Medication for Performances

[jacquie]

I need help. My hour long Senior Recital is this Saturday.  The closer it gets the more the nerves are getting bad.  My doctor has given me Enderol (many performance professionals take this to take the edge off.  It is a calcium channel blocker for the heart but one side effect is that it keeps you from sweating and your heart from pounding ,hands shaking etc.)   I find this isn't enough so my doctor gave me a low dose of Clonapin.  It is a tranquilizer.  She said to take both together on the day of the recital.  I tried it out today and it seemed to help alot.  Has anyone else taken this combination for a performance, and how did it turn out?  Thanks!!

[pianistimo]

now that you've solved the problem of your arms and hands, what are you going to do about your legs?  make sure and wear a skirt that is longer length so noone sees the knocking knees.  it was bad for me at the beginning and then once i started playing - it was really quite ok.  you start enjoying it!  just have fun.  after a while you'll probably look forward to playing and consider the audience like close friends.  if you always think of them as the enemy - you'll always have nerves.

[thierry13]

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAa

[dnephi]

now that you've solved the problem of your arms and hands, what are you going to do about your legs?  make sure and wear a skirt that is longer length so noone sees the knocking knees.  it was bad for me at the beginning and then once i started playing - it was really quite ok.  you start enjoying it!  just have fun.  after a while you'll probably look forward to playing and consider the audience like close friends.  if you always think of them as the enemy - you'll always have nerves.

Your knees knock?  Personally, I just scowl hard and then overjump on some my jumps sometimes, go faster than my teacher thought was physically possible and faster than is musically or technically possible with an unwritten accelerando possibile followed by an piu presto.  (Like Schumann's famous request 'as fast as possible', followed by 'faster' and 'still faster'.)  In other words, if I get extremely nervous, I can lose control of my tempo by becoming incredibly daring.  The adrenaline really makes you play fast lol if you do it right... 

[cmg]

Well, I've never taken these drugs myself, but know of others who have.  The Clonapin is a classic anti-anxiety agent and should do the trick.  But, more importantly, I'd examine just how prepared you are, how solid your memory is, how many times you tried this program in front of friends, etc.  There's nothing like solid preparation and numerous try-outs to cure performance anxiety.  I mean, anxiety is just a fancy word for fear, right?  What are you afraid of?  Memory slips, technical disasters?  Try to fix all of that.  Meanwhile, drugs certainly can help

[pianolist]

When I could still drink alcohol, I used to have a single whisky. No more than that. It was just enough to relax me without affecting my concentration. The best performances come from just slightly nervous musicians!

[atticus]

Hi Jacquie,

How did the recital go? 

atticus