[Trombone-l] Thoughts on Practicing and Auditions, was Re: Beta-blocker info requested

[Gabriel Langfur]

I think part of the sentiment behind Chris' response is that a drug-based solution should probably always be a last resort. I would second that. What types of performances is your student stressed about? Are they so important that he should consider taking a drug into his body that affects his heart rate, metabolism, etc.? Does any part of his future income depend on them? a significant part of his future happiness? I doubt it, but that's certainly not my call.

Honestly, I have no direct experience with beta-blocker drugs. I have eaten bananas before auditions, for their reputed adrenaline-blocking properties, but my experience has been that my own preparation, physical and - even more importantly - mental, has been the single most important factor in how well I responded to and dealt with the effects of the extra adrenaline in stressful performance and audition situations. 

I have some general thoughts about this, much of which were spurred by an article on Jay Friedman's website: http://www.jayfriedman.net/reflections/20060309Audition_First_Aid.php

We often think about practicing as a way to refine the physical skills necessary to playing our instruments, or as a process of learning and thinking about the music we will play. But I think the time we spend practicing also has to address some of the issues inherent in performing. When you are at home practicing, you can play a passage multiple times until you get it the way you want it...but on stage, in the moment, you only have one shot. So...devote some of your practice time to determining the most useful, most consistent mental process to carry out BEFORE you play the first note of a piece or passage. I find rhythm to be incredibly helpful - to get the pulse of the piece going in my head long before I play the first note, and to hear some of the characteristic rhythms of the piece in their proper character.

As I write, I realize I've written a bunch of this before, in some documents I prepared for an audition preparation workshop I taught to some high school youth orchestra students. I'll paste the relevant ones below:

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Thoughts on Practicing

“Always start with what you CAN do.” – Norman Bolter. Whatever you want to achieve, you have to start with what you can do today and work towards it patiently and deliberately.

“The highest reward from your working is not what you get for it but what you become by it.” – Sydney Harris. Keep the ultimate goals in mind: being a wonderful, expressive musician. 

Tell, don’t ask. Don’t play anything, ever, wondering how it will come out. Direct it, tell it, sing it in your brain, be in charge of the sound. If it doesn't come out the way you imagine, that's something to work out practice methods to improve. But keep your imagination in charge of your body, not the other way around.

Be creative. Invent routines and methods for yourself to address specific problems. Hammering away at something hoping it will get better is probably the slowest way to improve. It’s better than not practicing at all, but not by much.

Be productive. Don’t just put in hours because you think you should; find ways to use your time productively. If you only have a few minutes, figure out what you can accomplish in that time. If some aspect of your playing is going so poorly one day that even trying to fix it will be frustrating, work on something else and vow to come back to that aspect the next day. Practicing slowly is always productive.

Monitor your body for relaxation and ease of motion/tone production/etc. 
“I want it to be EASY!” – Sam Pilafian

Think more about great phrases and less about perfect notes – particularly as you get closer to the audition or performance.

Practice for your mind at least as much as your body. Find the most productive thought processes that help you in the moment of performance, and practice those as you prepare for the performance and audition.

Practice performing. Devote some of your regular practice time to performing. Commit to the moment, play as if there’s an audience, and don’t stop for anything. Using a recording device is one excellent way of doing this. Evaluate afterwards to determine what specific technical aspects and overall musical ideas you want to do better, and then practice those things very specifically. But make sure to practice the commitment to the moment you will need for performance.

---------------------------------

Thoughts on The Audition

"strive to EX-press not IM-press" – Buddy Baker

My advice is to fill your mind with musical thoughts. 

First, be sure the tempo of everything you play, and start the inner metronome going at that tempo as soon as possible after you've finished playing what comes before. At the start of the audition, of course, fill your mind with the pulse of the first tempo even before you walk into the room. A steady pulse is a great kind of focusing thought. 

