If you do all the following things, and
nothing but these things, you will walk away from a performance
saying, "I enjoyed that. I'm glad I did it. I look forward to
doing it again."
If you have been experiencing negative
feelings prior to performance and/or negative results during
performance, and you choose not to do all the things listed below,
then do expect to continue to unnecessarily experience the negative
results you have been experiencing.
Always, but absolutely most especially during stressful times: eat fresh organic vegetables both raw and cooked, eat grass-fed meats, don't allow anything to get in the way of getting a full-night's sleep (some people need only 7 hours, some 9, figure out how much sleep makes you feel best), eat fresh organic fruits but sparingly. If you eat dairy, eat grass-fed dairy but only sparingly. Do "relaxing-exercise" such as taking 30-minute walks. Beware of drinking a lot of juices, especially during stressful times. Drink water, and cut up ginger and/or lemon & put in hot water for a gut-refreshing tea. Cut out coffee, sugar, and "factory-made-food". If you eat grains, do so only sparingly.
If you still have trouble coping with stressful times, then have your amino-acid levels checked, and read the book "The Mood Cure" by Julia Ross (I have no affiliation with Ross or her products). Also to deal with stress, most people--not just the best musicians--who are "performing" at the top of their fields and leading a balanced life will practice meditation daily. This website gives an excellent way to start: www.wildmind.org. Dr. M. Scott Peck calls his thinking-time and meditation-time his "prayer time" in which he also does pray, and in calling it "prayer time" other people are far less likely to interrupt you during this time, and it truly is prayerful and draws you closer to your God.
Taking care of your body to keep it healthy is the most important job you'll ever have; if you take care of your body then your mind will be sharp yet relaxed, and this will go very, very far in helping you to be able to handle even the most stressful situations with aplomb.
Always, but absolutely most especially during stressful times: eat fresh organic vegetables both raw and cooked, eat grass-fed meats, don't allow anything to get in the way of getting a full-night's sleep (some people need only 7 hours, some 9, figure out how much sleep makes you feel best), eat fresh organic fruits but sparingly. If you eat dairy, eat grass-fed dairy but only sparingly. Do "relaxing-exercise" such as taking 30-minute walks. Beware of drinking a lot of juices, especially during stressful times. Drink water, and cut up ginger and/or lemon & put in hot water for a gut-refreshing tea. Cut out coffee, sugar, and "factory-made-food". If you eat grains, do so only sparingly.
If you still have trouble coping with stressful times, then have your amino-acid levels checked, and read the book "The Mood Cure" by Julia Ross (I have no affiliation with Ross or her products). Also to deal with stress, most people--not just the best musicians--who are "performing" at the top of their fields and leading a balanced life will practice meditation daily. This website gives an excellent way to start: www.wildmind.org. Dr. M. Scott Peck calls his thinking-time and meditation-time his "prayer time" in which he also does pray, and in calling it "prayer time" other people are far less likely to interrupt you during this time, and it truly is prayerful and draws you closer to your God.
Taking care of your body to keep it healthy is the most important job you'll ever have; if you take care of your body then your mind will be sharp yet relaxed, and this will go very, very far in helping you to be able to handle even the most stressful situations with aplomb.
Your Body:
1. Your brain is 80% water. Even mild
dehydration affects your thinking process and your mood. Make
sure you drink plenty of water the day of performance. It's
better to over-hydrate and feel as if you need to go to the loo
during performance than to not drink enough water. You can always
walk out to the loo immediately after your performance and come back
in between the following numbers.
2. Before bed the night before the
performance, drink a cup of chamomile tea if you have trouble
sleeping; you want a full night's sleep. Chamomile has a
general calming effect in the body. If you are feeling very excited
the day of performance (we do not say "nervous" or "stomach
butterflies"), then drink a half-strength cup of chamomile tea.
Peppermint tea also settles the stomach.
3. For about 5 minutes once or twice a
month all year long, do the physical exercises we have practiced
(crossing arms & ankles, focus on breathing, etc.). The month
before performance do this once a week. The week before performance
do it daily. The day of performance do it a few times in the
morning, however many times you want. You may also do it at the
performance while you are sitting waiting for your turn to play.
Your Mind:
4. Have the
pieces you will perform memorized and perfected two months prior to
the performance--three months or more is better.
5. Every time
you practice and play the pieces you will perform, do so with joy.
