date: 2009-12-31 02:43
Enjoy the music, and treat it as something that is fluid and can be explored. If you're focused on all the possibilities the music offers and what you can do with them, rather than how the passage is "supposed to be played" with any deviation from your perceived perfection seen as a poor reflection on your playing, it becomes about the music, and not about you. Which is as it should be.
-Alex
www.mostlydifferent.com
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
The Clarinet Pages
|
 |
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
