- At my next performance I want to feel prepared. My biggest issue is over complicating things in preparation for the show and then feeling really bad if they don’t come together in time. I love feeling like I’ve done all I can to prepare (technically, mentally) for every performance I do. Especially when it is a show under my own name. I want to walk on stage and feel comfortable and feel that I can trust all of the gear I’m using. That way nothing will get in the way of me connecting with the audience.
2. I want to come across as open, comfortable, and honest to my audience as I can. I want to be myself, I want to be as real as the music I’m performing is. I don’t write music for hype or to sound marketable. My music is a reflection of my emotions and I often make it to push me to learn new things. I want my music to be interpreted as a reflection of who I am, but at the same time I don’t want my music to be all that defines me as an individual.
3. I haven’t done this intentionally but I would like to! My next two performances are on March 16th at a house show and the 17th at rain dogs.
4. My performance anxiety really depends on what role I have in the performance. When I’m playing horn in the back row or even guitar for Bobby Kid, I feel like I’m part of the performance but I’m not the entirety of the performance, so I usually deal to little to no performance anxiety playing in ensembles or with Bobby Kid. However, when I perform my solo set or even with my band, I feel so much more pressure to be perfect and to make everyone happy. Here are my specific symptoms:
- Physical: I get sweaty and my hands get clammy. Sometimes my legs feel wobbly.
- thought patterns (self-talk): Sometimes thinking through the tech and talking myself through “if this goes wrong here’s what I’ll do.” or sometimes in the middle of a song I’ll have an “OH SHIT” moment but know that if I just stop playing it will be obvious but if I keep going nobody will notice the mistake
- Feelings: I think to much about how other people interpret my set, so I feel anxious to be myself sometimes (which is just so dumb) However, I also feel a rush of adrenaline often and it feels great most of the time.
5. Taking a deep breath really helps with my anxiety. It’s not just the act of taking the breath that helps, as much as it’s the thought of remembering to do something I do involuntarily every day, but doing it with intention and letting my mind relax and be quiet.
6. Often times my practice session turns into a writing session as I discover new sounds and begin messing around with them. Sometimes I let this distract me from having a productive practice or rehearsal. I feel like I get overwhelmed easily when it comes to preparing a set and refining it to be the best it can be. It helps me a lot to explain my process or goal to another person, and just by talking about it I begin to plan out things better.
7. When I’m practicing my own set I usually get everything set up, run a couple of songs, and then take a 10-20 minute break to relax and get in the right headspace. If it’s a rehearsal with all of my bandmates I like taking this time to listen to past rehearsal recordings or show them new songs I found that inspire me. After that I usually rehearse for 45 minutes – 1.5 hours, depending on how long the set it.
8. I find it most helpful to plan things in advance so I can approach the rehearsal or performance with confidence. If I’m rehearsing with somebody that hasn’t played the set before, I like to meet with them individually before the full band rehearsal. That way I will feel they are more prepared for the set and have a different understanding of the song. In a lot of ways the best thing for me to do is to talk to other people about my process. This helps me think it all through and I learn a lot about myself whenever I have to stand up for myself and support my opinion. Taking mental and physical breaks is very important to me.
