Some notes from our first class.
You are all very brave to participate in this workshop. There were several people who talked to me about taking this workshop, and just couldn't quite do it. It takes a lot of nerve to be make yourselves so vulnerable and exposed to others and be willing to hear suggestions from your peers. Bravo !
* Work on finding a pre-performing (relaxing) ritual that will help you refocus and relax. It may be something as simple as taking a deep breath. It may something as goofy and eating jelly beans. But some little ritual can help with the anxiety. We'll look at some rituals that others use each week.
* Be prepared - Know your song and practice it. Lack of preparation is the best way to guarantee performance panic.
* Practice in front of mirror - even your introduction. It's hard at first, but gets easier
* Make eye contact - with several people in your audience. You are telling them a story.
* What does this song mean to you? - ask yourself this. Expression! Help us feel how you feel about it. It is, after all, all about the song.... not you.
* Slow down - nervous performers almost always go too fastand it's much easier to show expression and get the most out of phrases if you are not going too fast.
* Start strong - the first note is important, Strong voice
* Don't overpower your voice with your instrument. It's just to accompany you.
* Keep Strumming - The rhythm is paramount. You can miss a chord and no one will notice, or they will forget very fast. But if you loose the rhythm, it is very noticeable, and memorable. Keep the rhythm going, even if you miss the chord.
* Practice making mistakes - Assume you are going to make them, and practice how you are going to get through them gracefully - we'll be talking more about this each week.
Here is a good article that was written for musical theater majors:
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2009/may/10/tips-stage-performance-singing
I loved hearing everyone's choices of music. Many of them I had never heard before. For next week, prepare another song, or you could play the same one again, and work on improving it.
Since this is an experimental class, I welcome your feedback.
Gail
You are all very brave to participate in this workshop. There were several people who talked to me about taking this workshop, and just couldn't quite do it. It takes a lot of nerve to be make yourselves so vulnerable and exposed to others and be willing to hear suggestions from your peers. Bravo !
* Work on finding a pre-performing (relaxing) ritual that will help you refocus and relax. It may be something as simple as taking a deep breath. It may something as goofy and eating jelly beans. But some little ritual can help with the anxiety. We'll look at some rituals that others use each week.
* Be prepared - Know your song and practice it. Lack of preparation is the best way to guarantee performance panic.
* Practice in front of mirror - even your introduction. It's hard at first, but gets easier
* Make eye contact - with several people in your audience. You are telling them a story.
* What does this song mean to you? - ask yourself this. Expression! Help us feel how you feel about it. It is, after all, all about the song.... not you.
* Slow down - nervous performers almost always go too fastand it's much easier to show expression and get the most out of phrases if you are not going too fast.
* Start strong - the first note is important, Strong voice
* Don't overpower your voice with your instrument. It's just to accompany you.
* Keep Strumming - The rhythm is paramount. You can miss a chord and no one will notice, or they will forget very fast. But if you loose the rhythm, it is very noticeable, and memorable. Keep the rhythm going, even if you miss the chord.
* Practice making mistakes - Assume you are going to make them, and practice how you are going to get through them gracefully - we'll be talking more about this each week.
Here is a good article that was written for musical theater majors:
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2009/may/10/tips-stage-performance-singing
I loved hearing everyone's choices of music. Many of them I had never heard before. For next week, prepare another song, or you could play the same one again, and work on improving it.
Since this is an experimental class, I welcome your feedback.
Gail
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