Dd very wobbly over performance this week. Help !

Great news didI ds is having a couple of days off and a normal social life for once !! But of course we have to take the trumpet away with us for Christmas

Exactly taggie - and he really did enjoy it the whole evening I think which is lovely for me to see . he has to play it again for one of the school assemblies today so his teachers obviously have faith in him and the more he gets used to playing in front of large audiences the less it will worry him I think and then he can just get in with enjoying performing

Well done mini-Trumpet! The most important thing is that he enjoyed it. I'm sure it was a hugely enjoyable for the audience as well.

So he had his performance tonight and played beautifully, not without the odd split note !! but he kept going and said he really enjoyed it I think he was more excited than nervous beforehand.

Great advice from all here. I used to go to pieces as a child at piano festivals and competitions. My hands would shake and I felt like I had no control over my fingers, so completely empathise. One of my children adores peforming in front of an audience and is entirely undeterred by the odd squeak (clarinet). The other one is plagued by nerves which translates into him playing at the trumpet at warp speed to get it over and done with. Will use some of these tips with him!

Well done! I'm so glad it went well. Glad that mini-Trumpet is also feeling positive. Good luck for Monday!

Wonderful!
Hopefully, it will give her nerves a boost for the next time she has to perform too.

I am so pleased great news

Thanks for asking trumpets isn't till Monday but now he knows he's got into NCO he's feeling very positive. 2 days of rehearsals at school now so he's happy 2 days of all music and no school work I'll let you know how it goes but as long as he does it and keeps playing I'll be happy

How did the performances go, Didiplanthis and Trumpet?

Good luck both! And fingers crossed for good NCO news tomorrow!

Good good luck

Tanks taggie I will try and impart your knowledge and mindset to ds tonight though as we are still waiting for nco results I don't think he's in the best frame of mind . Surely he will find out tomorrow? Then that's one thing less to focus on

The thing that makes a difference to me, is not thinking that no-one cares whether you make a mistake, but also that no-one cares how 'good' you are! No-one is going to go home after a concert and say 'ooh Taggie's spiccato was SO even' not that they would anyway but they might say 'that performance was so enjoyable'.

My (wonderful) employers sent me to a confidence coach to help me overcome my fear of speaking in public, and these sorts of mind shifts have been life changing for me. They are often just as applicable to music.

DidI has your dd had her people performance yet ? Good luck to her if not

So ds had his usual panic last night , time to follow the advice here today I think . I keep telling him that no one will really care if he makes a mistake we are all there to enjoy the evening see our dcs perform , have some mulled wine and hopefully not get home too late 😆 ( the concerts can last over 3 hours as the head of music loves to give the students a chance to perform ). It's quite an amazing concert and really emphasises how much they love music at his school. I know He will be fine ( even if he does miss or split a note or two where he usually wouldn't ) but I am going to have to dig deep into my reserves of calm for the next few days I think ....

Had a rehearsal with the high end amateur (I'm the weakest flute at G8 - most are music college grads/current teachers) wind band. End of pre show rehearsal was dire - couldn't get/stay in tune at all and concert was best we've ever played!

Love that lonecat.

It is a teaching challenge though! All that effort into getting DC to listen, note mistakes etc - and then the opposite applies during performance. The mental game of music...

Our policy is loud and strong even if it's wrong, if it's wrong it's only a song. Theory is if you are confident and keep going giving a good performance the audience notice a mistake much less.

Sorry - posted too soon. As well as getting used to playing through mistakes, the number of mistakes will generally reduce as they 'play into the piece', building confidence.

One thing that really can throw an inexperienced performer is starting at the wrong tempo. I'd strongly advise getting the accompanist to count in (for little ones). If counting in isn't appropriate, the best advice is to simply change speed rather than go ahead and have a 'car crash'.

I also always tell DS2 to tune carefully at the beginning and between pieces. He doesn't really need to, but that private space on the platform is invaluable for calming nerves.

Thanks

one more tip is that in the days leading up to the performance, don't let DC stop if they make a mistake. They need to play on and then go over problematic passages afterwards. We have found that the most effective practice in the run up to a concert is playing all the way through each piece slowly (rather than at full speed or just doing passage work).