 The Oboe BBoard
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Author: jrestes
Date: 2009-01-30 20:04
How do you guys stay relaxed when you are playing a big solo. I have recently been getting pretty tense when playing some of the big oboe rep (aka Tchaik 4).
Thanks
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2009-01-30 20:12
Treat the concert like it's a rehearsal - try to block out any outside distractions if you can (but still connect with the audience).
Or maybe treat rehearsals like concerts and get used to the idea of playing to everyone in the room.
Do you play the big Tchaik. 4 solo all in one breath?
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: jrestes
Date: 2009-01-31 16:30
When I play the solo at home I can play it in one breath! But I don't think that really counts! I get nervous unless I at least take one breath, otherwise I feel like I'm drowning. But if I could relax a little more . . .
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Author: OboeAgain
Date: 2009-02-01 17:00
Ah, tension is awful when playing. I get very nervous sometimes and make terrible mistakes. A couple of things I've found:
1. I'm less tense if I'm well-rested. Sounds silly but good sleep the night or a nap before rehearsal or a concert seems to help a lot.
2. There are a number of relaxation exercises around. The type I've found most helpful involved some slow deep breathing and a serious of exercises involving the tensing and relaxing of certain muscles. If you Google Relaxation Techniques, you should find several variants one which might be comfortable for you.
Good luck!
Walter
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Author: HautboisJJ
Date: 2009-02-02 14:36
What i found useful for me was to take calculated breaths throught the NOSE before a big solo, and absolutely exhaling all the air stored in the lungs before taking that one big breath (which doesnt have to be only 1 beat before the solo!) which can be taken in slowly through the duration of a whole bar.
Howard
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Author: vboboe
Date: 2009-02-02 19:09
... i've been thinking about this very important question a lot since it was asked, especially since my own December concert's post-mortem inventory defined stress, tension and nerves as the predominant error of my ways, so it's a personal problem that definitely needs solving, and it's one of the most common problems with everybody else too
so, let's discuss, what what might cause stress, tension, nerves, anxiety?
and what works to prevent, delay, over-ride, offset all this negative energy?
... one of the main starters i think, is the tension of waiting, the anticipation, the expectation that 'my' solo is coming up, and the longer it is before that actually happens, the 'tighter' i get
... but, the devlish irony here is, if i didn't know this piece already, the anticipatory terrors wouldn't be there, so maybe i should try and forget i know the piece and approach it 'baby-fresh' each time ? at this point, imagine the fragrance of baby powder and the goo-gah beauty of babies ...
... but, cold-reading nerves are just as bad ! Somehow my sight-reading skills still haven't arrived at the equivalent fluency of reading prose in a well cadenced manner, so until that skill level is acquired, that source of anxiety will not be resolved
while sitting there, waiting for that solo to come around, the following objectifying strategies help me (but only a little bit!)
first off, define the big picture, it's not 'my' solo, but 'the oboe's tone colour passage' (so frequently dominated by collective strings otherwise)
does anybody else have solos in this piece? appreciate their terrors of anticipation nerves, and wish them well on the humming universal continuo
-- then there's 'isolation contrast' ... the hushing of the lush string texture to expose the thin and light single instrument voice, this can be very stressful when the solo's in the difficult zones of the oboe's register, but if the solo is well placed in the oboe's 'power range' then anxiety is much reduced -- how to look good naked is everybody's buff dream, especially after the bloom of youth has long faded away ...
hey, it's not really 'me' in the spotlight' but 'the orchestra's oboe player' -- who the heck is that anyway, and where is that instrument hiding? can't be seen, hidden by strings, portfolio, music stand ... and the highly visible gesticulating and gyrating director
so the orchestra's oboe has to play to the audience's ears, not to their eyes -- somehow, this defuses one's potential shame and embarrassment in the false security of relative anonymity
one of the little tricks i'm finding helpful here is creative self-effacing fantasy ... it's not me, it's one of my admired oboists playing instead,
so, if my fantasized mimicking of an idol crashes, my own personal face isn't quite so red
... except that one's fellow musicians are the source of the worst embarassment though, the looks and avoidance moves they give you socially afterward and the ... uh ... awkward jokes with the forced laughter!
so, when it's my bloopers on the receiving end, what would i like to hear someone say to me, how manage that awkward situation with grace and caring for the human being, and what responses would be appropriate?
