You’ve learned all your music and you are ready to perform.

 

That’s great, but is that all you need to prepare for that exam or big music performance?

 

Many times my students and myself have thought they were ready for that all-important gig, only to find that despite their best efforts in the practice room, their performance was only average.

 

So, what do you have to do to really get results?

 

There is so much more to a successful performance than just knowing the music, although this is probably the most important aspect.

 

When you perform, especially if you are not used to it, you are going to have to deal with:

 

• Nervousness (maybe even performance anxiety)
• Distraction, and
• Unfamiliar surroundings.

 

Your practice regime should therefore include exercises to help you with all the above.

 

Here are some tips on how you might go about that.

 

Nervousness

 

I often refer to the exercises on breathing to begin your practice session.

 

What you may not realise is the importance of these in order to train yourself to pay attention to, and be able to tune into your breathing.

 

When you are nervous, often the first thing to be affected is your breath.

 

Holding the breath is one way you can be affected or not taking deep enough breaths is another.

 

This in turn causes your body to become tense and when your body is tense, it is a lot harder to make music.

 

Once you find it difficult to make music, your thoughts can become negative and again, impact even more on your music.

 

It doesn’t sound fun, does it?

 

By practicing your breathing exercises as well as some other kind of meditation, if you are so inclined, will help you to:

 

1. Become aware when your breathing is not natural, and
2. Help you to bring your breathing back to normal.

 

If you can do this, you will find your nerves will dissipate, you will become more present and your body will not suffer all the other affects like shaking or sweating which can be a result of tension and negative thinking.

 

Distraction

 

Unless you are a seasoned performer (and even then sometimes), you can become distracted while playing.

 

The source of such distractions can be either internal (like self-conscious or negative thoughts) or external and it is important to learn how to bring yourself back to the music if you do become distracted.

 

Not long ago I was doing a performance after a long break and my daughter was running around the dance floor.

 

She tripped and started crying and boy, it was a huge dilemma for me as my impulse was to get up straight away and go to her aide, even though her Dad was close by to rescue her.

 

Needless to say, I became hugely distracted.

 

Fortunately, it was a solo gig so no-one was depending on me to keep it together.

 

I did keep it together but screwed up the form and some chords, however, I don’t think anyone noticed.

 

This is one of the most crucial aspects to develop in performance – being able to keep going and make something of your “mistakes”.

 

Besides getting a lot of experience in performance, the exercises that can best prepare you for this are:

 

1. Practicing your pieces with metronome. If you make a mistake, just keep going and keep in time!
2. Practice free improvisation. By doing this you will learn to accept any sound that eminates from your music and won’t be horrified when you hit a “wrong” note.

 

Again, learning to bring yourself back from a distracting thought or presence of someone or something needs to be practiced.

 

You can do this by bringing your focus back to your breath and becoming aware of your thoughts, choosing not to follow them but rather focusing on your senses, what you are feeling, seeing and hearing.

 

I’m going to include this video again on this blog because I think it is so helpful for what has been mentioned above.

 

 

Unfamiliar Surroundings

 

For some people unfamiliar surroundings can be off-putting and distracting, however, it is often the case that you will have to perform either on an unfamiliar instrument and/or in a place you have not been to before.

 

If possible, always try to visit the venue and play the instrument you will be using for your performance so you can become familiar with the equipment and the room.

 

It will help you to feel a lot more relaxed.

 

If you can do this, then you can also better visualise a successful performance in that space.

 

If you haven’t already, please read the article on visualisation, to gain an understanding of how this can help you prepare for success.

 

What Else Do I Need To Practice?

 

There are two last elements that will give you the edge on your performance.

 

The first is dedicating time to practicing technique.

 

All too often we can spend a lot of time on the pieces we need to play because there is a feeling of running out of practice time.

 

But if you make time to focus on technique you will be a lot better able to play your pieces and feel a lot more confident in your body’s ability and muscle memory to get around the music.

 

Lastly, being able to relax is really important.

 

There are many ways to practice this and you can choose these methods for yourself but if you are really finding performing difficult, you could try using a hypnosis method which helps you to be more relaxed and positive.  There are plenty you can look up on the internet.

 

Meanwhile, I’ll leave you with this little vid.

 

 

 

 

Three weeks ago I did a couple of posts on goal setting.

 

As I say in my intro, I too take on the practice challenges.

 

Anyway, in the goal setting exercise you had to set a goal for your practice, a goal for the week and a goal for three weeks’ time and I promised to write a reflection on my three week goal which was to get back into doing gigs.

