| Author |
Subject |
CatMarieS
Registered User
(5/1/01 8:05:44 pm)
Reply |
Who
else has had this problem?
Whenever somone is listening to me
play my Cello, I always get scared and mess up and sound all sqeaky
and horrible. But when I'm by myself I play fine...great in fact!
How can I get over my anxiety problem?
|
Gablety
Registered User
(5/1/01 11:19:53 pm)
Reply |
I know
what you mean!
I've played the piano for maybe five
years now, and i know what you mean! I used to play all of these
really complicated but introspective and beautiful Chopin waltzes.
Playing by myself, I would play them fine, but playing for other
people, I just felt more nervous, and less involved with the music,
like I was watching the music instead of being it. Playing for my
relatives a third of a country away, I would play much more slowly
for fast passages, but speed through the things, miss notes, etc. It
was as if I played better when it was only for myself than when it
was for other people.
Now, I don't seem to have the problem;
I don't know why. It's just that now, playing for my relatives, I
feel the same sort of connection to the music as I do when I'm only
playing it for myself. (At least on the piano!) I think it's that I
just play with more people around, so when I'm practicing it's not
just for me, people can hear it out on the driveway, people pass by,
and so on. I don't feel as violated when someone else is listening
to my music since more poeple are listening to it.
|
cellochris99
Registered User
(5/2/01 5:31:35 am)
Reply |
Re: Who
else has had this problem?
I definitely have that problem from
time to time. What I really hate, is when people in an adjacent room
are trying to converse over my playing. Nothing like drilling
through some difficult out of tune passage and having someone's
conversation affected by it! When someone's listening, I feel so
much clumsier and I play much wimpier. When I pratice at full volume
at night, all kinds of dogs start barking, so I know that anyone
outside in the area can hear me loud and clear, especially on those
high notes, so that's kind of nerve racking too!
Chris
|
Ellen
G 
Registered
User
(5/2/01 7:50:34 am)
Reply |
Count
me in
I've gotten better over the years,
so now the degree of discomfort is directly proportionate to the
cellistic expertise of the person in the room. I used to think that
people would see an adult in the room and expect a professional
performance. It is my perception of other people's expectations that
was the basis of my phobia. Now I try to play for myself and do the
best I can. The people who are better are not ripping me to shreds,
but rather trying to offer constructive criticism, point me in the
right direction, and always make a point to comment on anything that
happens to be going right.
The weird thing is that when a
good cellist is listening to me, my brain goes into a second-guess
mode. Would the person observing finger it differently, bow it
differently, etc. And in this state I have taken passages that have
been rock solid and somehow screwed them up. I've played some
totally different fingering that never entered my mind before, and
there it is coming out of my hands.
To put things in
perspective... I was recently forced into a golfing situation where
I felt most uncomfortable. Actually, it was horrible. I vowed
afterwards to make everyone else in the group publicly perform on a
cello. Hee hee.
|
PaulFM
Registered User
(5/2/01 8:50:29 am)
Reply |
Re: Who
else has had this problem?
Count me in. I can play difficult
passages just fine by myself, but when I get with the orchestra or
sectional I get so concerned about playing the passage correctly
that I can tense up and forget everything that I practiced. I try to
relax when I play and focus on the music and not the mechanics of my
playing. Letting my mind wander is disastrous. Fortunately, concerts
seem to go well. I guess the adrenaline kicks in. If someone has a
cure-all I sure would like to know. I like Ellen's idea of making
everyone else in the group perform on a cello in public.
PaulM
|
Andrew
Victor
Registered
User
(5/2/01 9:04:15 am)
Reply |
"Stage
fright"
This is called "stage fright" and is
probably experienced by most performers. Musicians may be the worst
affected because they have no control over their own timing and the
flow of their activity (music), which speakers can control in
theirs. There are many symptoms, although to my understanding, each
affected person has their own typical ones for each activity that
causes the affliction. It is usually due to release of adrenalin in
a misplaced "fright or flight" reaction. Extensive discussions at
Maestronet have explored ways to overcome it.
fingerboard.maestronet.co...timate.cgi
Try
going there and looking at the "search" function either on the main
board as it comes up or at "Fingerboard."
Good
luck
Andy
|
mcello
Registered User
(5/2/01 3:09:34 pm)
Reply |
It
depends on comfort level
If I am comfortable with the music
I'm playing, can play it in my sleep, I really usually am not
worried about stage fright. One thing I will mention though is that
before recitals, etc. where I am soloist, I do not stand in the hall
and watch for who's coming in, I perform much better and have less
anxiety, if I can concentrate on the music and not who's listening!
Auditions are a little harder, because I know that my playing is on
the line and its not just an audience enjoying the music!
|
DoDahlberg
Moderator
(5/2/01 7:06:40 pm)
Reply |
Me.
Dorie
|
CatMarieS
Registered User
(5/2/01 8:08:33 pm)
Reply |
Re: Who
else has had this problem?
Well, you see, I've only had this
problem ever since I moved two months ago. When you're eleven at my
school ,you get bumped down to beginner level, even though i've
playe dsince forever. I kept worrying about messing up on the easy
musing because if I messed up they might think I didn't play well.
And since I played so well, the teacher was able to spot some more
subtle things, like the way I tend to want to play closer to the
fingerboard when I play open A, and you know, I know it sounds a
little stupid, and I am ashamed of it, but I still have my first
finger dot, just in case...but, it fell off, and I didn't worry
because I didn't need it anyway, but then when I got scared I
couldn't find first finger and I'd mess up terribly. If I wasn't
scared I could find 1st finger blindfolded! But I get so scared.
What's a 6th grade cellist to do?
|
sarah
schenkman
Registered User
(5/3/01 5:35:18 pm)
Reply |
Re: Who
else has had this problem?
I think the best way to get over
this is lots of playing for other people. It's common to play better
by yourself, but you can minimize the stage fright problem by
getting used to performing.
|
Andrew
Victor
Registered
User
(5/4/01 10:26:53 am)
Reply |
Is your
teacher from Mars?
CatMarie S.
It seems to me that
bowing an open string closer to the fingerboard is exactly what a
sensitive, experienced player would do to keep it from being louder
than the other notes.
Watch virtuoso players, their bows are
all over the place - and violinists and violists too. It's not from
lack of skill, but to achieve the tonal qualities they want. After
enough time, it becomes an unconscious practice. Sometimes you will
also see an experienced player pull the bow a little crooked near
the tip - again - not from lack of skill, but to taper a phrase
(Kennedy the violinist, does this all the time to get that effect at
concerto volume).
Keep your
self-confidence!
Andy
P.S. A "dot" on the back of the
neck for the thumb to feel will let you know when your hand is in
first position, without being visible to anyone else.
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