BY LAURA BARTON
We would like to welcome Laura in her first blog as a CutCommon contributor.
I’m a violinist at the Australian National Academy of Music.
I’m also studying full-time towards a Master of Music Research degree extramurally at Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University. So my upcoming recital serves not only as one of ANAM’s public concerts, but also as an exam to be graded by Griffith.
Yes, it’s full on.
I am in the midst of the most draining period I have experienced during my studies so far. I am mentally and physically exhausted, with no respite in sight, and I am panicking a little. The only goal: survival. However, what concerns me even more is that I’m not even the busiest person here – not by a long shot. How do you all survive?
This is how I’m doing it.
Scheduling
We’ve had our schedules since the start of the year, so I always knew that this was going to be a stressful time. My teacher and I discussed my recital repertoire early on, and decided that the best way to learn it all was in instalments throughout the year.
We began with a couple of movements of Bach that I am only just starting to look at again after a six-month hiatus. By now, I’ve learnt all the notes (the many, many notes), even if it was a while ago. I can plug away at them on the down-low whenever I have a free moment – which segues nicely into my next point.
Managing injury
Injury. Every musician’s biggest fear: repetitive strain injury, carpal tunnel syndrome, muscle strain. I have a recurring minor injury where, if my posture’s not perfect and I play too much, I end up using the little muscles in my shoulder instead of the big ones – and then they all decide to just not move at all anymore. This means taking time off, which, right now, is just not an option. I have to ration my playing hours, and if we have a seven-hour rehearsal day then it doesn’t leave a lot of time for practice.
Warding off both physical and mental fatigue is a nightmare that can’t just be solved with coffee and paracetamol. The key: s l o w p r a c t i c e.
I start off my day with a cool hour of scales and studies, focusing on releasing tension in my body as well as achieving a sort of mental catharsis. In orchestral rehearsals, I make an effort to implement any technical aspects that I’m working on, and also try to make sure that I am as relaxed as possible to avoid strain because those hours can go by really slowly. But while maintaining facility and avoiding injury are super-important, there’s still one aspect of playing that can fall by the way-side. That is:
Actually playing solo repertoire
After a day of rehearsals, all I really want is to curl up in bed and binge Brooklyn Nine-Nine. But that’s not going to help me put on a good recital in two weeks. Being selective with what I practice is the only way. I choose spots that are notoriously tricky and only try to achieve one or two things every day. This may not sound like much, but if by the end of the day I know that I can now consistently nail this-or-that-four-bars no matter what, I’m calling that a success.
Looking ahead now, I will be doing low-intensity daily run-throughs for the week leading up to my recital. This is hopefully a relaxed experience, but will mean that I’m mentally and physically comfortable playing 50 minutes of music back-to-back, so that when it comes to recital day it feels almost normal.
The pre-performance routine
Everyone’s pre-performance routine is different; I like to have played every note in the concert before I get there, so that none of them surprise me. This is one of my weird ways of dealing with performance anxiety, but the thought that helps me with it the most is this: remember that everyone who comes to see you is there to support you; no one will come to watch because they want you to fail. I’ll be playing to a room full of my friends, who will cheer for me no matter what happens, and I find that thought very calming.
And, most importantly, at the end of the day, enjoy your performance. Because if you don’t love what you’re doing, why do it?
If you’d like to see how this all pans out, please come along to my ANAM Recital at 11am October 22 at the South Melbourne Town Hall to support me!
UPDATE: Due to unforeseen circumstances, ANAM Recitals on October 22 will take place at Federation Hall, Victorian College of the Arts.
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