Sam ER Chapter 13 Summary

Sam
Chapter 13 Summary- All performers at one time or another suffer from feelings of nervousness or anxiety before performances. Although stage fright itself can be a fairly universal problem for musicians  exactly how it manifests itself can be very different from one person to another. Regardless of what the effects of pre performance nerves are it is essentially impossible to overcome them by simply choosing to ignore them. If we try too hard to ignore the problems then they will just sneak up on us and show themselves at a very inopportune time like when we are performing, for example. If we try too hard to force ourselves to relax, though, we may actually make ourselves more nervous. The important thing to remember is that the adrenaline that causes us to be nervous is the same as the adrenaline that causes us to be excited about our performance. So, our only duty is to acknowledge the presence of nervousness and do what we can to eliminate the effects of it that will have a negative influence on our performance. We can do that by directly confronting the negative effects of our nerves. If our hands tend to shake, for example, we must try to make them shake even more. Doing so helps us realize that in the end we are in control and this realization helps us get rid of the shaking or of other nervous twitches that may have a negative effect on performance.
Key Concept- Stage fright can't be overcome simply by pretending it doesn't exist or by trying to force ourselves to relax. These tactics will only make things worse. The thing to do is to acknowledge and confront the problem by trying to make the effects of our nervousness increase. When we do so we realize that we have more control than we think.
Key Terms- Stage Fright
Making Connections- I need to remember the principles of this chapter next time I perform. I often have trouble with some of the things mentioned here. I don't think I've ever had a problem with pretending I'm not nervous or with trying too hard to relax, but I do get nervous and my hands shake along with other things, but I've never really known how to attack those problems. I need to try and make those problems more intense so I can take more control of the situation.