The feeling I had right before my sophomore recital was the same feeling I got when I was clacking up my first roller coaster hill. My chest was pounding, my pinkies were tingly, and my vision was tunneled. I walked on stage being extra careful not to drop my viola, looked out into a blur of faces, took a tight shallow breath, and started playing. Subsequent recitals and other performances have been diluted versions of the same sensations. It’s always gotten increasingly more manageable, but I found it hard to be fully relaxed walking on stage. The recital I played two weeks ago, though, was entirely different. When I walked on stage for this most recent recital, I felt confident, relaxed, and focused. You could chalk it up to a couple things, but the biggest contributing factor has been an overhaul in my preparation and mental game.
In here, I’d like to share some highlights of the differences between preparation this year compared to others. 1.Practice was more concentrated. I used to practice in large portions of 3 or 4 hours. This year, I would break up my time ideally to half hour sessions. I’d stop when I became unfocused. I’d also frequently run passages cold between students or while waiting for a rehearsal. 2.Separation between building and testing. The purpose for a practice attempt was either to strengthen the passage, or to perform it and see if it held up. When I found myself practicing at a medium tempo, I would stop and decide “building, or testing?” This helps you “go for it” in testing instead of chickening out halfway through and deciding “nah this one isn’t for real.” 3.More simulation practice. I would do weekly run-throughs in an empty sanctuary for a period of two months prior to the recital. This made a church stage feel like “my space.” I also played for colleagues frequently. I’d always record the performance and go over the tapes later. This allowed me to analyze less during the performance. There was also more realistic. I tried to get the feel of doing it correctly in my head instead of just the notes. The mental simulations also included the walk up to the stage and the moments before playing. 4.Detailed performance evaluations I would fill out a performance evaluation form after any performance or simulation (even if it wasn’t recital material). If it was a performance of anything other than wedding gig music, it got reviewed. This form is primarily based on forms from Terry Orlick’s “Psyching for Sport.” It asks questions about where your focus was at different times. Here’s what’s been working for me. The day of: Tell myself that I’ve prepared well. Remember what it feels like when I’m playing well. Remember positive things others have said about my playing. Right before playing:
During Playing: Feeling constant pulse, musically singing ahead, and openly connecting with the other musicians. Refocusing: If you’re thinking about what someone else is thinking, just think “who cares,” and get back to your best focus. 5.Calm-down Song For me, this was “Gumboots, Part I” by David Bruce. I’d put it on, do some deep breathing (in for 5, out for 8), and go through some of the “Day of” thoughts. This really calmed the nerves down the day of. Some athletes like to use pump-up songs. I avoided this because I predicted I wouldn’t have time right before going on stage. I might try this in the future though. So, there are some of the tips. There were other factors that played a role in the process, but I wanted to focus on the big ones. If you have any questions about any of these things, you can comment here or in an email or on FB, or in person. I tried to give a quick sampler-platter here.
3 Comments
Nawfel Djari
12/30/2016 01:10:38 pm
Very cool read!!! many great tips that i will use from this! thank you for sharing!!
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1/3/2017 09:29:12 am
Mark, Thanks for this excellent post. Share it far and wide! Seems as though you've tapped into excellence in your preparation mindset - I want you to share this with EVERYONE! Fantastic. Your points 1, 2, 3, and 4 are particularly spot-on and are applicable by anyone out there seeking to hone their game.
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