VOCAL PERFORMANCE ANXIETY: LEARN TO SURF THE WAVE! (Green Bay, WI) Vocal Mechanics Singing Lessons!!
We are normally led to feel that being "nervous" is something awful. For sure, the greater part of the counsel I've ever heard has been towards lessening anxiety. For many years, I have attempted all I could to discard the unpleasant feelings connected with performance anxiety. I took a shot at drinking chamomile tea, EFT Tapping, glass of wine, exercising frequently, use of anti-anxiety supplements, and I also tried to persuade myself that how I performed does not really make a difference. Obviously, none of this, lessen the anxiety or render much assistance that will make me feel better. Now I realized that the anxiety itself is not the issue. The issue is that many of us have never figured out how to utilize adrenaline to our benefit. By calming ourselves and telling our students to "only relax," we are not doing ourselves any good by discreetly affirming that the anxiety we feel is awful and must be feared. I presently figured out how to accept the surge of adrenaline and to utilize that vitality to control my performance and to perform with more flexibility, belief, and certainty than I at any point conceivable. The central issue, obviously, is how you would change anxiety from a liability to something beneficial? Before we discuss this, we initially need to see a few rudiments about what happens to our psyche under anxiety.
Left Brain versus Right Brain
Our brains can be considered to be comprised of two fundamental regions – the left side of the hemisphere and the right side of the hemisphere. In fact, it is a broad view of the massive intricacy of our brain to suggest that the left and right hemisphere are totally free of each other, yet this is an exceptionally supportive model with regards to understanding optimum mental states for performance. Left mind reasoning is related to words, numbers, rationale, analysis, criticism, rules, points of interest, arranging, and judgment. On the other hand, right brain reasoning is related to sounds, images, patterns, sensory input or kinesthetic, feelings, the big picture, free relationship, and creativeness. In view of this information, which method of reasoning appears to be most helpful for efficient performance? Yeah, the left brain! Presently, it appears to be most convenient for dynamic, enlivened, and creative performance? Right cerebrum, precisely! Regrettably, we regularly do the opposite. In the practice room, we tend to practice to some degree thoughtlessly, just going through the sections again and again until they sound better, making adjustments, yet doing it instinctively. In any case, when we mount the stage, we have a tendency to get overflowed by left brain over-analytical reasoning, extreme planning, criticism et cetera, which only brings about pre-occupation with practical details and a failure to perform as uninhibitedly and habitually as we can. Have you heard the phrase "paralysis by analysis?" This is precisely what happens when we become aware that every of our move and sound is under examination by others. The inverse of this incapacitated state is frequently called "flow" or "the zone," where all things appear to "fix" properly into place and our playing is trouble-free, simple, and effortless.
How are we going to make the move from left brain thinking to right brain thinking and enter "the zone?" One extremely powerful device is called Centering.
Centering
Focusing is called a pre-performance routine by sports therapists. It was invented in the 1970's by the eminent sports psychologist Dr. Robert Nideffer, and adjusted for performing athletes by Olympic sports psychologist Dr. Wear Greene. Centering is a profoundly efficient way for (a) controlling your nerves efficiently and (b) coordinating your concentration even in extraordinary conditions. Once it is mastered, it becomes very fast and exceptionally efficient, and will guarantee that you start every performance with a blast (positively)!
There are seven stages, each stage is particularly intended to draw you continuously nearer to right brain calm, focus, and balance, and move you far away from left brain fears, uncertainties, and self-critique.
Stage 1: Choose Your Centre Point
Choose a fixed point from a distance, some place that feels convenient. It’s possible for the point to be on your stand, the ground right before you, or on the back line of the hall, however wherever it is, make sure that your center point is beneath eye level. A focal point assists you in reducing distractions and keep away from the temptation to participate in left-brain reasoning.
Stage 2: Create Your Unambiguous Intention
An unambiguous intention is basically, a distinctive objective statement. What you plan to do when you are out in front of the audience? How precisely do you plan to sound? What exactly do you want to speak to the audience about?
