Performance Problems....dealing with them/degree continuing

[NDSPTuba]

So for me I discovered a good performance 'place' is somewhere halfway between muscle-memory and over-analysis. Now I'm just working on how to reach that state at will.

I found this to be true for me as well. Though I always ran into the problem of, if my chops didn't "feel" right I would try and play safe at the sacrifice of musicality. So I'd play accurately but not very muscially. A good friend, who wasn't as accurate ( but still very accurate ), always played musically. The phrasing and musicality drove his performance, and he always got great reviews. At the time I was baffled as to why he seemed to be higher thought of as a player when I was more accurate, and better technically ( I was more than just a bit of a horn jock ). I don't wonder why anymore. I just wish I would of realized it then instead of well after the fact. He now is principal horn in the Navy Band in DC and still playing beautifully. Point I'm trying to make is, it is about the music. Concentrate on making beautiful music and let the muscle memory and cognitive awareness come along for the ride.

[pgiampi1]

This is very far from being a unique problem, so first it might be a good idea to acknowledge that, for some people, we can easily get stuck on what we think we can convey musically and what actually comes out in a performance. Putting too much psychological effort into these sorts of problems can be treacherous, but think about your "I'm the best tuba player" mentality. In the world? No, that is probably not true. Are you a GOOD tuba player? Yes. More importantly - are you a GOOD tuba player who wants to become a GREAT tuba player? YES!

The attitude that I have adopted for performing since I left college is to have confidence in my ability and my preparation, rather than assuming that I am too talented to make errors. The preferable result is a relaxed concentration where my focus is on the music rather than the technique, as has already been mentioned in this thread. However, you can only perform that way if you practice that way.

When you read <i>The Inner Game of Tennis</i> (or if you already have, when you look it over from time to time), you will encounter the idea of "awareness". Even as you are concentrating on one musical problem at a time, you will not put all the pieces together unless priority number one is making music. We cannot block all the holes in the dam, if I may so inarticulate with sayings and all that. So the key is not to THINK about your tonguing, corners, air support, but to be AWARE, and gradually the body will become in tune with what you are trying to accomplish.

As far as your desire to get your DMA - you certainly need to think about the future goals (read the section about goals in the "spin-off" book <i>The Inner Game of Music</i>) and why a DMA has anything to do with it. I believe that if you have the drive to be better, if you can give so much time of yourself to improve your ability to make music, if all you can think about when you hear other players is how much you wish you could be the person playing on stage...if you feel that way and all the other logistics line up, go for it!

Two years ago, I sent in a tape for the Falcone Competition, and one of the judges wrote "keep doing what you're doing". If you consider that what you're doing could always be better and more effective, then it's the best advice you can ever get.

[sloan]

I think the point of the "going into music" thread was that it's hard for most people to subsist solely on playing alone,

Where do people get that idea that "going into music" is the same as "subsisting solely on playing alone"?????

[MartyNeilan]

Scooby your right.....im a junior though a senior in hours

I will choose a good place for Grad School that isnt Christian Based (TCU isnt based on the church anymore)

You don't exactly have to do that. You could go to Lee University for a master's in ed, performance, church music, or music business and play in David Holsinger's wind ensemble - and the school will set you up to take lessons with Michael Moore. Best of both worlds. (During my time there, I instead chose to study with the principal trombone of Chattanooga and split my time developing my bass trombone playing.)
http://music.leeuniversity.edu/ensemble ... semble.asp
They also have a kickin' jazz program
http://music.leeuniversity.edu/ensemble ... semble.asp
and perform at least one large scale choral/orchestral work every semester (Stravinsky Symphony of Psalms, Brahms German Requiem, etc)
and have a mass orchestra / choir for more crowd-pleasing events




P.S. You could also come to Nashville and take lessons with your favorite TubeNet poster

[tofu]

[SplatterTone]

Nah. Vladimir and Elvis have been living in a trailer park in Mississippi since 1989.

[Leland]

I guess the point of this story is that my opener (when I was completely cogniscent (sp?) of my face/fingers/air/etc. ) and my my closer (When I was oblivious to what was happening and was on muscle-memory) were both good... but had problems, more than the pieces in between. So for me I discovered a good performance 'place' is somewhere halfway between muscle-memory and over-analysis. Now I'm just working on how to reach that state at will.

It's easy -- forget the physical work, but just stay vigilant and play with the ensemble, even if it's just you and your accompanist. You know how it's supposed to go, so just play it.

I'd add any experiences you can get performing with minimal-to-zero rehearsal, with great and not-so-great ensembles. The unexpected stuff -- tempo fluctuations, missed conductor cues, surprise cymbal crashes -- are what throw off most people. But, like anything else, you can learn what to do when those things happen. Become comfortable enough in your part that you can follow -- and, if necessary, LEAD -- everyone else.

If you know what role your part serves as compared to the second clarinet(s), you're on the right track.

After an elective recital I gave sophomore year, I was congratulated by my prof. and I said, "yeah, but I sound like *** on the recording" and he replied, "Do you know how many tapes of my performances litter the roadside on the way to my house? I get pissed and chuck 'em out my window about five minutes from campus!"

2. I started memorizing all of my solos. I still go on stage with my scores and have them in front of me, but I am not tied to them and can concentrate of playing the horn.

A side benefit of all that memorization is that the player learns the phrasing, the ebb & flow of the music, a lot better. There isn't really a "bar 46" when you've got it memorized; it's like thinking, "this sentence, the next sentence, here's a short lick going into a longer phrase..."

Another benefit is that, usually, their attention -- their focus -- changes from a six-foot bubble around themselves and the music stand into occupying the entire airspace of the hall in which they're playing. I've seen it happen, too -- the same player, the same music, the same day, playing with music and then without, has better aural presence without a stand.

I'll also say this: PRACTICE PERFORMING. Don't get comfortable in a small, soundproofed room. You're not going to perform for anyone in there. If you can find other ensembles and/or different practice spaces, go for it. Get silly about performing on weekly departmental recitals, going a couple times a month (you might have to juggle a couple accompanists, though). There was a Shriner band that came to nearby towns during college, and a couple of us would go sightread performances with them. I used to take over our recital hall after hours to practice.

If you only practice execution, that's all you're going to do when you get on stage.