Students always feel worried about losing too many marks in their exams. And when it is a piano exam, then the scene might be different. Though feel anxious maybe a little different but the nerves can take over the final weeks of the preparation. So, it is very much important to get rid of the nerves before you plan for the piano exam.
There might come times when you are worried about if you are going to perform well in any exam or not. Or there might come a time when you might not be feeling right of performing best in the exam, then at that time, you need to make sure you are feeling good and does not let your nerves overcome your fear. For that, you might need to take certain tips and tricks into consideration, which might be helpful for you.
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Jitters Are Your Number One Enemy
Many people worry that they will be ridiculed if they make an error in front of a crowd or that they will have to perform before a class. It’s normal to feel anxious before a performance since your body is trying to help you perform at your best. In situations like these, your body creates “stress hormones,” such as adrenaline, which can actually aid in concentration.
These hormones, however, give a person that “red alert” feeling, which makes you feel nauseous or cold, get fluttering in your tummy, or feel like you can’t think clearly when worry and tension over performance become excessive.
Maybe these tips will help you overcome the performance jitters:
- Get ready: If you’re well-prepared, you’re unlikely to freeze up. Practice as frequently as you can, whether by yourself or in front of others. Until you are at ease and prepared, practise. The assurance that comes from knowing that you are prepared is the best way to soothe anxiety.
- Energize yourself: Instead of obsessing on potential problems, boost your positive attitude. A football team should be observed before entering the pitch. To raise their spirits and foster a sense of unity, they gather as a team and pray or chant a team song. You can accomplish this whether you’re giving a solo or ensemble performance. Ask a friend to motivate you. Also give one to yourself. Say to yourself, “I can do this.” “This is going to be so fun!” or “I’m prepared to do this – here goes!”
- Learn how to relax: young performers, discuss how crucial it is to get ready for both the performance-related nerves and the performance itself. There may be a long wait until your chance to perform at some competitions. Some folks study yoga and breathing exercises, bring motivational pictures, or create a relaxing soundtrack to help them unwind. Although some people need to be calm and motionless to unwind, others need to be active. Make a strategy to apply the technique you discover works best for you prior to a performance.
- Do not be alarmed by your nervousness: Remain calm when you get performance jitters! Don’t allow the sensation to intimidate or deter you. Simply allow it to exist. Remind yourself that it’s normal and that your nervous system is only preparing to get you ready and moving. Recognize that it is indeed up to you to handle it well. Use your relaxing techniques and uplifting affirmations to achieve this. then take action!
- Take care of yourself: When it comes to major performances, it might be easy to neglect your needs as you focus too much on practising and rehearsing. If you get adequate sleep and eat a good meal before your performance, you’ll feel and look your finest. Along with rest and nutrition, exercise is a great strategy to prevent those stress levels from getting out of control and can make you feel better.
How Much Practice Is Considered Over- Practice?
By not taking any pauses, practising for extended periods of time will quickly have decreasing returns. After 20 to 30 minutes of practice, your brain needs to have some time to reset and assimilate what you’ve learnt. A quick 5-minute break is sufficient but unavoidable. For the same reason, studying for four hours straight without taking breaks frequently produces worse results than studying for three sessions of 20 minutes each.
Without any specific objectives for your practice session, you’ll be much more likely to aimlessly play around, which will produce very little in the way of outcomes. You need to have an idea of what you intend to work on for the next 20 to 30 minutes before you sit down. Set a timer, focus intensely for that amount of time, and then push yourself to take a break. Take notes on what went well and what could have gone better, then use those observations to your subsequent session.
Over-practicing is defined as practicing till pain is felt if your performance is poor. People frequently push through because they mistakenly believe that suffering must signify advancement. If you do this too frequently, you risk suffering some terrible wounds. However, even if all of your practice was successful and efficient, you would still feel exhausted after four hours. If you want to truly profit from your lengthy practice sessions, you’ll need a lot of mental endurance, which you may develop the more you practice. Be aware that developing negative habits is a very real possibility if you continue when feeling weary. At such times, it is preferable to end the day.
