TakeLessons Explores How to Deal With Your Worst Music Nightmares
TakeLessons discusses a musician's worst nightmare - making mistakes during a performance - and how to deal with them.
/EINPresswire.com/ San Diego, CA - To many first-time musicians, the first performance can be nerve-wracking. The risk of making a mistake can drive some to steer clear of the stage. TakeLessons (http://takelessons.com), the nation's fastest growing music lesson provider, hopes to dissolve the fear from students' minds with their recent blog post. After all, even successful musicians like Coldplay have no doubt made a mistake or two at some point in their career.
By providing a large teacher roster for several types of music lessons, TakeLessons has been helping students nationwide reach their musical goals. For many, this involves overcoming feelings of stage-fright.
The following is an excerpt of pointers for students about making mistakes, courtesy of Gerald Klickstein from The Musician's Way Blog:
1. Errors are not failures: An on-stage mistake resembles a stutter: it doesn't bar listeners from hearing and feeling the larger phrase. When we miss a note or drift off pitch, if we keep up the musical intensity, listeners will stay immersed in the music and don't notice the flub. Even when bigger mishaps occur - say, a singer misses an entrance or has a sizable memory slip - we can still keep the mood alive.
Failures, in contrast, result in lasting loss: a driver who causes a fatal car crash fails as a driver and citizen. Just remember: an on-stage error can't become a failure unless a musician turns it into one.
2. Errors are not shameful: Musicians who confuse errors with failures often harbor shame. Not only do they view slips as disasters but also conclude that their missed notes prove that they're untalented. Of course, mistakes aren't fun. We might even feel guilty if our blunder alters a special moment in show. But there's a world of difference between guilt and shame.
It's human nature for us to feel guilty if, for example, we accidentally damage a friend's instrument. People who feel shame, though, believe that their mistakes indicate that they are inferior. When musicians perceive errors as shameful they also wrestle with stage fright because if on-stage slips seem catastrophic, their possibility triggers fear.
In truth, every musician, no matter how gifted, makes errors on stage. As we build up our abilities, we make fewer and smaller errors, and we mask them more gracefully. Nonetheless, our errors alert us to things we need to learn, so if we treat them positively, they can actually aid our development.
3. Errors are information: When we rid ourselves of any negative emotional baggage associated with errors, we can then see them for what they are: information. Errors don't come with emotional strings unless we strap them on.
Memory slip? Enjoy ad-libbing through it, and then explore the possible causes in practice. If you discover a flaw in your memorization procedures, modify your learning habits accordingly, and your on-stage security and artistic power will grow.
In sum: Instead of running out screaming the next time you miss a note, think of it as a learning experience, keep calm and keep on going.
TakeLessons is inviting students and teachers to weigh in on the topic. Check out the TakeLessons blog, where readers can also learn how to have increased confidence on stage, and join in on the discussion on the TakeLessons Facebook page (http://facebook.com/takelessons).
About TakeLessons
Headquartered in San Diego, CA, TakeLessons is America's full-service music and voice lessons provider. With private lessons taught by TakeLessons Certified™ instructors in cities nationwide, students of all ages can start living their dreams through music. Founded in 2006 to help people discover their creativity and pursue their passions, TakeLessons also offers turnkey music programs for schools and community centers.
Jon Crim
TakeLessons
877-231-8505
http://takelessons.com
PR Courtesy of Online PR Media: http://bit.ly/smwpHm
/EINPresswire.com/ San Diego, CA - To many first-time musicians, the first performance can be nerve-wracking. The risk of making a mistake can drive some to steer clear of the stage. TakeLessons (http://takelessons.com), the nation's fastest growing music lesson provider, hopes to dissolve the fear from students' minds with their recent blog post. After all, even successful musicians like Coldplay have no doubt made a mistake or two at some point in their career.
By providing a large teacher roster for several types of music lessons, TakeLessons has been helping students nationwide reach their musical goals. For many, this involves overcoming feelings of stage-fright.
The following is an excerpt of pointers for students about making mistakes, courtesy of Gerald Klickstein from The Musician's Way Blog:
1. Errors are not failures: An on-stage mistake resembles a stutter: it doesn't bar listeners from hearing and feeling the larger phrase. When we miss a note or drift off pitch, if we keep up the musical intensity, listeners will stay immersed in the music and don't notice the flub. Even when bigger mishaps occur - say, a singer misses an entrance or has a sizable memory slip - we can still keep the mood alive.
Failures, in contrast, result in lasting loss: a driver who causes a fatal car crash fails as a driver and citizen. Just remember: an on-stage error can't become a failure unless a musician turns it into one.
2. Errors are not shameful: Musicians who confuse errors with failures often harbor shame. Not only do they view slips as disasters but also conclude that their missed notes prove that they're untalented. Of course, mistakes aren't fun. We might even feel guilty if our blunder alters a special moment in show. But there's a world of difference between guilt and shame.
It's human nature for us to feel guilty if, for example, we accidentally damage a friend's instrument. People who feel shame, though, believe that their mistakes indicate that they are inferior. When musicians perceive errors as shameful they also wrestle with stage fright because if on-stage slips seem catastrophic, their possibility triggers fear.
In truth, every musician, no matter how gifted, makes errors on stage. As we build up our abilities, we make fewer and smaller errors, and we mask them more gracefully. Nonetheless, our errors alert us to things we need to learn, so if we treat them positively, they can actually aid our development.
3. Errors are information: When we rid ourselves of any negative emotional baggage associated with errors, we can then see them for what they are: information. Errors don't come with emotional strings unless we strap them on.
Memory slip? Enjoy ad-libbing through it, and then explore the possible causes in practice. If you discover a flaw in your memorization procedures, modify your learning habits accordingly, and your on-stage security and artistic power will grow.
In sum: Instead of running out screaming the next time you miss a note, think of it as a learning experience, keep calm and keep on going.
TakeLessons is inviting students and teachers to weigh in on the topic. Check out the TakeLessons blog, where readers can also learn how to have increased confidence on stage, and join in on the discussion on the TakeLessons Facebook page (http://facebook.com/takelessons).
About TakeLessons
Headquartered in San Diego, CA, TakeLessons is America's full-service music and voice lessons provider. With private lessons taught by TakeLessons Certified™ instructors in cities nationwide, students of all ages can start living their dreams through music. Founded in 2006 to help people discover their creativity and pursue their passions, TakeLessons also offers turnkey music programs for schools and community centers.
Jon Crim
TakeLessons
877-231-8505
http://takelessons.com
PR Courtesy of Online PR Media: http://bit.ly/smwpHm
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