 

Last night I played at my girlfriend’s birthday party.  I did an hour set and it felt great.  It almost felt like I hadn’t stopped doing gigs.   Almost.

 

There were a few things I noticed which were positive and some areas for work…

 

• My piano playing felt more fluent, especially on the songs I wasn’t reading charts for which was most of them.  That, of course, made it more fun!
• I discovered that having my 14 month old daughter at the gig can be a bit of a distraction.  I was on stage when I saw that she was just about to fall over and hit her head (she didn’t in the end and her father was there) but it was a very difficult decision whether to jump off stage and save her (that was my instinct, even though she was going to be ok) or keep going with the music.  I ended up doing neither and just stuffing up a section of the song.  Well, that’s something I haven’t had to contend with in the past!  So to parents of toddlers, I think I would recommend getting a baby sitter!
• My voice, I was really happy with.  This is because over the last year or so I have started working on my head voice.  Previously, I only ever really worked my chest voice.  I admit that was probably not the best option because now, having the option of using another part of my range was great and it’s also improved the quality of my chest voice. So singing-wise, I was very happy with the gig.
• By the end of the gig, I was really losing concentration.  I think this was a mixture of feeling the crowd wanted music that was a bit more dancy.  (I was doing lounge cocktail, background jazz kind of stuff.)  However, on reflection I was assuming this was the case, therefore losing confidence and therefore losing concentration.  So it was a lesson in having to maintain that grounded concentration that I have been capable of before, perhaps also a need to build up more stamina and lastly, not assuming what anyone is thinking – it’s hard but vital.
• Finally, I just found out that from that performance, a friend of my friend wants to book me for other gigs.  That’s great and a positive result.

 

So, in conclusion, this has been a very worthwhile goal-setting exercise which will hopefully end up in some more performances.

 

I loved playing in public again, and am definitely ready for more!

 

Did anyone else take on the challenge?  If you did, I’d love to hear from you.

 

Until next time,

 

Lisa

Three weeks ago I did a couple of posts on goal setting.

 

As I say in my intro, I too take on the practice challenges.

 

Anyway, in the goal setting exercise you had to set a goal for your practice, a goal for the week and a goal for three weeks’ time and I promised to write a reflection on my three week goal which was to get back into doing gigs.

 

Last night I played at my girlfriend’s birthday party.  I did an hour set and it felt great.  It almost felt like I hadn’t stopped doing gigs.   Almost.

 

There were a few things I noticed which were positive and some areas for work…

 

• My piano playing felt more fluent, especially on the songs I wasn’t reading charts for which was most of them.  That, of course, made it more fun!
• I discovered that having my 14 month old daughter at the gig can be a bit of a distraction.  I was on stage when I saw that she was just about to fall over and hit her head (she didn’t in the end and her father was there) but it was a very difficult decision whether to jump off stage and save her (that was my instinct, even though she was going to be ok) or keep going with the music.  I ended up doing neither and just stuffing up a section of the song.  Well, that’s something I haven’t had to contend with in the past!  So to parents of toddlers, I think I would recommend getting a baby sitter!
• My voice, I was really happy with.  This is because over the last year or so I have started working on my head voice.  Previously, I only ever really worked my chest voice.  I admit that was probably not the best option because now, having the option of using another part of my range was great and it’s also improved the quality of my chest voice. So singing-wise, I was very happy with the gig.
• By the end of the gig, I was really losing concentration.  I think this was a mixture of feeling the crowd wanted music that was a bit more dancy.  (I was doing lounge cocktail, background jazz kind of stuff.)  However, on reflection I was assuming this was the case, therefore losing confidence and therefore losing concentration.  So it was a lesson in having to maintain that grounded concentration that I have been capable of before, perhaps also a need to build up more stamina and lastly, not assuming what anyone is thinking – it’s hard but vital.
• Finally, I just found out that from that performance, a friend of my friend wants to book me for other gigs.  That’s great and a positive result.

 

So, in conclusion, this has been a very worthwhile goal-setting exercise which will hopefully end up in some more performances.

 

I loved playing in public again, and am definitely ready for more!

 

Did anyone else take on the challenge?  If you did, I’d love to hear from you.