Everyday Activities, Exercises And Meditation Helps Concentration
Suddenly, as you are performing a piece you have done countless times, you discover you have no clue where you are within the score. Alternately, you can make a mistake and, frustrated, become fixated on it, making a string of errors as the music progresses. Alternately, you may become disassociated from the music as a result of outside noise, inner turmoil, or unplanned interruptions. The root of each of these unpleasant moments, regardless of how it shows, is a failure to concentrate.
Everybody has a unique circadian rhythm, and it is up to us to be aware of when our energy is at its peak and when it begins to wane. Try to practise while you’re at your most energetic. You’ll do a lot more, and maintaining focus will be simpler.
People find it very challenging to concentrate on anything for longer than an hour at a time. Maybe practise for 50 minutes, then take a short break to eat something or sip some tea or just sit and gaze out the window for a while before returning to the piano.
For entertainment, not information, read extensively. Play a recording without interrupting it. take up photography or painting. Get lost in a stunning scene. Prepare a good, leisurely lunch. In other words, slow down, focus, and cherish every moment. The ability to focus is the same whether you’re listening to music or reading a good book.
We reside in a world of digital distractions. However, piano playing is an analogue pastime, and the greatest parts in an analogue environment require patience and focus. Improved focus leads to fuller lives as well as greater musicianship by regaining our time, embracing the power of stillness, and engaging with our own weaknesses and strengths.
Organize All Your Piano Notes
- Maintaining a binder just for your music today is a terrific idea. That way, you can simply add more music on it as needed and carry your song with you wherever you go. Use a folder with pockets to keep copies of your headshot and resume in a handy location.
- If necessary, create natural separators inside each binder using colored construction paper, or group them by artist using post-it tabs (alphabetically). As a specialized space for storing and organizing sheet music, use a separate shelf or cabinet.
- When you don’t have enough time to refile sheet music in its proper location, have an empty organizer or file box handy to serve as a catch-all.
- To prevent losing or misplacing your binder, write your name and public contact information inside.
- If you don’t have the rack or cabinet space, freestanding magazine racks are a terrific alternative for binder organizers. Additionally, they can store additional accessories like your tuner or metronome for easy access.
- Your music should ideally be flat. To prevent the pages from curling, place the binders (and organizers) horizontally.
- It is much simpler for you to locate and use each piece of sheet music when it is organized, which also helps to safeguard and preserve your collection.
Here go few tips be like:
How to Get Rid of Nerves Before Your Piano Exam
1. Preparation is the best
When it comes to performing live before anyone, it is always said that knowing your audience is a good choice. Make sure you are well prepared before going to the stage. Being underprepared and then worrying about your performance, might cause an issue.
Practicing and practicing is the only option. If you can play your pieces, in a well-planned manner, means you have prepared and planned well. It’s ok making some mistakes since it doesn’t cost must. Even, if you stop in the middle of the performance, then also, do not worry. Just make sure you don’t lose your confidence and rock the stage with all the knowledge you owe in the playing of the piano.
Must Read: How to Stay Motivated When Practicing the Piano?
2. Friends help
Friends are the ones who keep you laughing. Make sure you phone a friend when you feel like drawing. Social interactions always boost your energy and decrease stress. They make you forget about your feelings of sacredness and provide you with a sense of social stability and a sense of belongings. Friends always make sure to calm down your feelings and give you personal happiness.
3. Eat good food
Make sure you drink a lot of water and green vegetables plus fruits, as this will make you feel relaxed. One can have beans, fruits, berries, nuts, vegetables, and spices, to have a good amount of minerals and vitamins, which will help in releasing your stress hormones and makes you feel good.
Some of the good food includes red kidney, apples, sweet cherries, plums, strawberries, raspberries, walnuts, pecans, kale, spinach, beets, turmeric, gingers, etc. Don’t forget to drink a lot of water to make you feel more relaxed.
4. Don’t over practice
Over practicing always shatter your confidence. Make sure you don’t over the practice as this way you can make even more mistakes, which must not be made. Practice the set for some time and then leave in between, since it might not be the correct way to do so.
