The Sunny Side Music on FaceBook
Plz stay in touch by liking our Fan Page on Facebook
Music is for Everyone
1
Tips for Dealing With Music Performance Nerves Part 1
Dear bloggers & Face Book users: please help us grow our little music school by sharing and reblogging this post – thank you – S
It is important for performers to seek methods to deal with the feelings accompanying fear and nerves. The following are several simple methods to alleviate mild nervousness.
1. Before performing, you must first remember that you have practiced to the best of your ability and remind yourself of this. You have used your practicing skills in the most effective way you know. Of course, there will always be things you look to improve in your playing, but given all the circumstances that have led to this moment, you have worked hard as you can. Now the practicing is over. What you will do now, is to use your “hook point”, (what?) something you would have encountered during practice sessions. The hook point (hp) is at work, for example, when you learn the fingering for a piece. When you repeat and reinforce the new patterns, the hp is the moment where your brain starts to recognise the pattern and become familiar with what your fingers are doing, usually after many repetitions. The information from this process is retained, so that when you go on to practice other areas like articulation/dynamics, you don’t have to think too hard about the fingering. The most comforting aspect of the hp is that when it is time for you to perform, what you do is recall what/where was the hp, or areas you played easily during practice. Usually, once your ear recognises a passage you’ve practiced many times over, your brain will trigger the familiarity that the fingers developed in practice.
2. Do not draw conclusions about what just happened or what might/might not happen. Self-criticism while performing is pointless because it takes you out of the here and now and destroys your focus and physical actions.
Whatever the criticism, it introduces a verbal aspect into an activity that is most successful when it is non-verbal. Reserve judgment for after the performance, preferably after you have listened to other people’s reactions. Rather than judge your playing, simply observe it without saying anything, and play from the heart. For example, when you are about to make a crescendo, go for it and then feel it as you are doing it. There is nothing verbal about this process. You are, rather, putting intention into action – that is, motivating.
3. Do not second-guess the audiences reaction to your playing. When performing we become mind readers and believe we know exactly what the responses to our playing are. More often than not, these thoughts prove to be completely, wildly inaccurate and only serve to further distract us from our aim. An example: I was once playing a recital, with only twenty people in the audience. As soon as I came out to perform, I noticed a guy who looked familiar, but whom I could not quite place where I had seen him before. For most of the first piece, I was only partially thinking about the music, the other part, wondering who he was and (even worse) what he thought about the playing (crazy I know).
Finally I remembered that he was a respected piano teacher and accompanist I once met at a music shop near where I live. He was undoubtedly going to listen to the music on the program with a keen attention to detail and pick holes at the whole performance. Throughout the entire time, I was preoccupied with these thoughts and not surprisingly, the whole experience became gradually uncomfortable for me. Afterward, when he came to speak to me, I discovered that this piano teacher was, in fact, a jazz and pop specialist rather than a connoisseur of classical music and was very complimentary of my performance. Later I thought, “what an incredible waste of mental energy!” How remarkable it is that the vast resources of ones imagination can be used for such futile, self-destructive mind-games! You probably have had similar experiences.
Trying to imagine what the audience thinks of your playing is useless and distracting. You must please yourself first.
Ugo Onwutalu is a musician and piano teacher, also playing the guitar and organ. He is the founder of Grade Music Tutors, a UK music tuition production and entertainment organisation based in London. Visit http://www.grademusicworld.com for information on everything music-related, from learning an instrument and preparing for your exams, to getting a job in the music industry.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ugo_Onwutalu
Music is for Everyone
Tips You Can Use To Overcome Stage Fright
Dear bloggers & Face Book users: please help us grow our little music school by sharing and reblogging this post – thank you – S
As one of the most common phobias, stage fright afflicts many people. It is estimated that every 3 out of 4 people suffer from it. It is easier to overcome stage fright when you keep that fact in mind. Also keep in mind that a little bit of nervousness and anticipation is normal before taking the spotlight.
A well used method to overcome stage fright would be to imagine the audience naked. This visualization permits a couple of things to happen: First, the novelty of picturing a roomful of nude people distracts you from being afraid, and second, thinking of the audience as naked puts them in a lower social station. Furthermore if they disapproved of your performance, their opinions would not matter. They are not with it enough to wear clothing.
The next tip to overcome stage fright would be to become at ease in the location that you will be making the presentation at. Get there ahead of time. Move around the room and stand in the spot where you will be situated. Look around; find a comfort spot to take a look at in case you will need to regain your composure for several seconds throughout the presentation.
