hey guys i know i havent posted anything for a while but i just wanted to say i have my concert today and my first solo lol ( so scared ) ummmm im playing Ein Kinderscherz (sp?) by m musgrovsky (sp?) lol i have major butterflys
i also have my exam in 5 weeks and as i have a leson once a week thats only 5 lessons plus i wont see my teacher for 3 of those weeks.
any advice on what to do ???????????????????????????????

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just checked and the composers name is mussorgsky and the piece is Ein kinderscherz

here is an article I wrote for a website:

- simulate the situation, perform your piece for family and friends or for you school band or music class.

- be well prepared. practice your piece very slowly and carefully, even with your pianist or other musicians.

- be calm and focused before you perform, avoid unnecessary conversation if it distracts you.

- spend time in the concert hall or performance space before you perform if possible, go out into the audience before the concert to get the audiences perspective.

- remember, if you look relaxed the audience will feel relaxed. If you smile, they will smile.

- focus on the music and nothing but the music. Do so without playing into the music stand.

- If performing from memory, pick a spot to play to, preferably projecting to the last row.

- most importantly, remember that the audience wants to have a good time, be entertained and enjoy the music. If you are worried about mistake counters (those who are keeping track of mistakes), remember that they are indeed a minority, don’t worry about them, feel sorry for them.

- If preparing to play in a recital, select music that you are comfortable with and that you enjoy performing.

- nerves tend to make the heart race, cause shortness of breath and create butterflies. If this happens to you, take the fast movements slower, remembering that the music will sound faster if the notes are clear, rhythmic and in tune.

- be careful what you eat, salty snacks should be avoided as the mouth tends to get dry when one gets a bit nervous
- Last but not least, be yourself.

thankyou so much patrick that is really going to help :D

Patrick, I also have my end of class concert this Friday.

I think your recommendations are very useful and clear, Thanks you a lot!

My band teacher in 7th grade told us to eat fruit. She said it would help a little.

oh! what good advices! YEA, in my recital, i had a dry throat. It really killed me:0..i have to remember to bring water!

(chocolate makes you happy, and wakes your mind)

But keep in mind that you will then be blowing chocolate through your flute all during the performance, which after a while will start to damage the flute.

By "after a while," I mean over the course of many performances. It's not like the fact that you ate chocolate beforehand is going to make your flute fall apart as you progress further along the program, but in the long run the sugars and the like can damage the flute. Just thought I would clarify....

When I drink water and play immediately after (say, in the following 3 or 5 minutes), I have too much saliva and have difficulties in swallowing.

oh, it's weird. When i'm nervous i tend to have a dry throat when i perform. Maybe i won't drink too much water..a little?
Oh, and the chocolate comment was just random and didn't relate to me eating while playing I just figured out that day, that chocolate helped me on the math test i took. just wanted to share..

Yeah, we are all different and my comment on water drinking is just my own experience. Taking a water bottle to the concert would not so much elegant, anway.

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OOPS! would not be so much elegant, anyway

heehee, i guess^_^ but i still need to do something about that dry throat!

we all experience these symptoms of nerves, the more you have the chance to perform the better you will be able to handle it, perform wherever you can whenever you can, church, school, living room etc etc

Schoolgirl,
If your throat gets too dry, be it for nerves or other reasons, I think yo have to drink some water. Just be careful and check you are not salivating too much. That is ver easy to notice (you will be struggling to swallow at every rest you find)

I don't have the dry throat problem (but do have some others), so I refrain to drink water just before playing but it is not necessarily the same for you.

oke-doke