Can you guess what the #1 MISTAKE is that musicians make onstage?
I think the biggest mistake we make when we walk into the spotlight is TO FORGET WHO WE REALLY ARE.
We forget that we are not just a performer, or violinist, or musician….
We forget that we are a WHOLE PERSON.
Human, and perfectly imperfect!
A whole person who is having an experience of sharing that Self – through music – with the audience who has come to hear what we have to say.
Who is the performer?
A mind – with thoughts that either help or hinder.
A body – with a head, neck, arms, and feet.
A soul/spirit – with emotions and a heart full of life.
A personality – with a past that has served to bring you here.
A vessel – a channel for the music to express itself.
Each person is unique and brings a lifetime of stories and experience to the stage.
The audience can tell IMMEDIATELY – within the first few seconds – more about us than we might ever wish to be seen!
To be a performer is by definition to be vulnerable and exposed…
To be an ARTIST is to know this and allow this, with whole-Self expression and open-ness.
…IS TO EXPERIENCE WHO YOU ARE, HAVING THE EXPERIENCE YOU ARE HAVING, IN THE PRESENT MOMENT.
With total acceptance. Free of judgment…. doing the best we can do.
A tall order? YES. But perfectly possible to learn…as soon as you remember that performance anxiety includes the body and everything else that you are.
And once you start getting to know and accept – AND LOVE – the mind-body you are living in, you will start to find the kind of peaceful ease within yourself that you want to carry onstage, that gives you a sense of confident calm that can handle ANYTHING that comes your way.
This is not abstract. This is real, and there are concrete and PRACTICAL ways to learn this. I will be teaching you how to aim yourself in this direction in every class of “Effortless Music-Making”, my upcoming course starting this Sunday.
Curious? Check out my YouTube channel and browse around… see some of my practice and performance videos, and see how I do my best to practice what I’m talking about here.
ONE STEP AT A TIME.
Let me show you the direction!
NOW…. I have a request for you!
Please WRITE A COMMENT HERE and tell me the top 1-3 things YOU would want to learn in my upcoming course. This course is designed to be very interactive and personalized, so I will probably be able to include your concern(s) in the actual course content.
Of course, you’ll never find out unless you JOIN! Click on the link below for the details. 🙂
With Love in Music-Making,
Jennifer
Three things I want to learn
1. How to immerse myself in my music. I use it to unwind from work but sometimes I just cannot concentrate on it.
2. How to branch out with my music . I want to let others know I play so I have an opportunity to share it with others.
3. Express myself more through music.
How to conquer performance anxiety when you start your performance?