(... rehearse multiple possible scenarios ... find somebody who already has the gift and learn from them!)
if the solo is embedded somewhere in the piece, something that helps soothe my emotional brain is to soak up the music happening around me in the leadup, and then just 'sing oneself along into it' and the solo emerges un-self-consciously and more automatically by itself ... (especially if one's practised it umpteen times already and can do the technical stuff for it in one's sleep)
but, when it's the opening solo, or a completely different theme change, a different strategy seems to work better, oboe is now the DJ, the announcer, the 'hey you guys, listen to what's coming up, here's the theme melody ... " and boldly go where this audience has not gone before, and i do mean boldly and confidently, with leadership panache and an air of expectation that the other musicians will follow your lead, because some other section's is going to pick it up after the oboe and the oboe's total musical impression and mood projection can be what most ''inspires' them to get through their own initial nervous tension ...
as for technical preparation, there's no doubt that sufficient practice is very important to reducing stressful anticipation, so that there's a spontaneous flowing of musicality rather than just plodding through the score trying to catch all the main markings as indicated and making sense of it as you go along
but there's a down-side -- overdoing the practice, especially too close to the performance date and time, can cause temporary brain worms (looping the same melody over & over again) which makes it very hard for the auto-pilot part of the brain to let go back to manual over-ride playing, the fingers get stuck in the loop, and blooper notes happen right there trying to make the transition out of the solo passage
other things that add to nerves for me are just driving there through traffic, it's not uncommon to in be 'fight or flight' adrenalin peak after that, and really calming down again afterwards can take at least 20 minutes ... so arriving early enough to calm down is part of the solution
a rushed setup is really nerve-wrecking, so i like to be in place early enough to systematically and methodically ... andante pace ... set everything out just right, and know my instrument's working OK right now this very moment during today's (not yesterday's) warmup, and still time to chat with folks in front, each side and behind, and if the 'universal continuo' is hummin' moderato inside my head already by the time the director's baton is poised, good, i'm relaxed
feeling even a little bit thirsty is stress-inducing -- as is the increasingly urgent need to go -- so being well-hydrated is a potent stress-reliever, but that has to be balanced with sweat evaporation rate under the circumstances so that the bladder isn't in high demand ... the colder it is, the sooner the urge to go starts calling
feeling hunger coming on is stress-inducing and edges my tone shriller and sharper, but with conscious self-management, it's still easier to play well when only slightly hungry, and if the end of the performance is nearly there, and dismissal to an eaterie is within a foreseable time frame, it's OK to reassure hungry tummy it'll be fed very soon, and it'll trust you and stop complaining long enough for oboe to finish the music (have you heard a tummy growl amplified in a long tone vibrato ?!)
... but it's completely hopeless even trying to lip up to pitch when stuffed. do not go there
enough of the right kinds of foods in the last 48 hours seems to help a lot, because if the body's 'short changed' on some essential nutrient or other, that causes stress, for my body chemistry, it's generous supply of fresh source Vitamin C, folic acid from dark leafy greens, and a meaty protein still somewhere in the middle digestion process
agree whole-heartedly with enough sleep ... or perhaps it's even more complex than that, maybe what matters most is enough R&R ... sometimes we get really stressed by too much of same ol' same ol'
muscular 'fidgity' tension is a source of anxiety too, i find moderate exercise, especially stretches and dominantly rhythmic light calisthenics, and massage manipulations of wrists, hands and fingers very helpful destressing physical sources of tension
and, then there's 'absorbed tension' ... everybody else is nervous too, that's another big source of 'shared nerves' and i'm still problem-solving that one
well, these are some of my thoughts on the multi-faceted and complex challenge of staying cool for solos ... over to rest of you
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Author: jhoyla
Date: 2009-02-03 06:56
There was a great thread on this about a year ago, and I personally vote for the Banana Sandwich :-)
Seriously, find the thread and read it - great stuff.
J.
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Author: jrestes
Date: 2009-02-03 13:39
Vboboe,
I think I have deduced that I get nervous because I don't wanna mess up that solo that everybody knows. The harder I work on the solo, the more stressed I seem to get (even though I believe it honestly sounds good enough). It just feels like a terrible downward spiral.
