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Home is where the Performance is!

March 1st, 2016 by Katherine Moller

“It sounded so much better at home!” How many times have you said that to your teacher?  Trust me, we all have!  I know that I had that thought many times!  So why does this happen?  There are three reasons:

Violin Class

  1. Environment – At home you are in your own comfort zone.  At your lesson, you are no longer in that zone.
  2. Performance Anxiety – Even just going to a lesson you will experience some performance anxiety.  I have had students comment on the fact that I am not intimidating at all as a person, but they are still really nervous at their lessons.  We all have that desire to please our teachers and show them our best; even if our teacher is not putting pressure on us, we continue to put pressure on ourselves.
  3. Comparison – You compare your last run through at home to your first run through at your lesson. This is the big one!  We are comparing our best run through at home (possibly after working on the piece for 15 minutes that particular day) to our first run through for our teacher.  Even if you warm up before your lesson, it is not the same as spending a period of time working on a passage.  You really need to compare the first run through at home to what you are able to present to your teacher.    Keep this in mind as you practice.  The goal is to have the first run through Performance-ready”, not to be able to play the passage properly after several tries.

 

So, don’t beat yourself up if your lesson does not go as well as practicing at home.  Keep working on your material, and work toward having your first run through being as good as you want it to sound in your lesson. Having your first run through Performance-ready.

Happy practicing!

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''Celtic fiddle with a classical twist:
the heart and soul of a fiddler, the artistry and finesse of a classical violinist.''