The First Post-Break Practice Session – Top Tips for Getting Back Into It

Nicole Neal2 Comments

I, like a few of you dear readers I dare say, have to travel for work from time to time (well, actually I’m doing it quite a bit of late!). This obviously means time away from the guitar – not a massive chunk of time, usually a few days or a week or so. It’s not enough to lose touch with the guitar and the pieces you’re playing of course, but potentially enough (depending on the level you’re currently at of course) to put a temporary halt to progress. At the least it may make things feel a little clunky when you pick up the guitar again after a few days away from it. This has certainly been my experience in the past, although I’ve found that the more developed and proficient one becomes this sensation becomes much reduced.

So tip number one to make the most of your first practice session back after a bit of a hiatus is to ensure you’re doing regular, daily practice when you are able to! OK, not the most helpful tip if you’re just getting back into playing and practicing now after a wee break, but one to bear in mind and start working in.

Regardless of your level of development, it will likely feel a little clunky and sluggish to a greater or lesser degree when coming back to the guitar after a few days off. And the best approach to take in your first post-break practice session back is just take it nice and slow and easy. There’s no dramas, no stress, just ease yourself back into things and get used to the feel of the instrument and its sound again.

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So start out with something nice and simple like a few scales – a few very easy scales to exercise and just move the left and right hands together without taxing the noggin too much, some simple arpeggios, some left hand exercises such as slurs for example, and then some right hand exercises. The right hand exercises I find particularly important personally for (a) getting the feel of the tirando and apoyando touches, (b) exercising the return reflexes and (c), most importantly, focussing on my sound and tone production. This is very important for me – if I can set myself up to be back in contact with the guitar producing a great tone on open strings then I’m setting myself to continually focus in on and hone my sound.

Then once you’ve warmed your fingers and hands up a bit and gotten them moving, then you can move onto looking at one of your pieces. I might have a “warts n all” run-through of the latest piece I’m working on, observing where the stumbling blocks are. I’ll then typically pick one of those stumbling blocks, one of the more easily rectified ones and do some work on that until its ironed out.

This approach, rather than just running through pieces willy-nilly or picking things up and just ignoring the stumbling blocks (which is easy enough to do at the best of times) helps also to train in that idea of focus again. It helps me connect with the idea of what a practice session needs to be about in order for one to progress.

And don’t be tempted to sit with the guitar for a massive period of time either. A longer session in one go won’t make up for time “missed” in the preceding days – the brain and muscle memory just doesn’t work like that I’m afraid. Aiming for somewhere between 20 minutes and 45 minutes for your first session back, depending again on your level of proficiency and usual practice session lengths, is probably around the mark.

So in a nutshell:

(1)  Ensure you’re doing regular, daily practice when you are able to, to set yourself up with strong foundations to rebuild on when you have a break (enforced or otherwise) from the guitar.

(2) Take it nice and easy. There’s no rush.

(3) Don’t leap straight into playing pieces, warm your fingers, hands and arms up with some light technical material first of all.

(4) Focus on your sound and tone production. Really listen to what you’re playing.

(5) Even if it’s you’re very first practice session back after a long time away keep it focused – no fluffing around. This is a great time to practice your practice!

(6) Don’t be tempted to sit practicing for a long period. Aim for somewhere between 20 and 45 minutes. You could always come back for a second session in the day if you feel like doing more (if you’re able).

 

Stage Fright! My Top Five Tips In Dealing With It

Nicole Neal3 Comments

Hi there folks. It’s been another busy one for me this week, on my travels around the country. This has given me a chance to catch up on some reading however, including an article sent through to me earlier this week (thanks Rick).

This particular article was a rather interesting one on the subject of stage fright. Stage fright is something that most of us experience to a greater or lesser degree, when performing to small groups in an informal setting, exams, recitals and larger more formal settings. And it can afflict professionals just as much as amateurs. The article states that a survey undertaken in 2012 of German orchestras found that a third of musicians were feeling the nerves affected them so much they were taking beta blockers to control their nerves. Personally, I often feel more nervous performing to smaller groups of people in a small setting than I do to lots of people in a larger, more formal setting. Go figure!

So stage fright and nerves really does affect all sorts of musicians, amateur and professional, solo and orchestral, to differing levels. So there’s absolutely no shame, I say, in recognising this fact and embracing the nerves! Well, at least recognising that we have nerves, rather than trying to bury and deny, is the first step in discovering how you personally can work on controlling the stage fright or bringing it to your advantage somehow.

Have a read of the article for yourself:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/classicalmusic/10920925/Stage-fright-classical-musics-dark-secret.html

The article was particularly interesting for me this week as I’m working with a group of non-musicians at the moment on delivering a presentation – rather like stepping up onto a stage to perform, showing folks what you’ve been working on and laying out your thoughts and feelings. I’m finding now that my work, knowledge and training from my musical life can really cross over and benefit in other areas. And I can also help teach and coach others with this too.  Ahh music – the skill that has so many facets I’m still discovering them!

These were my top five tips to my colleagues this week in dealing with their stage fright:

  • Accept that you have nerves and that it’s a “thing”. There’s no shame in it, you’re a human being with feelings, not a robot. It’s OK!
  • Do your preparation leading up to the main event. Go into something knowing you’ve worked very hard, and you’ve put the effort in. Don’t go in there wishing you’d done a whole bunch more!
  • On the day remind yourself of all that hard work. You don’t have to recall every single detail of what you’ve done, but remind yourself to feel safe in the knowledge that you’ve worked to the best of your ability. That’s all anyone can ask of you!
  • Trust yourself – easier said than done, oftentimes, but start thinking on (1) and (2) and know that you know what you need to do. You do. Trust me.
  • I was going to say relax, but that can be a difficult thing to do, and even an abstract concept to the brain, when preparing to go out on stage. Instead focus on deepening your breathing (get some oxygen to parts!), smile (that seems to make me feel a little better) and check to make sure your shoulders are not up round your ears!