[Menvi-discuss] mental aspects of playing/performing

[Bettie Downing]

The pianist who plays at 2 services in our church of 2500 and I who play the same services on the organ have played for more than 25 years and still often get the same reactions when we're playing something that is a little above some simple hymn.  A little tension, a bit of nervousness goes with the game.  It may make you better, maybe worse, on a tightrope where anything could happen.  It's exhilarating!!



On May 8, 2012, at 5:23 PM, Chris Smart wrote:

> Hi folks.
> 
> For those of you who perform, or just get anxious if you know anybody can hear you, even when practicing, how do you deal with it?
> 
> I'm doing some daily deep breathing exercises and trying to just adopt an attitude of it not mattering so much if I hit a wrong note, but that is easier said than done.
> 
> I got a chance to jam with Larry Carlton last month at a master class, and while it was a positive experience, I was so worked up it felt like I was listening to someone else play, like, observing myself, not able to really hear what was going on. I don't mean that in a good sense, as in, wow, I was so into the music I blocked out distractions. I mean that I was so up tight I wasn't present at all!
> 
> I realize that we are our own worst critics, and that we hear lots of things the audience neither notices nor cares about, but that doesn't seem to actually help my state of mind when playing.
> 
> Do any of you have any strategies for coping with this sort of internal tention that actually work for you?
> 
> Connected to this is perhaps a controvercial question, but I'll ask it anyway. Beta blockers ... good or bad?
> 
> Thanks for any insights,
> 
> Chris
> P.S. One thing I read in a book recently stated that hey, we're not performing brain surgery or piloting a plain. Nobody dies if we mess up. *laugh*
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