5 Benefits of Performing
Performing is cool. The big stage, the lights, all of those eyes one you….
As cool as it is to perform it can also be a crazy and stressful thing to do. What if you miss a note? What if you trip on your way to the stage? What if your mind goes blank? What if???
It’s easy to let our minds get carried away with terrible scenarios of what could happen. The trouble is these things often do happen, if not to us then to someone else we know. It’s no wonder we start to dread big events and performances.
Somehow along the way what started out as a wonderful way to share music became this stressful, dreaded THING in our life. Something we must do because people expect it of us, but not something we enjoy.
So how can we take that back? Is there any way we can start to enjoy sharing our music? Yes there is! And I will let you in on a couple of secrets that will give you more confidence to walk out on that stage, show the world what you are made of, and play your absolute best.
But first, why perform? Is it really worth all the time and effort we put into it?
What are the benefits?
There are many benefits that come from performing, both for music and for life in general, including:
1. Performing improves our public speaking abilities which in turn can help us lead a meeting or simply be confident to present an opinion to a group of people.
2. Performing builds poise and confidence when standing in front of an audience. It is a wonderful feeling to be yourself and feel relaxed in front of a crowd. Many of us will never really be relaxed our comfortable with this but it gets easier the more we do it.
“The idea of making a presentation in public is the No. 1 fear reported by people in the U.S.” – Paul L. Witt, PhD
3. You practice the ability to ‘think on your feet’. Performing is live and the unexpected can happen.
Performing is an adventure, and a heroic act, not least because of the amount of preparation that is required. It is the natural extension of our love of the instrument and its literature, and it is a huge privilege to share this with others. Nervousness is the price one pays for this privilege, and enduring it and turning it around into a positive experience, is an act of self-mastery, another fundamental life skill, which encourages self-dependence, and a total reliance on our inner resources. – The Cross-Eyed Pianist
4. Performances remind us that music is for sharing
5. Often there is an opportunity to hear others perform as well. This is very motivating and can inspire us to try new repertoire.
Still not convinced?
About a month ago my students played for the residents of Fairview Manor, a nursing home in Almonte. All of my students took their responsibility to provide a good concert seriously, practiced hard, and it showed. The residents loved it! You could tell by the way they smiled and sang along. And the kids could see it too. They were all proud of their performances and were asking me when we could do it again. We can list as many educational benefits as we like but in the end it comes down to how the audience feels and in turn how that makes us as performers feel.
But what if the last time was a bad experience? Check out 7 Tips for a Confident Performance for help in turning your performance around.