And no good on the hiding, I am 6 foot 5.
:)
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Author: Mark Charette
Date: 2009-02-04 10:53
If you're adding to the "knowledge" on the old thread, post a new message to the old thread. If you're referencing (only) the old thread, the link you posted is perfect.
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Author: EaubeauHorn
Date: 2009-02-05 17:32
The referenced thread was quite good and much less judgmental than similar threads I've seen in brass player forums.
For some people, performance anxiety seems to be along the order of PTSD; a reaction that has its roots in prior traumatic experience that somehow manages to resonate when the person is in a performance situation. Since I know talented people who don't perform because of this problem, I'd be interested in hearing if anyone knows of a solution that works for someone who has this PTSD-type of reaction.
I knew one person who literally physically froze if he even attempted to play in front of ONE other person. I know another who physically shakes to the point of having difficulty keeping his (trumpet) mouthpiece on his face. Neither of them has any problem playing in a situation where other people are not focusing on their playing.
MA
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Author: doublereeder2
Date: 2009-02-06 01:53
Being so totally prepared you can play it even if you are nervous is a big help (to me.) Memorize it so you have the muscle and metal memory to rely on. And the phrasing of Tchaik 4 allows (encourages) a breath in the middle. So take that breath and sing on :-) Know exactly what you want to do with each note and practice it that way so when the heat is on everything is in place. Concentrate on what you are doing instead of how you are feeling. Let the music take over.....
Eating bananas or turkey before can help nerves. And no caffeine. Good luck - nerves are something we all combat in some shape or form.
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Author: johnt
Date: 2009-02-06 14:18
A trick I learned from John Mack is to play the scale, in this case the Bb minor (not Ab major as previously posted. Sincere apologies for any confusion.) scale at least a dozen times before starting to practice the solo from the Tchaik 4. Then as Ceci says memorize the thing so there is no way you can possibly make a mistake. In theory, the motor skills of doing this should compensate for any nerves or butterflies the night of the performance. John Mack had Gail Waarnar do this before any piece she played for him. Works especially well with Le Tombeau de Couperin & the sextuplet oboe solo in the largo movement of the New World Symphony. This I know from my own practice sessions. Arguably one of the great bassoonists in the USA with the Monterey Symphony, Jane Orzel, also espouses this concept of playing a piece or excerpt until mistakes are eliminated. So as Stevens Hewitt says the secret is in slow. Never play anything wrong while practicing (IOW don't practice mistakes).
Best,
john
Post Edited (2009-02-07 15:02)
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Author: EaubeauHorn
Date: 2009-02-06 15:52
I don't know if the following posts were response to my post or not, but the type of reaction I'm talking about is someone who cannot play Twinkle Twinkle Little Star in front of a group. It has nothing to do with the difficulty of the music or the preparedness of the performer. The "frozen person" literally could not play one note, and the shaking person would shake as badly if he had a series of middle Cs to play.
MA
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Author: Vallemar2
Date: 2009-02-06 20:34
As long as no one is testing musicians for "performance enhancing drugs" I do occasionally prescribe a low dose beta blocker or tiny dose of ativan (it's like valium only generally "lighter" and not as long acting) for patients before a big performance.
Of course too much of either can be a disaster and I would recommend trying it out a few times well in advance of the big day.
I have found that even though the beta blocker reduces the physical aspects of anxiety (the tremor and the rapid heart rate) that there is a certain amount of psychological feedback from suppressing these somatic manifestations of fear. Mental calmness can result from physical relief; not just the other way around.
It's not a first line approach of course; practicing to the point of "ingrained in muscle memory" and use of appropriate mental imagery is certainly preferable to chemically aided states of relaxation.
Or if the banana sandwich doesn't help.
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Author: ohsuzan
Date: 2009-02-06 20:48
<<but the type of reaction I'm talking about is someone who cannot play Twinkle Twinkle Little Star in front of a group. It has nothing to do with the difficulty of the music or the preparedness of the performer>>
I can relate to this. When I first started taking (clarinet) lessons (after many, many years of wishing that I could have lessons), I absolutely could not play in front of the teacher. I could play in front of people where "it didn't matter," but if I thought someone who knew what they were doing was hearing me, I would freeze, or shake, or weep. This went on for years.