And finally, one of the best ideas to overcome stage fright is to concentrate on your expertise. Once you recognize that you might be talking on a subject that you’re most comfortable with, the feeling of anxiety will soon dissipate.
Try not be distracted or rushed on the day of your performance. As much as you can, you ought to be relaxed and calm. This may be completed by picturing what the whole performance would be like all the way through, from beginning to end.
Should you need to face an audience of any size, familiarization is the key to calming those frayed nerves. It begins with the topic that you’re going to be talking on. Regardless of whether or not you’re making an official presentation or giving the toast at your sister’s wedding, you’ve been asked to do so simply because you’re considered capable of it.
In numerous cases the two factors of performance outcome and possible consequences may be evaluated realistically and minimized in a way that the performer has the capacity to overcome stage fright, and go on stage. In other instances one or more cognitive distortions may possibly amplify the performer’s perceptions, and not enable the performer to have a realistic assessment of the risks and rewards of obtaining in front of the audience. These cognitive distortions can effectively paralyze the individual from sharing her or his skills with other people.
I don’t like being afraid of doing things, especially when that fear is hindering my dreams and ideas. I’m sure I’m not alone on this, so it is my goal to help others overcome their fears. Getting in front of an audience doesn’t have to be scary. To read more about how to overcome stage fright, go to http://www.squidoo.com/you-can-overcome-stage-fright. If you want to overcome stage fright permanently, increase confidence, and renew your self-esteem, then please go to http://www.overcomestagefright.info.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Tracy_D._Ryback
Music is for Everyone
Music is for Everyone
Music is for Everyone
5 Practical Ways to Overcoming Stage Fright
Dear bloggers & Face Book users: please help us grow our little music school by sharing and reblogging this post – thank you – S
Overcoming stage fright takes time and some creative effort. But in my experience as a singer and singing teacher for over 25 years, I have observed that with the right approach, most of us can successfully control and/or dramatically reduce the negative feelings associated with stage fright.
In short, YOU can overcome stage fright!
A clinical psychologist at the Yeshiva University in New York. Shara Sand, (who is also a trombone player) says: “What primitively is going on is that there is a kind of exposure and vulnerability.”
She explains that even though we know that there is no great danger to us, still we experience the physical signs of imminent danger: our mouths get dry, our hearts pound furiously, our hands get sweaty and may even shake, our breathing patterns change, and of course, there is the constant desire to go to the bathroom.
1. Are You Really Ready?
Have you prepared yourself as well as you can?
Sometimes your feelings of stage fright are your body’s way of telling you that you are not yet ready to perform in public. Be sure that you have chosen something to sing that is within your present vocal abilities and that you have learned the piece(s) well. Poor preparation and too difficult a song will, with good reason, put you in a very vulnerable position.
2. Have You Tested the Shallower Waters?
Time, patience and practice help in overcoming stage fright.
So let us assume that you have prepared yourself well and you are singing music that is right for you. You had a chance to perform, and you were crushed by stage fright. You found yourself saying, “Never again!”
What now?
If you do not have the funds for or access to a course on overcoming stage fright and you are in a do-it-yourself mode, here is a fun next step:
First – find a very non-threatening situation in which to sing.
When I lived in the country (first, the mountains of Vermont and later, a lake-house in the Adirondack forest in New York state), I used to sing my newest or most difficult songs to animals.
I am not kidding!
I regularly sang to a large family of raccoons in Vermont, and to the resident woodchuck, porcupine and blackbirds in the Adirondacks.
This kind of prep-performance effort gives you a sense of humor about your performing self. You also see where your mistakes will happen in a very non-threatening, but critical situation. (“Critical” – because animals are a tough audience – they get bored – they yawn openly at your feebler attempts, and they walk away.)
In my case, the raccoons were the yawners. The blackbirds gathered in the trees and trilled harshly when my high notes were not very good. And so I learned to laugh at myself and do better.
(Warning! – Do not sing loudly to babies or dogs. It can hurt their ears. Babies will cry. Dogs will whimper.)
Next…move on to humans in your quest towards overcoming stage fright. Invite one or two people to your home stage who will not criticize you. They may be very young or very old. But their presence is needed only to allow you to practice dealing with your nervous energy.
Take the performance seriously.
For example – walk into the living room from the hallway as though you were walking onstage. Feel the nervous energy climb as you stand in front of your “audience.” Sing your songs with all your heart and with all your technical ability.