Make use of assertive, decisive language, for example, "I will perform excellently, with passion and clear unique difference," instead of "I plan to play well."
Don’t make use of the word "don't". using this word will just put the negative image in your mind and create fears and uncertainty. For example, when you say "Don't miss the high note", what's the principal picture that pops into your head? Omitting the high note, isn't that so? What picture pops into your mind when you say to yourself "Nail the high note?" you must learn to concentrate on what you want, instead of what you don't need.
Stage 3: Inhale Consciously
Among the most powerful procedure for drawing back, the anxiety reaction includes figuring out how to inhale diaphragmatically. Whenever we are stressed, our bodies tend to return to shallow, fast chest inhaling. Doing this makes us be in flight or fight mode. Diaphragmatic breathing can be said to be the most biomechanically proficient approach to inhale, and moreover, is helpful for initiating what's known as the parasympathetic sensory system reaction which is the body's antitoxin for the flight or fight condition.
Stage 4: Scan and Discharge Excess Anxiety
One of the adverse outcomes of performance stress is muscle pressure. If your reasoning turns out to be more negative, your muscles will have the tendency to get tighter and less superficial. It’s not just a muscle but an extraordinary muscle, but rather frequently the ones that you must have control over!
Filter your muscles from head to toe as you keep on breathing gradually and profoundly, a group of muscles at once, discharging anxiety on breathing out. In the event that you have a more intense responsiveness to muscle pressure even in the practice room, and can control the level of anxiety you experience in your performance, you will be capable of withholding quite a bit of this capacity amid a performance and you will be very much in control.
Stage 5: Detect Your Center
Do you know about the martial art idea of ki or chi? In Eastern way of life, chi is portrayed just like one's "life force" or strength. There is a particular area in our body where the vitality has a tendency to assemble, which is basically our focal point of gravity. On the off chance that you have ever perceived the activities of an incredible martial arts master or also a few athletes or artists, you will see elegance, presence, and balance in them irrespective of their size or physical sizes. The feeling of being focused is not just about being calm and reassuring, but the act of just looking for your center will quieten your left brain performance.
Stage 6: Restate Your Process Cue
There is a possibility of focusing on minute details when you are stressed. This might be exceptionally necessary for the practice room, yet can be deadened while on stage. The way out is to concentrate on a right-brain procedure cue, fundamentally, a cue of what it sounds feels, or looks like to generate the precise sounds you need. There are two conceivable approaches to doing this. One, you could come up with and test words that fit the sound/feeling/pictures of creating the delightful sound, clean expression, or strong pitch that you wish to generate. For instance, words are smooth bowing, even moves, liquid, strong, light fingers, cool, or simple. The word is not vital, but rather the ensuing mental sound/feeling/picture of performing precisely the way you need to is the key. Hence, the second approach to carrying out Step 6 is to abstain from making use of words in all and barely hear, sense, or see yourself acting precisely as you desire.
Stage 7: Direct Your Energy
By the time you get to this stage, you would have made a turnaround move into a very discreet and centered mental state comfortable for playing out your best. You would have removed the edge from your nerves, and in this last stage, you will network the rest of the energy into a unique and motivated performance. This is the means by which you make use of the energy rather than attempting to dispose of it.
You can figure out how to utilize it, channel it into your activities, and take your playing to a brand new level
Working on Centering
When you initially attempt to Center, it might take a few minutes to finish all the stages. In the event that you rehearse this for 10-15 minutes daily, be that as it may, and stay with it, you will start to see a distinction within 14 days and discover that you can center in 5-10 seconds. Some notice a distinction within days. The key to achieving this is consistency and diligence. A lot of people, if not all, can share these components with their youngest students regardless of whether they get anxious before performance or not. Not as a way to lessen anxiety, rather as an approach to enhance center and clearness of melodic intentions. A great aspect of Centering can be of enormous use during training sessions, to guarantee that one stays focused on the work that needs to be done (rather than strengthening negative behavior patterns through thoughtless reiteration). With small time and practice, I can assure you that Centering will transform your way of dealing with performing and rehearsing similarly as it did for me and the numerous others who have taken in this procedure.
