Performance Anxiety is for the Dogs

 IF you get nervous when you perform, you are not alone. Even one of the greatest pianists of our time, Glenn Gould,  preferred to perform to a tape recorder instead of in front of an audience.

I don't know why we get nervous when we perform, but I do know under which circumstances I am not nervous.

I am not nervous to play the piano in front of my dogs.  My dogs don't judge my playing in anyway.  They are not bothered by my playing, and sometimes they even start to wrestle with each other.

So if you are nervous to play in front of people try  smiling a big grin and pretend the audience is just a bunch of cute waggy tailed puppy dogs.

Play music with games

Keeping calm when you sing or play is important, and by calm  I mean keeping your muscles relaxed.

To help get in the relaxed frame of mind I have made up a few games.

For Violin, I often find people are tense in their neck holding the violin and in the wrist holding the bow.

The game is called  PICK UP and PLAY!

So starting with you violin tucked under your bow arm you are going to bring out the violin and tuck it under your chin. As soon as your violin is under your chin you bring up your bow arm and play two DOWN bows -

that is down bow, lift down bow

on the low G string.

Then you are going to put your violin back under your arm and take two steps.

After the two steps repeat putting your violin under your chin and proceed to play 2 down bows on the
D string.

Repeat the game through the 4 stings, then go in the opposite direction.

Starting on E string play two UP bows, tuck away take two steps and then two UP bows on A string

If space is small, just tiny steps.

The idea behind this game is to get your muscles moving quickly into position but with fun and not too much thinking!

Remember to shake out your hands after you play this game!

Keep Calm and Play Music

Some kids love to practice their instrument, be it voice, violin, guitar or piano.  Getting the most out of practicing can be tricky.

For singers, we don't want to strain and over use our voice.
For musicians, we don't want to rehearse poor posture and technique.

So how do we avoid these pitfalls?

(1) Keep practice sessions short 5- 10 minutes at a time.
(2) Ask yourself if you feel pain, pain is not good. Stop if you have discomfort.
(3) Keep notes of when you feel discomfort and tell your teacher. The discomfort may be due to posture or lack of a shoulder rest in violin etc.
(4) Stretch before and after a practice session to keep your body in alignment.
(5) Relax when you are playing or singing.  Tense muscles create strain, strain leads to pain.
(6) Invent your own practice games and incentives.  


In my next blog I will suggest some games too!

Musical instruments are fun but they are not toys

In my previous post I mentioned a tip to help kids practice their instruments "(a) Leave your instrument case open and accessible, so you see it there and the instrument can be easily picked up and played."

It is important to teach young children in the family how to handle musical instruments so the instruments are not scratched or broken.  Show children the instrument and let them gently touch it.  Just like teaching a child to pet a kitten, we can guide them as to how to handle a fragile violin.  Show them that pianos are not for banging, but rather let them slowly press one key to hear the sound it makes. Children need to understand how an instrument works and that it does not need force to make it sound nice.

Exuberant young children may bang on a delicate instrument -- perhaps thinking they are playing rhythm  -- so it is always wise to store your musical instrument safely away from small children when you are not able to manage the interaction.

Children  as young as 4 can be learn how to handle a wooden violin without causing the instrument any harm.

Music Lesson Practice Tips for Kids

Practicing your  musical instrument can be a daunting task especially for young children.

These are some helpful tips I recommend to my students :

(a) Leave your instrument case open and accessible, so you see it there and the instrument can be easily picked up and played.

(b) Set a very short time to practise every day.  For example 5 minutes at 4:00 pm. Kids often do not want to be pried away from the tv shows they enjoy, but it is easy to play one exercise during a commercial break and one piece during the next commercial break.

(c) Keep your goals easy each day.  Choose one difficult part of a particular piece and go over it 10 times in a row.  The muscles in your fingers will remember even if you don't!