 

Until next time,

 

Lisa

 

 

 

“The inner critic can make you feel awful about yourself. With the inner critic watching, you begin to watch your every step, you become self-conscious, awkward and ever fearful of making a mistake.”

www.KaliMunro.com, accessed 1 August 2008

 

Battling with the Inner Critic can severely handicap your ability to just enjoy music and it can even stop you from pursuing your lifelong dream to play.  Some people’s critics are more severe than others, but just about everyone has one.  In order to make playing a much more positive experience, it is helpful to address this aspect of our personality and understand how it can hinder our advancement in music making.

 

Our Critic has been created throughout our life from a number of people who have influenced us such as parents, family and teachers. Sometimes when situations are similar to past experiences, voices or comments can ‘play back’ into our thoughts. For example, your father may have told you as a child to let the adults speak before you do and that you should listen to their opinions because they are more important than yours, and that adults are right.  This comment may have been helpful for you to be accepted by adults as a child and therefore kept you safe, but when you become an adult yourself, you may unconsciously still believe that the opinions of others are more important than yours and that others know more than you do (even when they don’t), with the result that you don’t like to express yourself in case you are not accepted.  When you think about it, such a belief can have a huge impact on your ability to play music, especially when it is an art form requiring you to express yourself, often in the company of other people.

 

Once you bring your Critic into the light by observing its voice, its influence and how it can ‘hijack’ your music, you can begin to give yourself over to the Inner Musician.  The Inner Musician is not afraid to take musical ‘risks’ and is totally present when playing, the Inner Musician is authentic and trusts its ability.   When you let your Inner Musician play, you will feel relaxed and connected, you won’t be thinking about how good or bad your music is, you won’t be thinking about hanging out the washing, you will be absorbed in the moment and when you finish playing you will feel as if you are waking from a very pleasant dream.  Maybe this is why people play music instead of workmusic.  How did it feel when you were playing as a child, absorbed in the moment and nothing else mattered but the game?  This is the feeling we are aiming for when we play music.

 

 

THE INNER CRITIC

 

 

Imagine you are driving a car, navigating your way through a beautiful landscape called Music.  You are captivated, focused and aware of what is around you and what is in front of you.  The drive is enjoyable and effortless.

 

Next to you, in the passenger seat, is your Inner Critic.  He or she (let’s call her Ms No-No for now) is talking to you non-stop, warning you of impending disasters, not to mention your shortcomings as a driver and a person.  You turn your head to respond to her and in doing so, lose your concentration.  Now you are not watching the road or the beautiful scenery, you are too busy engaging with Ms No-No and then…. you crash!

 

In the rubble of the aftermath, Ms No-No gets up, dusts herself down and says “See, I said you were no good at this!”

 

Unfortunately, Ms No-No likes to accompany you on all your beautiful drives (who wouldn’t!).  She is always in the passenger seat, ready to give you advice or judgment and when she opens her mouth to speak, she is distracting and – don’t tell her this – hardly ever correct in what she says!

 

Here is how you may experience this story when you are playing music:

 

You are playing or singing and you strike a note that sounds ‘ugly’ to you.  It may not even have been a bad note but your Critic has spoken and said “it didn’t sound good”.  Now you begin to focus on this judgmental comment.  Since you are listening to your Critic instead of the music, she continues to speak.  “You know this music is no good, no one wants to listen to that.  You can’t even do this properly!”.   You begin to fear that your Critic is right and, consequently, you doubt the music, yourself and your capability.  Your body becomes full of tension in response to this notion and you find it almost impossible to continue playing. Eventually you either stop or your playing becomes stilted and difficult and you end up feeling bruised and negative.  In other words, you crash!

 

We have to learn to live with our Critic but not let it interfere with the act of playing.  When we can do this, we can begin to really enjoy the experience of learning and performing.  Simply by beginning to observe your Critic, you will notice that it won’t get in the way as much.  By observing it, you separate from it and when you separate from it, you can make a choice about how you react to what it is saying, instead of just letting it make you feel bad.

 

So in order to enjoy playing music, get to know your Critic.  Here’s how:

 

Exercise 1

When you are playing music, whether it be at home or in a lesson, use your Practise Diary to make notes of what your Critic is saying to you.  This means that when you make a mistake or stop playing, you need to take a moment to note what went through your head just before it happened.  Some examples of this are thoughts such as:

 

“You’re going to make a mistake!” or “Are you doing this right?” or even “Oh, my God I can do this!”

 

You may notice the Critic is stronger in an activity such as free improvisation.  It may say things like:

 

“This sounds awful!” or “You’re no good at music.”

