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Re: Stressful audition time

Author: Philip Caron
Date: 2017-12-12 20:47

Maybe plan on dealing with the stress; it's going to be there for sure. Work hard each day, put in plenty of hours of prep, then get a good night's sleep each night knowing you did your best that day. Tune out the negative and unnecessary in your life, at least temporarily. Eat with your brain. Find ways to fit in activity other than music, especially physical exertion. This is all common sense, but it still needs some commitment and plan. The idea is not to remove stress but to promote your body and mind's ability to use it.

Nerves can tune you up to perform your best; don't let the feeling of nervousness itself make you increasingly nervous. Major soloists are bursting with intense energy at performance time, but they channel it into playing well and being in a very unusual physical state, their peak - as opposed to getting into a negative feedback loop where the overload wrecks control. Sure it's uncomfortable, but go with it willingly; it's not about being comfortable. The changes in perception, temperature, breathing, time sense etc. are not to be feared, they're your body being ON.

Stress can be good; nerves can be good: you want them.

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