Teacher and Stage Fright

[tsagari]

Please send  tips on how to deal with teacher and stage fright

[Essyne]

I get EXTREME teacher fright! I don't know why - stage fright is not as big of a deal to me - I'd love to know this answer as well ((others have told me it's a lack of practice time, but I know it's not- I practice efficiently/effectively. . . ))

Didn't mean to turn this around to make it all about me, tsagari - Just letting you know that you're not alone. . . 

[dan101]

Try focusing on your interpretation (feelings and the composer's intent) and relaxing your hands (part of a comprehensive technique). The more you focus on what you are meant to be doing, the less room you have in your mind to think about your audience.

Good luck.

[Essyne]

I like what rc had to say here . . . it's about the 5th post ((i think))

https://www.pianostreet.com/smf/index.php/topic,28926.0.html

[0range]

Just like anything else, you need practice! Try to play for an audience as much as possible.

I used to have terrible teacher fright, I'd spend all week practicing, and when Monday would roll around, I'd waltz into my teacher's studio confident as a peacock, sit down at the piano and discover that someone had turned my fingers into noodles.

The biggest thing that helped my overcome this was twofold. One, I started going out of my way to play for friends, family and acquaintances as much as possible. And two, I switched to a teacher that gave everyday lessons. For the first couple of weeks, I'd come in and play like crap, but gradually, with so much exposure to playing for people, the fear, or nerves, disappeared.

[slobone]

Who are all these teachers who have their students so terrified they can't even play? Something is wrong somewhere.

Yes, a teacher should set high standards, and a little bit of nervousness might be a good thing. But fingers turning to noodles?

Any teachers who are reading this -- lighten up! Your students should enjoy their lessons. The days of paddling their hinies when they made mistakes are long gone...

[keypeg]

What motivates many an adult student, and how teachers and playing are perceived, is written sensitively with great insight in www.musicalfossils.com  More than one adult student has recognized things that previously were a mystery.  Among others, the teacher and his word is almost too important as the only guide while children have many, imperfections are recognized which might escape the child who is also accustomed to being unfinished and imperfect, and the teacher's perfection by contrast is perceived very readily.  Additionally we are not supposed to fail in front of peers when we are adults, and that is turned around in this relationship.  Once recognized, with alternatives, a lot of this can disappear.  That also makes the quality of playing, once it doesn't matter in the same way, improve.  Imagine playing without spaghetti fingers.

It may not be so much "Teachers, lighten up" as it is "Students, change your perspective." and the results can be remarkable.

[slobone]

It may not be so much "Teachers, lighten up" as it is "Students, change your perspective." and the results can be remarkable.

But the teacher is the one in authority, and has the responsibility of setting the tone for the lesson. If the tone is "I'm just waiting for you to make a mistake and then I'll pounce on you," it's unreasonable to expect a child or even a young adult not to respond with fear and anxiety.

If, on the other hand, the tone is "this is an ongoing process, and I'll be delighted to hear how much progress you've made. Then we can figure out together how to fix the parts you're still having trouble with," I'll wager that students will relax enough to play at least as well as they did at home.

Of course, if the student obviously didn't do any work this week, then maybe the teacher does have to put on her Wicked Witch of the West costume...

[keypeg]

To some degree at least, an adult student is in control of his own responses, and it is so because he or she is the most connected to the inner dialogue. Teachers may know nothing about this.  The teacher may be kind, encouraging.  The adult tells himself "He is being patronizing because it's obvious my playing is garbage."  There are certain inner dialogues and inner expectations that teachers don't know about in terms of the adult student and if those inner dialogues change, everything changes.  Then you have a flummoxed teacher whose student had a sudden "turnaround" leaving the teacher scratch his head wondering what happened.

[slobone]

A good teacher has to be a psychologist as well as a technician. Most adults know how to express kindness without sounding patronizing. It's true, though, there's only so much you  can do if the student has a lot of "issues."

I started with my last teacher when I was in my 30's. Right from the get-go she said "I know adults often don't have enough time to practice. So just come every week and we'll do what we can." And she always had something encouraging to say, no matter how terrible I sounded. Pretty soon I started to really enjoy my lessons, and I know I made much better progress with her than I did with any of the teachers I had as a kid.

[keypeg]

The types of things I am talking about are this:
- Belief that playing in front of teacher is a performance
- Belief that a piece must be perfect like academic papers must be.

These are not "issues" and the are not psychological problems.  These are simply hidden beliefs that even the student is not consciously aware of.  Teachers are not aware of this either.  I have discussed these beliefs with about a dozen fellow students by now, and each one has had a significant change in the nature of their lesson through a change of these beliefs.  A student-to-student sharing is sometimes the most effective, because adult students are closest to what adult students have experienced.  It is empowering to know what changes you yourself can make.