Afterward, do not ask for feedback. You are not singing in order to have others tell you how to be a better singer. This exercise is to get your body used to feeling and dealing with the high energy that is required to sing well.
When you have done this exercise several times, start to get more serious about why you are singing.
3. Do You Have Purpose for Your Performance?
What do I mean by purpose? Here is my purpose in singing: I choose to sing and/or write songs that have something to say that I strongly believe in and that I think could be of value to others. When I walk onstage, I need to know that what I am singing has this underlying purpose. Whatever nerves I feel, and after 30 years of performing, I do still feel a lot of nervous energy, I say to myself, “this ‘performance’ is more important than ‘me,’ so I will relax a little bit and give my audience my best.”
You also need to find your purpose for singing. It may be to share your personal world with others. It may be to bring joy to your audience. It may be to raise money for an event or to support a social/political cause.
Whatever you choose as your purpose, I promise you that having that in mind as you walk onstage (or into an audition) is going to take a lot of the sting out of your stage fright. You will have something besides yourself to think about as you prepare to perform.
4. Always Singing Better (Technical Development)
This one is very simple. As your vocal technique improves (for example, you can repeatedly sing the high notes during your practices and you can hold the long phrases when you rehearse), you will be increasingly less fearful about going onstage.
Find a good singing teacher to learn the finer points of singing if you feel that your voice is not improving on your own or with a taped guide. And practice consistently and well.
This is key to overcoming stage fright.
5. A Few Secrets
Finally, here are a few specific things you can do to have a less fearful performance:
o Make sure that on the day of your performance you can have long stretches of quiet time.
o Do some breathing exercises back stage. Look here for a good breathing exercise
o If you find yourself feeling frozen or paralysed backstage – do some jumping jacks (e.g. jump gently up and down on the spot) to help free some of the imploded energy.
o When possible, go to the place you will be performing the day before you must perform and stand on the stage. If you cannot go there, try to find a picture of the room, hall or stage online and visualize yourself in that place.
In a final piece of nutty but useful advice, repeat to yourself what Bill Murray’s crazy character said in the movie “Meatballs,” “It just doesn’t matter. It just doesn’t matter. It just doesn’t matter. It just doesn’t matter…” (One performance is a small thing in a big life.)
I wish you great singing!
For more information, please go here: http://www.singing-tips-with-barbara-lewis.com/overcoming-stage-fright.html
For an opportunity to see and listen to some of my music, please go here:
http://barbaralewis.com/Lullaby..deep.ly.html
I have been a singer, songwriter and vocal coach for over 25 years. I have produced and/or co-produced several of my own original-music CDs as well as two television-quality music videos which play regularly on Bravo TV and Classical Arts Showcase. I currently manage a teaching web site called, “Singing-Tips-With-Barbara-Lewis.com.”
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Barbara_E._Lewis
Should You Expect More From Your Children?
Dear bloggers & Face Book users: please help us grow our little music school by sharing and reblogging this post – thank you – S
The title of this article leads to a mighty serious question; should you expect more from your children? Are we talking five year old kids or teens? What about adult children? What are our expectations and why do we have them?
When we’re expecting our children to live up to our expectations and we are strict about it, then sure enough, somewhere, there is going to be someone crying, “Foul!” For the first time in our history, the U.S. is really falling behind in education. Where my generation would rise to any challenge put forth by the world; kids today would rather take the easy way out. Why not take the easy way? That’s actually what they’ve been taught. Funny thing though, every generation has taken the easy way out. It’s not just the kids of today.
I was never pressured to get straight As in class, but I had friends that were. Some of them did better in life than me, and some, not so great. We each have a different way to measure our success. When it gets reported in the news that our children won’t know how to deal with a world economy and, that Asia will easily take over because their children are prodded into classroom competition, until we get to what is considered the future, we’re not going to know the truth of it all.
Asia may have stricter parents when it comes to an education, but we have college dropouts that change the world; thank you Bill Gates. In the U.S. we appreciate the artist in business more than most recognize. Facebook probably wouldn’t be what it is today if Mark Zuckerberg hadn’t crossed certain boundaries and, like an artist, Create! Create! Create!
Our children of the day may appear to be lazy in many respects to our past, but in truth, we’re not going to know just how lazy our expectations are about their future, until another 50 years. People, wake up! We’re about to match the computer with the human brain and do things that have been unfathomable before. It’s a different world and kids today that grew up with computers keyboards at their fingertips are going to be at a disadvantage to the youth that have the keyboard implanted in their brain. Do you see where this is going?
