Author: ohsuzan
Date: 2007-10-12 12:53
Hi Linda --
Been there, done that, got the T-shirt.
Most of the time, nowadays, though, I can solo effectively. Here are some things that I think helped me:
One, know your music. I mean, backwards, forwards, sideways, and upside down. Know where you are going to breathe, know where you are using vibrato, know which fingerings you are using. Know how it "feels" to play this or that, and play the feeling as well as the notes. Don't kid yourself about this.
Use a reed you trust and which plays reliably. Don't go for your "darkest" reed if it is balky -- nobody besides you will know or care.
Play just one note at a time. I know that sounds silly, but it's a Zen thing -- kind of like being present to the present. Just do the note you have to do, and then the next one, and don't worry about any of the others.
This next thing was a biggie for me: get over yourself. It's really, really, really not about you. It's about the music, which is so much bigger than you that you can climb into it and hide, if you only will. Your job is to be a conduit for the music, which you can be if only you will have the humility to let the music be more important than you, more important than your fears and fantasies.
And finally, I am also a big fan of banana therapy. About two hours before I have to play, I have a nice peanut butter and banana sandwich on whole wheat bread with a glass of milk. I don't bolt this down but rather, savor it. (It may also be a bit of carb-loading here that helps -- more carbs than I usually eat in a day, at one sitting. But they're good carbs.) Bottom line, your blood sugar will stay steady all afternoon or evening, even with the adrenaline rush that comes from performance.
Get out of your own way!
Susan
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