Many musicians feel nervousness or anxiety before a performance, whether it be their first or their 100th. Oftentimes, we can practice a piece flawlessly at home but may struggle on stage. Noa Kageyama, a performance psychologist, says that the problem lies in the imbalance of our practice routines. This lack of balance can lead to feelings of uncertainty and fear during performances and suggests that practice should be divided into three equal parts.
1. Conceptualizing how we want a piece to sound. This step requires deep
listening and an understanding of the musical goals we aim to achieve.
2. Mechanical Practice. Here, we work on translating the desired sounds in
our heads into physical actions through our instruments. This step involves
honing techniques and addressing any technical challenges.
3. Performance practice. In this stage, we aim to produce the desired sound
exactly as intended, from beginning to end, without any errors or hesitations.
The emphasis is on consistency, execution, and playing with confidence.
You can read more on practicing for performances here!
Photo Credit: Unsplash.com
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