Dear readers from all over the world, 

First I want to thank you for reading my articles. I`m very happy to see that you are interested in my topics and I would be more happy to know that at some point they were useful to you.

Please, don`t hesitate to write me about you, your ideas, opinions and experience as teachers or performance artists. Last but not least, write about the subjects that present interest to you and you would like to find more about. Your feedback will help me write new articles which will meet your interests.

Leave a comment or send an email to: 

arta.performantei@gmail.com  

I wish you a wonderful day

Lidia Marina

                                                     Goal Setting                     

The short-term goals are ones that you will achieve in the near future: one day, a week or a few months. It helps us to stay focused on the smaller steps and to think about what we can do right away. Clear, specific goals are more effective than general ones. For example : "In one week I`ll play the piece in tempo, without mistakes and in 2 months I`ll learn the concerto." Having realistic short-term goals for each week or month is the best way to reach your long-term dream.

The long-term goals are ones that you will achieve over a longer period of time: one, five or ten years. We often have trouble staying focused and maintaining a positive attitude toward reaching these goals. A decade is a significant amount of time. Try to see yourself ten years from now on. Make up specific details. Create an imaginary performance, filling in the location, the size of the audience, the repertoire, the challenges. As a teacher imagine the type of institution, the level of students and the results you`ll achieve. In all this process is important to be open to the possibility of revising your goals.

Don`t worry about making the perfect decision. Set up goals that are exciting, motivating and feels like a real challenge for you!

Dear readers, here is a very good article about elite-performance written by Christine L. Carter: 

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/raising-happiness/201308/new-theory-elite-performance-0 

                                        Stage Presence, Part II

               

The beginning and the end of a piece are the most difficult parts of any performance. Take care about SILENCE. The stillness is part of your musical communication.

Start with a single abdominal breath. Try to hear the music and perceive the tactile sensation to produce it. Adrenaline can distort your rhythmic sense and cause you to start a faster tempo than you intend. As you continue to breath silently, empty your mind and deeply absorb the mood and the tempo. Play each sound from your heart, because the quality of your tone will have an immediate impact on listeners. 

As a conclusion, don`t forget to capture the mood, style and tempo. 

When you arrive at your last note, let it ringing out and then stop the sound with a decisive stroke. Wait until the music dissolves and listen to the silence. Just as you began with stillness, you return to stillness.

Reference: Gerald Klickstein- The Musician`s Way

Stage Presence, Part I

Some musicians have a natural charisma that translates immediately to their stage presence. The truth is, that for the majority of us things don`t come so easily. Being aware of the importance of this aspect, I decided to write some tips for improving the stage presence:

Attire

The combination of your attire, posture and gestures communicate your personality.

What you wear needs to be appropriate for the performance event and occasion. Your stage attire is ideal when fits you comfortably, shows well even from the back of the hall and makes you feel confident. 

Bowing

A bow is equivalent of a handshake and a greeting  when you meet someone new.

Not all bows are equal. When you enter, broaden your shoulders, breath normally and offer a warm facial expression to the audience. The bow can be less deep and held for a shorter duration. At the end of the concert, walk straight to center stage, with your head and chin up. Turn to audience and make eye contact, not fixing on any individual, but catching eyes and smile. A deeper bow demonstrates your appreciation.

Use a mirror or a video camera during the practice session. This will help you to refine your bow.

Body language

During the performance, the body language can be positive, neutral, distracting or negative. 

Be aware of your posture and to the facial expression. Try to avoid grimaces and move naturally with the music. Neither rigidity nor exaggerated movements look attractive.

                     

 

The First Teacher 

Reading the article of Robert H. Woody, I saw a statement that suddenly caught my attention:

"Exceptional musicians tend to remember their first teacher as being friendly, relaxed and encouraging".

Later he explains that we need also a subsequent teacher, more exigent because just a "warmth" dimension it seems to be not enough in our musical growth.

How do you remember your first teacher?

When we are teaching the youngest children, the most important thing is to provide them positive feelings about music. This should be our first priority. Why? Because a child`s earliest musical moments can have consequences that facilitate or inhibit further musical involvement for a lifetime.

Other important aspect is to teach the young children how to practice. Deliberate practice is the greatest contributor in acquiring music performance skills. It enables musicians to improve their skills more quickly and motivate them to continue working on their musical growth. It`s our responsibility to teach the young children how to practice efficiently and than to remind them to do it whenever is necessary. 

Some suggestions about efficient practice you can read in one of my past articles.

In conclusion, I would like YOUR ANSWER to this question:

Are you friendly, warm and encouraging with your students?

                                    

                                    

 MEMORY SLIPS 

" No one is ever completely free of the fear of memory slips. Every performer, no matter how accomplished or how experienced, has had to deal with a memory slip at some point."  Stewart Gordon

Memorization seems particularly vulnerable when we are anxious or worried, because it has difficulty focusing clearly and recalling the patterns it needs. 
When you have a memory slip, don`t stop! The best choice is to improvise in the style of the piece until the "next" start-up point. 

The memory has to be exercised and developed on a regular basis to function at a high level during performance. Here are some strategies:

1. First analyze the musical structure 
What`s the overall form? Where do phrases begin and end? Is there repetition even with small variation? Do you detect rhythmic, harmonic or melodic patterns?

2. Start with a plan
Break the material down into small units that seem easy. After ingraining segments A and B individually, execute A-B once. Next, ingrain segments C and D. Run C-D and then execute A-B-C-D. 

3. Avoid trying to take in too much at once
Our brain can store only a finite amount at a time. For this reason we should have a balance between work and rest.

4. Do mental rehearsals
Perform the entire piece as well as selected sections from different areas of a piece. Play in a slow, moderate and final tempo. 

5. Use multiple memory types

Aural memory- remember how the music sounds.
Visual/Photographic memory- remember the score and see it in your head when you are playing.
Tactile/Muscle memory- your hands and fingers "know" the music.
Conceptual memory- remember the structure of music.