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today’s mic drop moment is brought to you by the easter bunny! 🐰 ☼ ⋆｡˚

performing is not like practice. recital day is an entirely different set of circumstances that you need to prepare yourself for! here’s a roadmap to beating performance anxiety and playing your best when it counts:

- months before the concert: practice your repertoire SLOW at first and in small pieces to perfect the details and build your muscle memory! 𖦹·ꕤ.ﾟstart with a 1-2 measure section of your piece and play it 3 times perfect in a row; if you make a mistake, fix it and restart the count. then combine those small sections into gradually bigger ones until you can play the entire piece accurately and smoothly! additionally, give yourself “checkpoints” throughout the piece: make note of specific things that you must accomplish to execute it well (eg. “i need to crescendo here, i need to stretch my finger there”) to keep yourself present and engaged in the music as you perform.

- weeks before the concert: ask a friend to sit in and listen to you play, or put together a mini concert for your family! ♡︎｡⋆ ✽˚ this will allow you to rehearse your performance (what you will wear, how you will enter and carry yourself, etc.) and experience nerves before the big day so that you can practice dealing with them.

- day of the concert: breathe! 🌬️ sometimes when we are nervous, playing fast, or focusing hard we forget this most basic need. breathing brings clarity and relaxation and will center you when you’re nervous. also—enjoy the experience! remember that you’re doing this for fun. ☺︎︎⋆ rather than stress about messing up the little details as you play, lose yourself in the music and the beauty of it. focus on translating the notes (and words if you’re a singer) into emotion—get the audience to feel something! ｡♡︎˚｡⋆