 

Be observant of these statements in whatever activity you are practising.  Once you begin to recognise your Critic’s voice speaking, you can choose to stay with the music, ‘the beautiful countryside’, instead of being distracted by the voice.

 

Sometimes, it may be difficult to refocus when you hear your Critic’s voice, but by turning your attention to your breath (something which you practise in your routine), you will be able to concentrate on the music again.  It may take a little while at first, but you will get better at using breath to focus your attention.

 

Exercise 2

After writing down some of what your Critic has to say, you may be able to connect its statements to people from your past.   If your Critic is particularly strong, you could draw a picture of him or her and stick it in your practise room.  When you hear its voice or when it is messing with your work, simply look at the picture and know that your Critic is not you.  What it has to say is not the truth and its opinion doesn’t matter.  What does matter is that you stay relaxed and present with what you are doing, as practising music is not about engaging in a judgmental discussion.

 

These activities should give you the power to begin to deal with negative thoughts and feelings that can cause problems such as low self-esteem and avoiding situations in which you are the centre of attention or in which you can shine. You will also notice that the more attention you give to the above exercises, the less your Critic will bother you and the more you will be able to let your Inner Musician take over.

 

 

Just remember when you play music there really is no space for you to judge whether it is good or bad.  In order to judge, you need to be on the outside, either listening back to a recording or as an audience member, but when you create music, if you are doing it properly, you should be on the inside, 100% present with every moment.  When your Inner Critic takes control, you give it your energy and step outside the music; so who is creating?  Who is ‘looking at the road’ or engrossed in ‘the beautiful countryside’?  Nobody.  What can you share or communicate in music when you are judging or fearful of making a mistake?  Only fear and judgment and this is not something you or many other people really wish to experience.

 

 

 

 

 

 

THE INNER MUSICIAN

 

 

“Fear closes all doors to the true self, that brilliant centre where the ecstasy lies.”  - Kenny Werner, “Effortless Mastery”, p51

 

Taking risks and making ‘mistakes’

Being a good musician is as much about how you deal with a mistake (which, if there are no wrong notes, is actually just dealing with your Critic) as it is about any other aspect of music. What matters is what is being created in the now, not the past and not the future.

 

Here are some ways you can develop your Inner Musician:

 

• Free improvisation is an excellent way for you to practise acceptance of every note you play, existing solely in the present.

 

• Playing with other musicians will also give you the experience of having to continue to play if you make a ‘mistake’.   If you are part of a group and you stop, everyone suffers!

 

• Record yourself as much as possible and listen back to it.  Try to realise that sometimes imperfections actually embellish your performance and it is only when you give energy to the notion of failure that your music will sound bad.

 

• Performing either at open mic nights, auditions or events organised by you or your teacher is also beneficial. Try to do this in a safe and supportive environment, especially in the early stages of your learning.

 

Sometimes your experiences in music will be uncomfortable but this is simply part of the learning process.  In time, you will get to know that your Inner Musician accepts all sounds and uses every note to full advantage.

 

 

Authenticity

 

“… an individual is being authentic if they are being completely honest and participating in the here-and-now…. always being centered with themselves and others, living in a completely integrated fashion with their own values and principles, always feeling complete meaning or sense of purpose ….”

- www.managementhelp.org/prsn_wll/authentc.htm – accessed 13 August 2008

 

 

You are unique – no-one looks the same as you (unless, of course you are an identical twin!) and, more importantly, no-one will play music like you.  When you can stand as you are, without pretence, and create, when you can be 100 percent honest and truly yourself, your music will be great and people will love listening to it.  This is true even if you are not the world’s most technically brilliant musician.

 

As listeners, we know when a performance is authentic as sometimes the hairs on the back of our neck will stand up, or we’ll be moved to tears or laughter; we can simply feelthe artist’s intention.  To deliver music in this way you need to be able to communicate to others how you really feel and show who you truly are, whether in a musical or social situation.  We all know how difficult this can be, especially if we have a strong Inner Critic, but it is essential to cultivate the ability to express yourself if you wish to make a meaningful contribution to music.

 

Trusting your ability

 

When you can trust your practiced technical skills and don’t have to think about them, you will be able to lose yourself in the music, enjoy its rhythm and sentiment and let your Inner Musician shine through.  So, although you may begin learning a song by trying to copy what you hear, including the phrasing and sound quality of a particular artist, it is important to build a solid foundation of knowledge regarding the music’s technical aspects if you are to make that song your own.  This means breaking down the rhythm, harmony and melody of the song so that you can begin to master it.  For example, singers will often use melodic devices such as slides and trills to cover up the fact that they are not really sure of a particular note’s pitch.  They then have less choice over how they can express the music because they will be preoccupied with trying to ‘get through’ that particular section and cannot be truly in the moment when performing.  When you learn a melody note for note (especially the ‘little’ notes) you always know where you are in the song and if you wander away from main melody, say in improvisation, you always have a place (the original melody) to come back to if need be.