Relax at the keyboard and enjoy the beautiful sound you are
creating. Shoulders and arms should feel heavy (like heavy, wet
ropes) before and as you play.
6. Think only
positive thoughts about the upcoming performance and how you feel
about it. What you think about comes to you. Warning:
if you think in negative terms about the upcoming performance, then
these are the things that will surely come true. Do not engage in
conversation with anyone about fear and nervousness. Change all
statements about the performance to positive statements. Example:
DO NOT say, "I feel nervous." DO say, "I feel excited
about playing my beautiful music for others."
7. Visualize what you want the
performance to be. Remember that the law of attraction states
that whatever you think about comes to you. Warning:
if you think even a little bit about how nervous you are, and even a
little bit how much you dread it, and even a little bit enumerate
your performance fears, then these are the things that will surely
come true. Think only
of what you want to happen when you're on stage. Think only of the
numerous successes you want to experience during the day of
performance. Relax and daydream daily about how beautiful and
handsome you will look and feel that day, about how happy you will
feel when you walk to the piano, picture yourself being relaxed and
happy sitting at the piano and playing your pieces exactly how you
want to play them, how you will feel so good standing up and bowing when
you are through, how happy you will feel walking back to your seat.
(Thank you, Fran, for
reminding me about this and Norman Vincent Peal.)
8.
The day of performance do not play your pieces over and
over from beginning to end.
Play small parts of the pieces you will perform, and do not do this
obsessively: play parts of the pieces with calm and joy in your
mind, and play a few of the different parts only a few times. Then
play scales as you always do: carefully and deliberately. Happily
play entire pieces that you are not going to perform that day.
When you arrive at the performance site, test the piano by
playing a scale and then the first 4 or 5 measures of your piece,
then leave the piano. Don't make excuses in order to obsessively
play more.
9.
While you sit and wait your turn, enjoy the music you hear
and think only of happy things. When you walk to the piano, smile
and remember the daydreaming you did about the way you want the
performance to go. Sit at the piano and think only of your piece and
how it will sound. Then prepare your hands and proceed with the steps we have
practiced in group lessons.
You can follow this procedure and have
success with any kind of public performance, such as speeches, etc.
* It's also helpful to promote
peace, calm, and stability otherwise in your life as a matter of
course. For guidance I refer you to the following; if you don't
read the books, I strongly encourage you to at least read the table
of contents, and consider reading also the introduction.
How to Ruin Your Life
by Ben Stein
The Compound Effect
by Darren Hardy
The Compound Effect
by Darren Hardy
Getting Straight A's: A
Proven System for Achieving Excellence
in College and Graduate School...
in College and Graduate School...
by Gordon W. Green Jr.,
Ph. D. [This is good for high school students, too.]
Top of the Class: How
Asian Parents Raise High Achievers--and How You Can, Too
by Dr. Soo Kim Abboud and
Jane Kim
How to Ruin Your Financial
Life
by Ben Stein
The Old Money Book: How to Liver Better While Spending Less; Secrets of America's Upper Class
by Byron Tully
Stop Acting Rich
by Thomas J. Stanley, Ph.D.
The Old Money Book: How to Liver Better While Spending Less; Secrets of America's Upper Class
by Byron Tully
Stop Acting Rich
by Thomas J. Stanley, Ph.D.
Enjoy Your Money: How to
Make It, Save It, Invest It, and Give It
by J. Steve Miller
The Money Code
by H. W. Charles
The Old Money Guide to Marriage: Getting it Right, Making it Last
by Byron Tully
The Money Code
by H. W. Charles
The Old Money Guide to Marriage: Getting it Right, Making it Last
by Byron Tully
How to Ruin Your Love Life
by Ben Stein
Dad's Guide to Life for
Girls
by David Maurer
The Science of Being Great
The Science of Being Well
The Law of Opulence
The Science of Getting Rich
by Wallace D. Wattles
More on taking care of your mind and body:
The Wahls Protocol
by Terry Wahls, M.D.
The Paleo Approach
by Sarah Ballentyne, Ph.D.
www.MarksDailyApple.com
The Science of Being Well
The Law of Opulence
The Science of Getting Rich
by Wallace D. Wattles
More on taking care of your mind and body:
The Wahls Protocol
by Terry Wahls, M.D.
The Paleo Approach
by Sarah Ballentyne, Ph.D.
www.MarksDailyApple.com