Recapping a Performance

With our most recent Center Stage recital just passed, I thought it would be a good idea to share some thoughts on the event. To me, there are three parts of performing, two of which are obvious; practicing for the performance and the actual performance. The third part of performing is the post-concert analysis, so we will discuss aspects of how to become a better musician through reflection.

Especially for newer students, performing can be nerve-wracking and sometimes even completely incapacitating; it is common for students freeze on stage with performance anxiety. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but merely a learning experience. The hardest part about performing is that there is no way to practice for it but to...perform! We can memorize our music, practice with a metronome day in and day out, have wonderful lessons with our teachers, but at the end of it all, the performance is the one time that strange things can happen due to nerves. Here are a couple things I've learned from performing that you can check to see if you did during your recital:

1. Don't analyze while you create: If you're constantly thinking about how you are performing while you are performing that means you're not in the moment. Once you take yourself out of the moment you are susceptible to messing up more, not mention you may not have as much fun performing either.

2. Breathe: This works for any instrument, but some people get so worked up they don't allow themselves to relax. When you sit down at the piano to play, take 5-10 seconds (which can seem like a lifetime) to hear the music in your head and prep yourself. If you're a singer, do the same while standing at your microphone (if there is one). Not only does taking a few seconds before you begin help you relax, it helps your audience to be sucked into your own personal experience.

3. Smile: Now I'm not saying go over the top, but smiling is a stress reliever! Not only this, but the audience will appreciate someone who looks like they're having fun. The only reason not to smile is if your piece is sad/angry and you want to convey that feeling.

4. Use music theory: This goes for mostly older students who are memorizing their music, but nevertheless, analyzing your piece in the months before a performance will help you memorize faster. When you're performing on stage and you get nervous and you think your memory might fail you, music theory can come in and save the day!

5. Keep going: If you make a mistake don't play the part again! Don't grimace or make a funny face! Don't stop in the middle with fright (if you can help it)! Chances are the audience won't pick up on your mistake, but even if they do, the best thing you can do is to keep moving forward!

6. Record yourself: Recording yourself at home is the best way to simulate an audience in a performance setting. The same weird things that can happen during a performance can happen during recording because you are forced to keep going no matter what. Listen to your recordings to nitpick and get better!

7. Bow BIG!: Bowing is a way of saying thank you to your audience. For most beginning students, we can feel awkward doing a bow, especially if you've never done it before. Nobody should get mad if you do a half bow, or look funny doing it, but if you commit to a big bow I find both your audience and yourself feel better for it!

Good look on your next recital!