Once you take your two or three maximum sessions then do not touch the piano again and relax. If you still want to practice, then do some hand movements and fingering, and this way, you can enjoy while waiting for your turn.
5. Exercise.
Exercise produces endorphins, which are the calm inducers, which are helpful in ultimately providing the coolness in the body, which ultimately leads to the benefit of producing happiness hormones in the body. Exercising in the outdoor places can recital the piano and boost the serenity.
6. Study
Make sure you already are aware of the format and the expectations set for the exam. Make a schedule and take good notes. Make sure you are honest and make sure you are always true to yourself. Do practice but don’t over study.
Read: 7 Tips on Maximizing Efficiency in Your Piano Practice
7. Smile.
Always smile, no matter what piano tune you are playing. No matter if your heart is racing or if you are facing anxiety. Smiles always help in reducing stress and depression. It is a proven fact that laughter will reduce the symptoms of depression and makes a person feels lively again.
8. Declare to yourself that you will be the best
Once you realize the fact that you are awesome, you will go to succeed. Always when in doubt, tell yourself you can do it and you will do it for sure. Making mistakes is very common but learning from them is something which you cannot avoid. Always make sure that your own words are very impactful in your own life and in creating your future, rather than anyone’s else words about you.
9. Take a bath before the performance
Enjoying a warm bath before the performance, may lighten up your exam and reduces the daily burden of life. If someone wants to reduce the anxiety one is having, then one can add salt to the bath. Epsom salt works better. Salt boosts the feeling of calmness and relaxation.
Bathing with salt also reduces the stress and the anxiety level of a human being, making it more relaxed. If still, the anxiety persists, then one can have the aromatherapy sessions as well.
10. Tune in with steps
Music lowers the blood group and reduces the stress hormones. Make sure you always dance with the tune rather than wasting your time deciding the tune. No matter what tune will be there, make sure to let them resonate with the piano tunes you owe so that you can enjoy them on your performance.
Don’t get nervous. Make sure you are taking the right step and do not let the fear of ruining your performance affect you. Always make sure you are confident enough to overcome your needs and make sure, you rock the stage.
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. Who do pianists organize their music sheets?
Start organizing your sheet music by grabbing your binders and sheet protectors. Two sheets should be put inside each protector so you can flip the pages easily when reading. You might arrange them according to the artist, the instruments, or the genre. Make sure you adopt a strategy that will be simple for you to understand whether you want to save all of your music in one binder or all of your scales in another. You can identify the music binder by using your markers.
2. How to gather and sort the music?
According to how much music you have or how much time you have to devote to organization, this could take some time. The idea is to rank each music piece in accordance with its significance. Do I truly want to keep this, ask yourself? Could I give it to the library or a beginner’s music class? Do I wish to have this item close at hand? These types of queries can assist you in getting rid of any musical notation that you just don’t need any more or in putting the pieces you treasure in an accessible position.
3. How to enhance the practice sessions?
According to studies, the most accomplished professional pianists focus their piano practice on the morning and evening hours, nearly always entering the “magical” state of flow. Since they can relax for the majority of the day thanks to having set practice periods, these professional pianists’ lives are quite laid back. By setting up a definite period of time each day for practice rather than dividing it up throughout the day, you can adopt the mindset of a good pianist.
4. How to shut down distractions?
Turn off all computer and mobile device notifications. Move the phone far away from the piano in fact—even if you don’t hear that seductive little ping, it’s too tempting to see notifications crop up. family members to refrain from interrupting you. If you can, close the door to your practice area. It’s time for you to enter the musical cocoon, where your only allegiances are to the notes and the musician who created them. After you’ve finished training, everybody and everything will be out there.
5. What are the side effects of over practicing?
The mental exhaustion you experience will be your ultimate limiting factor, and the more efficient your practice, the sooner you’ll reach that wall. Most people can aimlessly and blindly rehearse the same piece for an indefinite amount of time, but if you’re genuinely practising with focus, at regular intervals that is healthy. You are likely to discover that you reach the wall far more quickly.
