Reply To: How can I keep my nerves in check during an exam?

[Noa Kageyama]

With 2 days to go, there are a couple things I’d recommend.

1. Centering “lite”

The most important parts of centering at this stage of the game are to

be able to hear exactly what you want the opening to sound like in your head (listen as hard as you can to that – pay no mind to other thoughts that might try to pry their way into your thoughts)
take a couple easy belly breaths, feel the tension in your key muscles just relax out with each exhale
recall what it feels like when you are playing effortlessly, completely trusting your body to do what it’s already been programmed to do
and then go for it

Practice going through these steps away from your instrument, then with your instrument. The order isn’t so important, just make sure you can hear what you want, and release tension, and trust yourself. Practice the opening 2-3 lines of each piece 5-7 times with this centering routine with a recording device handy. You can listen back later and see how you did. It may sound great from the get-go, or maybe not, but by the 7th repetition or so, it’ll likely be more consistent and feel different – like you’re more focused somehow.

2. Non-judgmental playing

Practice playing through sections of your repertoire where you are not allowed to analyze, criticize, or micromanage any of the details. What should you think about instead?

Just sing in your head. Hear exactly what you want to hear coming out of your harp, and trust that if you let go, your hands and arms will produce this for you.

This sounds goofy, but has helped for a lot of folks: Imagine you are performing for an audience of deaf psychics. Meaning, they can’t hear a sound coming out of your harp, but can hear everything going on in your head. So if you’re talking to yourself, analyzing things, worrying about an upcoming section, this is what they “hear”. If, on the other hand, you imagine exactly what you want to sound like in your head, and keep that going, this is what they hear instead.

3. Get your sleep

Drink fluids, eat sensibly, get some fresh air, don’t practice too much, and get enough rest. All things we know, but it does make a difference.

Let me know how it goes – good luck!