Cornwall Stage fright Playing the Violin performing the violin tips to help musicians by violinist Sue Aston

Performing the violin by Classic FM TV artist Sue Aston

Sue Aston: Violin BA Honours GBSM ABSM (Performance) ABSM (Teaching)

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Sue Aston has appeared on professional classical recordings, radio broadcasts, and television, both nationally and internationally, and worked with eminent musicians such as Simon Rattle, Nigel Kennedy, Peter Donohoe, Yehudi Menuhin, Sir Charles Groves, and Esa Pekka Salonen. From the folk world, she has supported Martin Carthy and Dave Swarbrick.

Stage Fright

One of the commonest and most natural problems of playing the violin – or indeed any instrument – occurs when the time finally comes to perform in public. This could arise either during a concert or in an exam situation. I have suffered from severe nerves and stage fright myself, so I understand how awful fellow performers and pupils feel. The approach I use to help myself comes under four headings: - Preparation, Visualisation, Breathing, and Exposure.

NB: Courses on stage fright and how to control your nerves are available for ALL string players. Help is available from Sue Aston and Life Coach and Yoga teacher Phil Aston. Please call 01736 719342 for more info.

Preparation: -

There is nothing worse than knowing that you are not as prepared as you should be for a performance. It is so important to practise every day prior to an exam or concert for several reasons. Obviously you have to be so familiar with the music that you are not glued to the music on the music stand, and if you are playing from memory, constant repetition of the music will enable you to go into auto pilot should the worst happen and you make a mistake. In addition, physical stamina needs to be built up before hand so that you are not overcome by fatigue during the performance.

Visualisation: -

This is as important as practice itself. It is off putting when going on stage or entering an exam to freak out at the size of the audience or the austere atmosphere of the examination room. After a practice session, try to visualise the scenario while running the music through as a mock performance. If it is a concert you will be playing at, try to picture the size of the theatre or hall, or if it is an exam, imagine a grumpy examiner! The trick is to play out so that you play your best, and instead of the situation putting you off, win your audience over.

Breath Control: -

This is vital – once nerves kick in the body goes to pieces. The key to minimise this happening is to focus on your breathing. This is something I could only achieve through yoga to start with, but basically, the idea is to breathe deeply from your stomach as opposed to your chest. (See Phil’s tips on this!) This is really so effective as it helps to prevent shaking and profuse sweating, therefore you can focus more on the performance instead of thinking, ‘ Am I going to drop the bow?!’ Another useful idea is to delay any feelings of panic until later on in the day. If you are playing at say 7.30pm, then say to yourself that there is no point getting in a state until about 6.45pm. This helps me a lot, as I used to get up first thing in the morning full of dread, and then by lunchtime I would be a quivering wreck!

Exposure: -

It is true that the more often you play in public, the more you get used to controlling nerves. Unfortunately, most of us put ourselves through it perhaps a couple of times a year and take the cowards approach! However, try playing informally in front of friends, or try going busking! This helps you to get honest feedback on your performance and it will boost your confidence. Another idea is to choose pieces that you find easy, so there is no pressure to pull off a tricky performance.

If all else fails, there is one final suggestion – find someone more nervous than yourself, and you’ll spend so much time calming them down, you won’t have time to panic yourself!!

Good Luck, and please keep your comments and suggestions coming in!

Sue Aston

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