Posted by Thomas on December 21, 2003 at 11:16:57:
In Reply to: Re: Nerves?! posted by Dave Roberts on December 21, 2003 at 10:28:31:
Pressure is what separates the winners from the people who don't place or don't advance. Christmas is coming up, I would think your family will get together, play for them. Even if they aren't musicians they are people and some nerves will set in. One thing I used to do was become as familiar as I could with my surroundings. When you audition for state clinics and things they are usually at a high school. I was nervous a lot of the time because I didn't know anything about where I was. Another thing is when you're practicing is to warm-up, then do some listening to something totally different from what you're playing then after about 30min to an hour pick your horn up and play your piece. Sometimes you can't go straight from warming up to the audition room. A lot of the time you stand and wait in line for a little while. And one last thing, get your mind off the matter. I remember I had a concerto competition recently at my university, before I played my piece I walked to the nearby store and got a drink, and found some friends and talk to them about something other than the competition. The point is if you stress on how you are going to do then you'll be nervous. Like the previous person said, if you are confident about playing your piece you won't be as nervous. Also try to replicate the conditions as much as possible in your practice that way as little things as possible will be unexpected. Good Luck!!!