I still find it a little difficult some times, when playing for the first time in front of a potential critic. For me, the cure has had to do with gaining a healthy degree of personal humility (aka, willingness to be wrong), and realizing, as I said once before, that it was really not about me, and that I needed to get over myself.
But I know that there are people who are, for example, so shy that they turn very red and totally clam up or become inarticulate when confronted with even a very benign social situation. This is not garden-variety stage fright. This is an emotional issue, based on who-knows-what past experiences and choices.
I think we choose to behave certain ways because we believe the behavior protects us from some (real or imagined) stress or conflict. If the behavior is effective for us, we repeat it in other stressful situations, until it becomes so ingrained and habitual that it is part of our personalities. When the behavior stops being useful (or starts being counter-productive), we wish we could change, -- but we often don't at that point a) remember why we started doing it in the first place, and b) have no clue how to change it.
This is the sort of issue that cognitive behavioral therapy is good at addressing.
Susan
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Author: EaubeauHorn
Date: 2009-02-10 20:40
I'm not really familiar with cognitive behavioral therapy although I've heard of it. The "shaker" is someone close to me (as was the "freezer" many years ago) and he might be willing to undertake some sort of therapy if it were inexpensive and reasonably short-term for achieving results. I can't imagine his being willing to spend thousands and years in trying to get a result.
Come to think of it, I remember another friend who suffered from chronic depression and told me he got very good results in fairly short order with that type of therapy. I think I'll ask him about it if he remembers (it was quite some time ago.) What's funny is he just joined the band sits two chairs away from the shaker! Maybe I can surrepticiously draw the two of them into a conversation (heh.) Me: "Gee, someone on the oboe bulletin board said that cognitive behavioral therapy works on stage fright. Has either of you heard of this kind of therapy?"
Thanks.
MA
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Author: rickw48
Date: 2009-02-20 13:30
[to jrestes] Seems to me there's always lots of ways of looking at the same issue and that maybe what is required is to "reframe" the way you're approaching solos.
If you're currently worried about messing up something that "everyone knows" then change your thoughts. How about focusing on the fact that not everyone listening to your performance will be an "expert". Believe it or not, most people who attend live arts performances only go once - that's right, once. (I do marketing for arts orgs for a living, btw). Really focus on them. Some of them may not even have heard of Tchaikovsky, let alone have ever sat through an entire performance of this wonderful symphony.
Imagine what a gift that is: to be in a position to give someone an experience which may stay with them for a lifetime. They won't have sat in libraries endlessly comparing the phrasing, tone, intonation and musicality of Lothar Koch or John Mack or Gordon Hunt. They won't even know this solo is coming up.
All you have to do is to believe in the music and your ability to play it. Focus on what you think the music is really about: is it a peasant singing to keep warm while working in a frozen field? is it a young girl daydreaming about the pony she wants for her birthday? is it your mother making your a birthday cake? is it you daydreaming about being an oboist? It really doesn't matter about what the picture is, all that matters is that you have one and that you try to create this picture through the sounds you make on your oboe. Good luck.
Richard
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Author: hautbois
Date: 2009-02-22 13:24
What helped me:
A few decades ago I used to get pretty nervous before an important solo as well. I used two strategies and they helped me, with my particular personality, change that entirely. I might have felt 'tight' and a bit figity on occasion, but never really nervous again.
First, I figured out the symptoms of nervousness which would afflict me (shakey legs, if it was a solo for which I was to stand, as, for example, when the conductor would have the obligato instrument stand with the vocalist for a Bach aria; cold hands; moist fingers; dry mouth). Then I woud duplicate those symptoms as best I could in my practice (wipe out my mouth with a cloth; cool my hands; moisten my fingers; wear ridiculously high heeled shoes). I trained myself to realize that EVEN IF one or all of those symptoms occured in concert, I COULD STILL PLAY WELL. It would perhaps not be my best performance, but it would be ok. As a result, when I began to feel tight before an important solo, the feeling never again progressed to real nervousness.
Second, I would remind myself of the mantra: Focus on WHAT you are doing and NOT on HOW WELL you are doing it. Or, in the words of that famous positive-thinking corporate entity NIKE: JUST DO IT.
Maybe my experience will help someone else.
Elizabeth
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