It's been a few months since my first (and most recent) post on here. I haven't really gotten around to posting much on here, but here I am, almost 3 months later. Since I have a solo and ensemble competition today, that's my main focus for this post.
Recently I did UIL solo and ensemble for piano and violin (the one I have today is hosted by my school district.) Normally I do just UIL and not my school district's solo and ensemble, but I didn't get the rating I wanted last time, so I decided to do this one to have a chance to work on everything the judge commented on and see how well I do.
On 1/26/19, just over three months ago, I had the violin solo and ensemble. I played the first movement of the Bruch violin concerto in G minor, which I had been working on for months. (I'm playing the same piece today). Before it was my turn to play for the judge, I found out they were running really behind schedule. I was out there for like 4 years (realistically, more like 30-45 minutes), just waiting for my turn.
Finally, I went in the room with my accompanist. Here's the thing: I don't get nervous at concerts and performances, because it's not like I'm getting judged or rated, so if I mess up it's not like anything is going to happen. But when there's a judge involved, I do get a bit nervous because I'm literally getting ranked / scored by a professional, and if I mess up that could affect the results, so I feel more pressured. My symptoms aren't that bad (I'm glad I'm not one of those people who barfs when they get nervous), I just feel a bit shaky. But it does affect my playing.
That's what happened to me that day. I could tell I was shaky and tense, and though it didn't affect my playing that badly, it probably made me mess up on intonation or something on a few spots. I did try to make up for it by smiling throughout the performance.
The judge didn't say anything besides, "Thank you for playing" when I was done. I didn't know if that was a good thing or a bad thing. I didn't expect my critique sheet to be read aloud to me when I finished, but usually judges give me a little comment or two after I'm done.
I anxiously waited around for my score, which I hoped would be a 1. If I got a 1, that means I would be able to move on to the state level of the competition, like I have been able to for both piano and violin the past two years.
But this time, my score was a 2. A 2 really isn't a bad score, but the reason why I was upset about it was because it meant I couldn't go on to state. I realized my shakiness might have affected my playing, and also when I got my critique sheet back I saw that the judge was kind of nitpicky.
I knew I had the piano solo and ensemble coming up (which I hoped would save me so I could still go to state for piano), but I wanted another chance at violin. That's when on 1/28/19 (two days after the competition), I came up with this grand plan to participate in my school district's solo and ensemble competition. How did I not think of that before? I found out that the date of the competition was on 4/27/19 (that's today), and found out everything else I needed to know.
A month later, on 2/23/19, I had the piano competition. I played the first movement of Beethoven's Sonata No. 1. Long story short, I got the same score of 2.
So now, here I am. A matter of hours before having a second chance at getting a 1 for violin. This competition is not associated with state, meaning that even if I get a 1, I won't be able to go on, but I want to use this opportunity to see how much I've improved in 3 months.
Now I'm going to talk about what I've been doing to relax my nerves before this competition, and hopefully you can use some of my tips if you get audition anxiety.
One thing that has been really helping me is visualizing myself playing my piece in a more relaxing setting. I like to pretend I'm performing my solo on the beautiful, relaxing beaches of Bora Bora (a place I will hopefully go at least once in my lifetime) instead of in front of a judge. If I focus less on the judge and more on relaxing, it helps me feel less tense and shaky. I was even able to easily play octaves with vibrato when I did this in my lesson yesterday!
To help get in the mindset of visualizing myself in Bora Bora instead of an intimidating audition room, I find that putting on my headphones and watching a YouTube video of relaxing sounds and dights of Bora Bora, and then running through my piece, really helps. It helps to get a clear visual of ehat you're going to visualize so you can have a better idea of it in mind. It is also another way to divert yourself from focusing so much on the performance by giving you domethsom else to focus on.
Another thing that helps me is to allow myself to relax. Of course, it is important to warm up before playing so that your fingers are ready to move around. But it's not good to overdo it. This can cause you to get worn out. If you allow yourself to relax, it gives you a chance to feel relaxed and comfortable when you walk in that audition room.
Those are just a few tips on how to feel more relaxed at auditions. Please keep in mind that I am not a professional person to give advice like this. This is just what I have found from personal experience.
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