Brass Band Logo

NJH Music Logo

Some of the contents of the pages on this site are Copyright © 2016 NJH Music
[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]

Re: Nerves

On Tue, 11 Jan 2000 at 19:26:55 -0000, Judith Hayes wrote:

> Which brings me onto the subject (hopefully not already done to death o=
n
> this list...) of performance nerves.  How does one stop oneself getting=
 the
> fear?!  and more to the point, once one has it, how does one stop ones
hands
> shaking?  I can handle the dry mouth and sweaty palms (I had those too)=
 but
> the shakes just spoil your performance.  (No I hadn't had too much beer=
 the
> night before and yes I could play it in rehearsal....)

Well, I solved it. I was the contest secretary and euphonist for a band.
After playing the contest piece, I suddenly realised that I'd just
played a risky solo in front of a lot of people (including one who
mattered :-) without really thinking about it. I was too busy worrying
about whether I had the right cards and the right signatures on cards.
I know I got all the notes, but I'm not sure that I put enough
expression into it. On the whole, I don't think I recommend it :-)

> All tips gratefully received.

Practice, like anything else.

I remember being terrified when I was "volunteered" to play a fanfare on
stage as part of a school play. "Do you know any other trumpeters in the
school?"  I knew the answer to that question: but what I know now (35
years on) is that I could play it any way I like.  You've got the best
player available, and this is what I can do, so if you don't like what
you hear... tough.

After a while, one becomes quite blas=E9 about these things. I'm not sure
if that's good.

If you're trying to earn a living playing it's a different kettle of
fish - "So-and-so wasn't very good, let's get someone else next time".
But the beauty of being an amateur is that, deep down, it really doesn't
matter. If you've invested all your self-esteem in playing and you're
not very good, more fool you - otherwise just go for it.

Ian


--
  • References:

[Services] [Contact Us] [Advertise with us] [About] [Tell a friend about us] [Copyright © 2016 NJH Music]