Concert Nerves

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Concert Nerves

In his book Random Reflections, the late English classical composer and pedagogue William Lovelock recalls an occasion where he was called upon to examine music candidates at a school.

In his book Random Reflections, the late English classical composer and pedagogue William Lovelock recalls an occasion where he was called upon to examine music candidates at a school. The children, he said, were all very nervous and played badly. In conversation afterwards with their teacher he discovered that she had been threatening them. “If you do that the examiner will be cross”.

Mr Lovelock was quick to put the blame in the right place. “The lady was horrified, not to say hurt, when I told her bluntly that she was the cause of the trouble. The children were terrified of her, so naturally they were terrified of me”.

A certain amount of nervousness in music examinations and concerts is probably inevitable. And while we may not be children, I think there would be a lot less nervousness at concerts if music directors and their assistants would behave responsibly.

Telling a nervous trumpet player to “Play that high C properly in the concert or you will shame the whole band and the entire school”, for example, can almost guarantee disaster.

Band directors should display an air of confidence

So what should a music director do? I believe that the most important thing is for him or her to project an air of confidence. Sometimes, this can be difficult, particularly if the director is struggling to control is own emotions. In August 2010, while waiting with my students outside the examination room in Medan (Indonesia), I overheard one of the band members say “Bang Bruce takut” (Bruce is nervous). By restlessly pacing up and down the room I had inadvertently communicated my anxiety to the very people I so desperately wanted to remain calm.

There are, of course, some very specific things a band director can do to give a band confidence ahead of a concert or competition. The following are the techniques I have developed over the years.

Express your confidence in the band

Regardless of anything he or she may have told the band about their weaknesses in the weeks leading up to the concert/examination/competition, the most important thing a band director can do on the eve of the performance is to express confidence in the ensemble. “I am proud of you” is a phrase I repeat in full honesty to BBJ before a major concert or critical public engagement. Used sparingly - and at critical moments - it can lift a band's spirits. Release the pressure. Make it clear that your faith in them stems from who they are and how hard they have practised rather than the quality of the upcoming performance.

It is OK to be nervous

Many players seem to think that nervousness is an unnatural or – at the very least – an undesirable emotion. Encourage them to embrace it instead. “It is OK to be nervous,” I tell them. “It can aid your concentration by reminding you of things”. Or “Pretend you are a famous actor and see how many people you can fool with your confident smile”.

The audience is on your side

Audiences all over the world feel uncomfortable watching someone make a major blunder in public. Explain to band members that - far from gleefully waiting for disaster – audience members actually want the performance to go well. This particularly so when band members are performing in front of relatives or friends.

Watch out for the symptoms and take remedial steps

Nervous musicians generally make the same sort of mistakes during performance. A wise band director will make his band aware of them so that the problems will be more easily recognised and corrected.

The most common problem is excess speed. “Watch the conductor” is a common and very necessary piece of advice. Another is “If you think the band is playing too slowly, think again. You may be playing too fast!”

Yet another is shallow breathing, leading to poor intonation and sloppy phrasing. Nervous band members need to make a conscious effort to breath deeply.

Excessive pressure on the mouthpiece. For clarinet players this can result if embarrassing squeaks. For brass players it can be even more deadly, resulting in poor endurance and a very thin tone.

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Many people believe that musicians are more moody and prone to suicide than other professionals, and that - as a result - a greater percentage of them end their lives in mental institutions or are fated to live emotionally tempestuous lives. Musicians are also commonly suspected of being over sensitive to criticism, having delusions of grandeur and other neurotic traits.

The statistics fail to bear this out, although it is possible to find enough examples to make the case in front of those unfamiliar with Western musical history. Like actors, politicians and others obliged to face the public on a regular basis, musicians probably have their fair share of emotional problems. However, such problems do not constitute evidence of neuroticism.

Musicians probably have their fair share of emotional problems.

Beethoven was known for his moodiness, but this was probably closely related to his growing frustration as he began to go deaf. Among the famous composers, only Schumann and MacDowell ended up in mental institutions. Musicians probably have no more suicidal impulses than the rest of the population. But should a prominent musician decide to take his life, it is likely to get a good deal of publicity.

Perhaps the most morbid suicide was planned by the pianist Alexander Kelberine, who arranged his last concert programme to consist only of works dealing with death. He then went home and took an overdose of sleeping pills. Schumann jumped into the Rhine, only to be rescued by a fisherman. Rezso Seress composed Gloomy Sunday, a work that was once banned in Europe because it triggered a wave of suicides by young people on Sundays. Seress himself committed suicide by jumping out of a window. The vast majority of musicians, however, die of causes that reflect the state of medical knowledge in the particular historical period in which they live.

Some musicians certainly had sad lives. Mozart, perhaps the greatest of the composers in the Classical Period of music, died a pauper. The pianist Chopin, a Polish nationalist and tormented lover, was terrified of large audiences. He died of tuberculosis when he was 39. Bizet, a French composer who died when he was 36, was beset by crises of self-confidence and emotional upheaval. Unlike Chopin, his works only achieved widespread recognition after his death.

Wagner had the emotional maturity of a spoilt child.

George Gershwin only had a short life, but it was a good one. He died of a brain tumor when he was 39 after a rags to riches story that made him one of the most well known composers of popular music in the United States.

Others lived long and had much success, despite treating others abominably, including many of their friends. Wagner considered himself a genius as a playwright, poet, stage director, and philosopher as well as a composer, and was not shy about letting others know it! Although not particularly handsome, his personal magnetism was such that he had numerous affairs, usually with married women, despite the fact that he was married himself. His biographers describe him as having the emotional maturity of a spoilt child, complete with tantrums if he could not get his way. He died at the age of 70, widely acclaimed as one of the greatest composers of his time.

The pianist Franz Liszt's dashing good looks enabled him to have numerous affairs with many woman. He died of pneumonia at the age of 75. Contrast this with the fate of Schubert, who was short, fat, bespectacled and naturally shy. He died of syphilis at the age of 31 after his friends encouraged him to visit a brothel. Those who knew him well described him as having a warm and friendly nature. Somehow, it doesn't sound fair.

The life of J.S. Bach must have been very boring.

The majority of musicians now and in the past lead fairly quiet lives. Edward Elgar, a largely self-taught musician, rose from humble origins to become the first English composer in 200 years to gain international acclaim. He had a stable marriage, and was regarded by many as a typical English gentleman. He died at the age of 77. Sergei Rachmaninov, the Russian composer, also had a good life despite being out of step with his country's politics and music. He died at the age of 70.

The life of J.S. Bach must have been the most boring of all. He spent almost his entire life in the same small region of Germany where he was born. And nobody took much notice of him either. It was not until about 80 years after his death that his works attracted the attention they deserved.

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Concert Nerves

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