We expect our kids to expect more of themselves and do great work, but we’re going off of old information. Though I believe that children of the day don’t take their education seriously enough, I do agree that what they’re often being taught is a waste of time. many may disagree but, most human beings are geniuses, they’ve just never been taught to live up to that level of expectation.
I’m sure if I suggested that we move algebra to begin at the age of seven or second grade, instead of where it is now, I’d catch a lot of flack by people who don’t understand how smart human beings really are. As a matter of fact, there are psychology groups that would have you believe a seven year old isn’t capable or mature enough to grasp the concepts of algebra or calculus at such an early age. To that I say, “There are many kids that are doing it right now at age five. Perhaps if you “expected” more from your child, then they too would understand it.”
How can a five year old understand algebra? Are they just gifted children? Sometimes, yes, but mostly, they’re gifted by parents that nurture the child’s mind. Don’t hate the messenger but, we expect more from our children because we wish we had expected more of ourselves.
Jeff Scott is an author of self-help fiction, ghostwriter for professionals, a Toastmaster and a personal mentor. His books are available in paperback or instantly downloaded as an ebook. His work is also available through Amazon’s Kindle and other e-readers.
Join Jeff’s free, monthly newsletter, Creating Affinity Through Communication, by signing up at either of his websites: http://booksbyjeffscott.com or [http://affinity-comm.com]
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jeff_P_Scott
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/5794722
Emotional Quotient
Dear bloggers & Face Book users: please help us grow our little music school by sharing and reblogging this post – thank you – S
It does not matter how intelligent you are, there is something else that will predetermine the success and happiness you are experiencing in life.
It does not matter how gifted you are, there is something else that will predetermine the success and happiness you are experiencing in life.
Actually, there is one main thing that will override everything else in life, and this one thing will predetermine what you can expect for all outcomes in your life.
What is that one thing? The most important thing a person can work on to improve the individuals life is the Emotional Quotient-EQ.
About twenty years ago, Social Scientists were researching the elements that made some people more successful than others. Although the researchers looked at many different aspects of successful individuals, they started with Intelligent Quotients (IQs). Quickly they found individuals with very low IQs, who were successful financially, as well as with their relationships, and off the chart in regards to happiness. Obviously, IQs were not a predetermining factor. Neither were the numerous other factors they studied and compared in successful individuals.
As time went on, the scientists discovered and named they felt to be essential for success and happiness-the Emotional Quotient (EQ).
The EQ is how a person handles emotions on a regular basis. The better a person handles emotions, the better life that individual possesses. The converse is true as well.
The Mental Codes® discovery I made a few years ago has helped people to understand more about the relationship between what emotions they experience and the effect they have on life.
As I have mentioned in the past, people are addicted to negative emotions. They crave negative emotions and reinforce them in any way possible. i.e. Watching the news, talking negative about people and things, having their primary focus on the negative events in life, etc.
In one of my articles, I suggested you start paying attention to your inner thoughts throughout your day. I recommended noticing if your inner thinking is in line with your desired life or are your regular thoughts counter productive to what you want?
Today I would like to take you on another journey into your mind and discover one of the most limiting factors with your thinking. Since you have identified some Mental Codes® that are keeping you stuck in life, it is time to ask yourself a simple but powerful question.
Why do you want to feel that way?
I know at first you may declare, “I do not want to feel that way but I can not help it.” The truth is, the only thing we do have control over in life is our thinking and since our thoughts create our emotions, and our emotions create our actions, and our actions create our habits, and our habits (good or bad) determine our success or failure. So you can see why it is important to control what we choose to think about most of the time. As a matter of fact, what we choose to think about will determine the rest of your life.
Thank goodness you can ask yourself the above question and give an honest answer to start upgrading your life to the next level. Everyone wants to feel the way they do for some reason. To discover the reason why you want to feel that way is the first step in accelerating your life into greater success.
As you start changing the thoughts you are allowing yourself to think (and not think), you will start to feel different emotionally. When you change your emotions, you change your life.
Sincerely,
Dr. Michael J. Duckett
Dr. Michael J. Duckett is a world renowned Social Scientist, Speaker, International Radio and Television Host, and Author of 133 books and programs. To see how Dr. Duckett can help propel you into success, please go to http://www.upgradinglife.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dr._Michael_J._Duckett
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/3742003
Sunny's Music Studio :) Professional Music Lessons now Online ! 