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With a cafe concert fast approaching, I thought it valuable to discuss performance anxiety.
It is always nerve wracking to get up and perform, I have been doing it for years and I still get nervous.
In the video below I talk about one thing you can do to help with those nerves. It sounds a bit obvious but we often forget to do this.
Please feel free to comment or ask questions.
When practicing it is important to have specific things to focus on during practice sessions.
Quite often we go through a song, find challenging sections within the song, struggle through these, get to the end of the song and then go through it again. This doesn’t achieve much as you continue to struggle through these difficult sections.
What you need to do however is to “chunk” the song into parts, and then focus on the parts that are giving you difficulty. Once they are resolved, then go through the whole song.
Below are 10 steps you can follow to help you with your practice:
1. Listen
Listen to the performance of a piece or section of a piece.
2. Diagnose
Where are the problems?
3. Choose
What should I fix first?
4. Isolate
Find the problem “bite” to fix in five minutes
5. Simplify
What can you do to get more comfortable with the problem?
6. Repeat
How many times do I need to repeat this drill to get it right?
7. Connect
Place the corrected “bite” back into the section of music.
8. Generalize
Are there any similar problems in the piece to fix?
9. Retain
What do I need to remember to do in practice to fix this problem?
10. Set Goal
What will you accomplish with this song in the next week?
Congratulations! You are now a successful Problem Solver!
At the Oscars this year The Sound of Music celebrated 50 years. I love the Sound of Music (I have performed twice in this show, once as Sister Sophia and once as Mother Abbess, and I have also helped with a performance last year with my daughter’s school. By the way, Rose also had the role of Sister Sophia). The music is simple but beautifully arranged and I like to use the pieces My favourite things and Do re mi when I begin young students with singing lessons.
It was an interesting decision that was made at the Oscars to allow Lady GaGa to perform a medley of the songs. No one would think that this was her style of music.
Lady GaGa did train classically, but went another way obviously with her outrageous style of music and persona. However, I would have to say that she did a wonderful performance at the Oscars. Very tastefully dressed and she performed the songs with confidence and style. Apparently she practiced every day for six months for this gig. (makes you realise it never ends, even for professional singers).
I have posted a video of the performance for you to have a look at. What is your opinion?
I would be interested to know what you think.