[ARTS] Mental experience while performing

[Seiraku]

Any other performing artists here? My wife and I just performed yesterday for an opera singer showcase in our town. I played classical guitar and she sang. (Performed two of John Duarte’s Five Quiet Songs.) I have more experience performing jazz/pop music so I tend to get more nervous for classical guitar. Backstage I tried doing some insta-zazen and breathing. During our performance it was like I watched my body express nervousness. I saw my hand shaking a bit or felt my tense arms but at the same time didn’t feel so nervous inwardly. All in all I played it about 90% right I’d say, haha. I was able to step back and tell myself to breathe during the pieces which helped.

How do you all give the moment full attention when you have to perform? Could even be for a stressful presentation or something.

Gassho,
Seiraku
satlah

[Shinshi]

Hi Seiraku,

Not so much anymore but in my day I have been an Actor and a guitar player in bands. I have a couple of thoughts that may or may not be helpful.

One of the things my high school drama coach taught me is that, interestingly, your physiological underpinnings of emotions happen before you label them . His point was that the same physical state might end up being labeled "I am scared/nervous" by one person or "I am excited and ready to perform" by another. So I have always tried to label "nervousness" before preforming as me being psyched up and ready to go. One of his points was that you kind of need that sense of being keyed up and ready to do a great performance.

So for me, when I get butterflies, or even a bit of the shakes I see that as a good thing. I am ready to go. I have also been a competitive athlete and the same thing holds there. You want to feel some jitters as it means you are ready to go.

Another random thought. One of the most rewarding things one can experience in life is when your performance becomes transcendent. When it feels like the music is flowing through you - almost as if coming from someplace else. For me, the times that has happened has always been when I have committed fully to the performance. When I just let my concerns about messing up, forgetting my lines etc just go. You can't be attached to those kinds of ideas as it will pull you into your head. It produces secondary processing about how you are doing and, for me, that always pulls me out of my performance. My son is a good guitarist but he just can't let a "mistake" go. He will literally stop playing sometimes. He gets sticky in his head. But you have to commit completely to the song - even if that means playing something other than what you planned.

But if you do play something unplanned - you might label it a mistake - that is completely ok. There is no such thing as perfect. You just have to commit to the performance and then what manifests, manifests. It is all in the moment and doesn't need to be labeled or evaluated.

It is kind of like when we sit. A thought comes and we don't engage with it - we just let it go. Same thing with a "mistake" - we just let it pass on by - we stay fully committed to the song and the performance.

And that is my ramblings on this topic.

Sorry for babbling on.

Gassho, Shinshi
satlah

[Seiraku]

Thank you Shinshi for your response those points make a lot of sense, and I agree the feeling of excited/ready to go vs nervous is kind of one thing until you define it. Next time might try to think, now I’m amped, let’s go!

Gassho,
Seiraku
satlah

[Tairin]

Hi Seiraku

Interesting question you posed. I have performed music for 40+ years performing original and mostly unscripted music. I also worked as a software architect for 20ish years where my job was involved giving internal or external presentations at least weekly. You’d think that with all that practice I wouldn’t suffer any nervousness but the reality is that I am still nervous every single time. I’ve tried tricks etc to overcome that but in my more recent years I’ve just accepted that this is the way it is any in a sense leaned into it. It is a little like what Shinshi said…. Partly it is excitement too. I’ve learned to just accept the nervousness and enjoy the ride. Usually the performance is over too fast and I wish I could have played longer


Tairin
sat today and lah

[Seiraku]

Thank you Tairin and Guest for your thoughtful answers! I think from the start I'm labeling those heightened sensations as 'anxious', positioning it as something negative, and then trying to calm down. Just leaning into it instead could be helpful. I could also do with more practice on the instrument, for sure, and maybe I'll try exciting a little helpful nerves before practicing at home. It was great reading through those links you shared, Seido. Particularly the bell curve sweet spot when stress can be helpful. It also makes me think I should do some jumping jacks before my sedentary job tasks to work better!

Gassho,
Seiraku
Satlah

[Guest]

Thank you Tairin and Guest for your thoughtful answers! I think from the start I'm labeling those heightened sensations as 'anxious', positioning it as something negative, and then trying to calm down. Just leaning into it instead could be helpful. I could also do with more practice on the instrument, for sure, and maybe I'll try exciting a little helpful nerves before practicing at home. It was great reading through those links you shared, Seido. Particularly the bell curve sweet spot when stress can be helpful. It also makes me think I should do some jumping jacks before my sedentary job tasks to work better!

Gassho,
Seiraku
Satlah

I'm glad if at all helpful! We could probably all do with some jumping jacks before sedentary work...they release endorphins, which are our bodies' naturally producing opioids The human body is quirky and amazing.

Gassho
Sat today/Lah