 

Music, therefore, needs to be learned and repeated very mechanically at first, singing or playing with a strong tone and at a slow tempo with as little use of melodic devices as possible.  Once you can sing or play in this way with confidence and ease, you can begin focusing on the music’s emotional content.  It is then that you will naturally come up with your unique musical interpretation and be relaxed enough to let your Inner Musician play.

 

If you enjoyed this article, please subscribe to the RSS at top of page for regular updates and activities to inspire your music practice!

 

 

Think about the greatest, most engaging musical performances you’ve seen.  What was so magical about them?  Is this ‘magic’ the possession of only a few musicians or can you have it too?  Will you be able to engage an audience if you can play really fast and impress them with technique?  How can you be as good as those you admire?

 

When I watch or listen to a great musical performance, I am drawn into another world.  I am lost in story and space, totally enraptured, clinging to each note and to each silence.  I feel alive and connected to the music.  It becomes me.  Not only have I felt this with great musical technicians but the not-so-technical musicians as well.

 

I believe everyone is capable of expressing great music or art, but in order to do so we need to practice creating a space for ourselves which enables greatness to come to the fore.  This means developing the ability to live in the present.  For example, when you do the washing up, are you paying attention to the feeling of warm water, the motion of the dishcloth, the sounds of your environment, the air?  Or are you thinking about what you have to do in the future or what happened in the past or a plethora of other mental activities?

 

It is not easy to live in the present and in order to do so you need to be constantly aware of your mental activity.  One book I read recently was “The Power of Now” by Ekkhart Tolle.  I found just reading a page would help me to feel calmer and more in touch with myself and helped me to be “here now”.  I reflected on my music and what I really wanted from it and found that when I applied some of the strategies mentioned in the book, my practice became an activity I looked forward to every day because it offered me peace, a kind of meditation and increasingly I became less interested in ‘being a good musician’ (which really took the pressure off!) and discovered the music within.

 

This meant I became more involved in every sound and the beauty of just one note ringing out, I began to listen more and because of that have become more present in my practice.  Coincidentally, the more this happened, the more ‘progress’ or ‘better’ musician I became.  But progress felt effortless because it wasn’t important to me any more.  I practice music because I love to become lost in the metronome and the vibration, I love the sound of the piano, the feeling of my fingers working the keys as they press them down, I love the feeling of my voice in my body and the simplicity of sound, the awareness and presentness it brings to my life.  Now, I know I will always practice music.

 

The first twenty years of my music history was not this.  It was filled with emotional turmoil, wanting to be as good as…… but not being that.  Wanting the best gigs, but not having them…. Wanting to be famous, respected, known.  The pressure I put myself under was immense and because of it I couldn’t even feel what music really was, in fact, I just stopped and didn’t even want to see live music or even listen to it because it reminded me of everything I was not and everything I wanted to achieve but felt I couldn’t.  Now I know, that this was not the experience of participating in music but rather the experience of indulging my Ego, letting it control a part of my life where it most definitely didn’t belong because (and I’ll let you in on a little secret here), the Ego is a terrible musician, although thinks it is rather amazing!

 

I am not trashing the Ego.  We need it for all sorts of things in music and in our day, all I’m saying is Ego cannot play the music.  Your music needs to come from your still and ever-present Self.  This means when you play as scale, you need to be listening intently to every note you hit.  You need to be in tune with your body and breath, you need to be relaxed.  You need to be present.  If you practice presentness, it will be easy to perform from this state and no matter what your technical ability is, your performance will be great.

 

It is worth asking yourself where your music is coming from.  If it is coming from your truest Self, I am guessing you are pretty happy with what is happening musically for you.  If you are not very happy with the way things are going… is it because your Ego is too involved?

 

There is much to be explored in these questions and I hope to expand on this in later blogs.  Please feel free to leave a comment.  I’d love to hear what you think.

 

Best wishes and happy music-making,

 

Lisa Brown

 

If you enjoyed this article, please subscribe to the RSS at top of page for regular updates and activities to inspire your music practice!