[tsagari]

Hi
Keypeg thanks for the advice. I am an adult player I've started in my late thirties and what you describe as the adult state of mind is the situation here. However I do not know how I can change my state of mind everytime I play in front of the teacher, or playing in front of any other adult. If feel like an idiot  . I have no one to share my joy of playing, no one says bravo and there are no adult students in the music studio. I am aware of the advice "do care about the others" however we are social being and is difficult to apply this advice. It is as if you are cooking and eating your own food alone and thinking what an ecxellent cook you are .

[keypeg]

Hi Tsagari,
I have one or two friends who are learning my instrument (not piano) and we have shared everything that needs sharing by writing back and forth.  Sometimes it is a difficulty that happened in lessons, sometimes the music (once both our teachers assigned the same piece - what a coincidence!), sound files, ideas, worries, frustrations, thoughts.  It has been very helpful.  Sometimes your own feelings become clear when you see others going through something similar.

One of the most important things we found is:
- You do not perform for a teacher.  You work with a teacher.

Here's how it works.  Imagine you're not a piano student, but an apprentice carpenter.  You're building a chair.  So every week you bring in your chair and you and your teacher look at that chair.  He said "Shave the legs thinner." or "Polish the wood to bring out the grain." and so you shave the legs and polish the wood.  Both you and your teacher are looking at the CHAIR, not you.  You are both involved in improving this chair, and you are learning about chair making.  There is no nervousness, no emphasis on yourself.  It's the chair.  You are not bringing in a complete chair.  If it were complete, there would be no reason for you to be there.  The chair is unfinished.  Mistakes are good because it means your chair will be nicer and nicer.

Your piano playing skills are that chair.  You and your teacher are working on those skills.  If you look at it this way tons of anxiety disappear.  It turns things around wonderfully.

Now, this changed viewpoint is not something a teacher can help with.  Teachers have that attitude all along - they are building your skills. They're mystified why we're so nervous.  Only we can change that viewpoint. They they're mystified why we're no longer nervous.

[irss]

Please send tips on how to deal with teacher and stage fright

Hello tsagari, I also have same problem like you. My first recital is when I was 10 year old. During that time, people praised me that I performed well. But as I grow older, I have stage fright. I entered piano competition when I was 14, but I withdrew from the competitionon because I was so panicked in which I couldn't even remember the piece I should play. Because of that, I stopped play for a while.

My dad was so upset about that. To overcome my stage fright, he would bring me to piano shop and asked me to play pieces there. People inside or outside of the piano shop came in and listenend to my play. Thank to my dad, because of his encouragement, I am now able to perform back. I'm not asking you to follow my method, just to share some experience.

Nowadays, I play piano for my leisure time. I am interested in violin and will perform my first recital this coming July at my place.

[tsagari]

Thank you my friends for the advice,
I have so much work at the office and I did not had the mind or time to reply to your post.
Keypeg, I will try today - I have my piano lesson - to apply your advice. Yesterday during my practice session at home I saw my pieces as "chairs". This removed the progress stress because I distant my self from the piece, if you understand what I mean. Like a painter who distants himself all the time from his work makes corrections and look at it again.
I will come back tomorrow then and tell how it went.

[keypeg]

Tsagari, I would like very much to know how it went.  All the best.

Keypeg

[danny elfboy]

What motivates many an adult student, and how teachers and playing are perceived, is written sensitively with great insight in www.musicalfossils.com

That website is simply wonderful !

[keypeg]

That website is simply wonderful !

Yes, it is.  Did you read Mr. Harre's account of his "viola lesson" where he got to see things from a student's perspective.  He has fought a battle on behalf of adult students, as well as taking what he has learned back to teaching children, for at least a decade.

[tsagari]

 
Hi keypeg.
The whole situation was an absolute disaster  . I ve started the lesson with a scale as usual. After the second note she corrected the position of my 4th finger which made my play of the scale not as secure as it was before and I've started play with minor mistakes. And half way through she told to study the scale, and bring it back in the next session. This was a sock of me because scales (I play  scales in contraly montion in 4 octaves plus appregios plus appreggions of the 7th in contrary montion, one in every session) is my strong point there are so easy for my, I play the scale I am practicing for the lesson every day before I practice anything else (general I am practicing every day at least two to three hours, and four hours during the weekends). So I felt discarraged and then the whole situation ended to a disaster. Bach Invation,  I had to stop playing because I was so stress. Czerny was better my Mozart Sonata even better but at the end she made a negative comment about the overall progress of the Mozart which killed me because she cannot see that piece is well practiced and that is my fault I believe.
Any way I will keep trying, and bother less about her comments.
Have a nice weekend