Have a reason for everything you play. Know something about every piece - have a visual or psychological image. For example, when I play The Ride, I imagine the monsters flying in attack formation. At the B section of the B Major (F#, G#, E, G#, B...), where the dynamic is marked louder, I imagine a second squadron joining the first. 

Know the high point of the phrase and show the listener what that is. Know the softest and loudest thing you will play in the audition. 

If you're going to monitor anything physical during the audition, make it your breath (if you are a wind player). Find useful visualizations for the most delicate physical activities you have to carry out. For soft playing on a wind instrument, I like to imagine the air rolling slowly down a gentle slope; I control the angle of the slope with the embouchure.

Some other thoughts: 
Show how much you love the music you are playing and maybe how much you love your instrument. Demonstrate your joy! 

As you get closer and closer to the audition, think more and more about great phrases and less and less about perfect notes. 

Tell, don't ask. Don't play anything, ever, wondering how it will come out. Direct it, tell it, be in charge of what comes out, sing it in your brain. If it doesn't come out the bell the way you imagine, that's something to work out practice methods to improve. But keep your imagination in charge, not your body. 

All of this needs to be practiced. You can't just turn on these thought processes for the first time when you walk in the audition room. Practicing is for your brain just as much as it is for your body. 

And for that matter, follow Jay Friedman's advice: play an audition for yourself, or somebody else, or a tape recorder, as often as possible - every day if possible. Dedicate a portion of a practice session every day to getting it right the first time. Evaluate what went well and what didn't, and then figure out how to do detailed practice on the things that didn't.

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Really, honestly, I think most of the issues involved with performance anxiety can be dealt with by practicing creatively and productively. If you're goiong to be serious about performing, you need to be serious about practicing...and practicing performing.

Gabe


----- Original Message ----
From: Chris Tune <crtune at adelphia.net>
To: Dean Hubbard <bonedean at msn.com>; Trombone-L Trombone <TROMBONE-L at server5.samford.edu>
Sent: Friday, November 10, 2006 11:09:59 AM
Subject: Re: [Trombone-l] Beta-blocker info requested


It probably DOES work.  But, I'd caution that psych work with a counselor is 
probably a better solution because the performance anxiety is probably not 
the only thing that could be improved by competent counsel and continuing 
sessions.

I've not heard about a person developing "tolerance" to the B blocker, but 
maybe some others here have heard definitely about that.

I'm very lucky.  I'm one of those who responds well to Mind Game methods of 
getting away from performance anxiety.  I think of the audience as all kinds 
of things other than what anxiety says they are.

The anxiousness also is not the first thing that starts this process.  The 
first thing to occur, is the body gets more Cortisol and/or Adrenalin shot 
into the bloodstream.  This in turn causes more rapid breathing, increased 
awareness, "goosebumps", etc. then the mind perceives this as anxiousness. 
. . .something to be Concerned about.  I try to focus upon how INTERESTING 
this whole psycho-physiological process is.

You see, refocusing upon something as being INTERESTING causes beneficial 
neurotransmitters to be produced to soothe away the opposing symptons.  This 
results in Endorphin and perhaps Dopamine to be produced which accompany 
your feeling that you have DISCOVERED some new information.   Usually right 
after I absorb this briefly, I refocus upon the particular demands right 
before the performance (refocusing upon anything memorized. . .double 
checking that I have my mutes out. . .my lube available. . .horn properly 
assembled).

Chris



----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Dean Hubbard" <bonedean at msn.com>
To: "Trombone-L Trombone" <TROMBONE-L at server5.samford.edu>
Sent: Thursday, November 09, 2006 9:59 AM
Subject: [Trombone-l] Beta-blocker info requested


> Friends,
>   One of my adult students asked me about beta-blockers.  He's having 
> performance anxiety and his doctor suggested trying this medicine. 
> Please share any experiences you've had with this drug.
>
>
> Truly,
> Dean Hubbard
> _______________________________________________
> Trombone-l mailing list
> Trombone-l at maillists.samford.edu
> http://maillists.samford.edu/mailman/listinfo/trombone-l 

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