The Bulletproof Musician
Ever wonder why you can practice for hours, sound great in the practice room, and still be frustratingly hit or miss on stage? Join performance psychologist and Juilliard alumnus/faculty Noa Kageyama, and explore research-based “practice hacks” for beating anxiety, practicing more effectively, and playing up to your full abilities when it matters most.
The Bulletproof Musician
How to Start a Performance with More Accuracy (Without the Onstage Warm-Up)
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
One of my teachers often used to say that no matter what you’re playing, when you’re on stage, the beginning of a piece is always the hardest part.
Not because the opening is more difficult technically, but because we’ve generally been sitting around for a little while, so we’re feeling kind of cold, a little disconnected from our instrument, and nervous and jittery.
And it often takes us a minute or two to get warmed up and really hit our stride. Which might not be the end of the world if you’re playing a 30-minute concerto. But if it’s an audition that only lasts a few minutes, this “warm-up” period can feel like a really long (and crappy) couple minutes.
Is there something we can do to be more accurate right from the start, and skip that “settling-in” period? (spoiler alert - yes, there is 😁).
Get all the nerdy details here:
How to Start a Performance with More Accuracy (Without the "Onstage Warm-Up")
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References
Perry, I. S., and Katz, Y. J. (2015). Pre-performance routines, accuracy in athletic performance and self-control. Athens J. Sports 2, 137–152. doi: 10.30958/ajspo.2-3-1
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