I consider there to be three types of performers; first, there are people who like playing in public and, indeed, actually play better in a performance environment. The second are people who enjoy playing, but experience problems with nerves and stage fright. This group know how to overcome stage fright so that once they are on stage they are able to play very well. The third group are people who experience stage fright to the point where it is almost disabling. Unfortunately they may get to the point where they stop performing all together.
Usually, when a person walks onto the stage, their brain sends signals to the body to produce more adrenalin and, in effect, the body goes into the so called ‘fight or flight’ response. Animals also demonstrate this response, and you can see it in cats when they are frightened, the fur on their back stands up. When people are nervous, they often blush, have sweaty palms, their hands and legs may start shacking, their breathing changes and, unfortunately, they may have panic attack. However, if you look at the three groups I have outlined, adrenalin is produced in all 3 cases. Some people react favourably to it and some don’t. In this essay I am going to look at how Piano-Yoga® can help people to avoid the issues experienced by the third group and to at least move them into the second group with a view to reaching the third.
You should not prepare for a public performance the day before the performance, not even the week before, but months before the performance. This preparation consists of 2 different elements. The first is physical preparation, so, learning your pieces, practicing the difficult areas and so on. The other aspect is the psychological preparation and working on the issue of public performance. This issue is very often avoided by people but is equally important to practicing.
Another important point is that you feel physically comfortable when playing. This means finding the right sitting position, level of the chair and distance from the piano. You need to remember this position and try to recreate it when on stage. Unfortunately, people can get very disorientated when they feel that the chair is perhaps, very low, so you need to remember your optimum sitting position and spend some time recreating it when you perform.
The next point, I feel, is one of the most important, and I suggest to all my students that they consider doing this. I ask that they record themselves playing as much as possible. I then ask them to listen to themselves the next day so that they can be much more objective about their performance. When you listen to the recording, actually sit with the music and make notes about what was correct and what mistakes you may have made. If you keep doing this, perhaps once a week, you will find the quality of your playing will have improved. You will also find that your attitude towards your playing will have improved, and you will become much more objective.
Always perform in front of an audience as much as possible and as early on in your practice as possible. First, start where you usually practice and invite 1 or 2 people to sit with you. After you have done this a few times, it is recommended that you start playing on different pianos. Unfortunately, as piano players, our memory not only remembers the music, but also the position and circumstances of where we practiced, so some people get very disorientated when they perform in new places.
To summarise the physical perpetration 1 month before performing;
1) Know the piece very well
2) Find your most comfortable sitting position and recreate it wherever you go
3) Try to record yourself at least once a week
4) Perform in front of an ever-increasing audience
5) Practice and perform on different pianos in different locations
Usually, when a person walks onto the stage, their brain sends signals to the body to produce more adrenalin and, in effect, the body goes into the so called ‘fight or flight’ response. Animals also demonstrate this response, and you can see it in cats when they are frightened, the fur on their back stands up. When people are nervous, they often blush, have sweaty palms, their hands and legs may start shacking, their breathing changes and, unfortunately, they may have panic attack. However, if you look at the three groups I have outlined, adrenalin is produced in all 3 cases. Some people react favourably to it and some don’t. In this essay I am going to look at how Piano-Yoga® can help people to avoid the issues experienced by the third group and to at least move them into the second group with a view to reaching the third.
You should not prepare for a public performance the day before the performance, not even the week before, but months before the performance. This preparation consists of 2 different elements. The first is physical preparation, so, learning your pieces, practicing the difficult areas and so on. The other aspect is the psychological preparation and working on the issue of public performance. This issue is very often avoided by people but is equally important to practicing.
Physical Preparation
If you suffer from stage nerves you will probably lose some qualities of your playing ability. As a result of this you have to be overly prepared for the concert, so that when you lose some of your ability you can still play very well. In practice, this means that all the passages and culmination points, such as when the music gets louder, have to be learnt very well. It is usually at this point in the music where your emotions and adrenaline are heightened and you may lose control. You also have to play with feeling when you practice. When I say feeling I mean that you play musically, with the sense that you are trying to convey the emotion of the music to an audience. When practicing, people often focus on the technical aspect of the piece and lose the musicality of the music. This is not surprising as the body gets used to playing in a certain way.Another important point is that you feel physically comfortable when playing. This means finding the right sitting position, level of the chair and distance from the piano. You need to remember this position and try to recreate it when on stage. Unfortunately, people can get very disorientated when they feel that the chair is perhaps, very low, so you need to remember your optimum sitting position and spend some time recreating it when you perform.
The next point, I feel, is one of the most important, and I suggest to all my students that they consider doing this. I ask that they record themselves playing as much as possible. I then ask them to listen to themselves the next day so that they can be much more objective about their performance. When you listen to the recording, actually sit with the music and make notes about what was correct and what mistakes you may have made. If you keep doing this, perhaps once a week, you will find the quality of your playing will have improved. You will also find that your attitude towards your playing will have improved, and you will become much more objective.
Always perform in front of an audience as much as possible and as early on in your practice as possible. First, start where you usually practice and invite 1 or 2 people to sit with you. After you have done this a few times, it is recommended that you start playing on different pianos. Unfortunately, as piano players, our memory not only remembers the music, but also the position and circumstances of where we practiced, so some people get very disorientated when they perform in new places.
To summarise the physical perpetration 1 month before performing;
1) Know the piece very well
2) Find your most comfortable sitting position and recreate it wherever you go
3) Try to record yourself at least once a week
4) Perform in front of an ever-increasing audience
5) Practice and perform on different pianos in different locations
How Piano-Yoga® can help you overcome stage fright Part 1
Piano Journal
