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NickD
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Joined: 19 Jun 2005
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Location: Chicago (northern suburbs)
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cheiden
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Joined: 28 Sep 2004
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Location: Orange County, CA
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 Posted: Tue Aug 07, 2018 9:40 am Post subject: |
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Great post. Thanks for sharing your story. I used to suffer crippling stage fright including near blackouts. Though it's much better now I still consider myself a nervous player. And I still struggle to forgive myself when I screw up.
This is not an instrument for the faint of heart.
_________________
"I'm an engineer, which means I think I know a whole bunch of stuff I really don't."
Charles J Heiden/So Cal
Bach Strad 180ML43*/43 Bb/Yamaha 731 Flugel/Benge 1X C/Kanstul 920 Picc/Conn 80A Cornet
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vwag
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Joined: 17 Jul 2016
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Location: Denver, CO
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| Posted: Tue Aug 07, 2018 10:52 am Post subject: |
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| Good stuff, thanks. |
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deleted_user_02066fd
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Joined: 03 Apr 1996
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| Posted: Tue Aug 07, 2018 3:11 pm Post subject: |
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I have an acquaintance who is a French Horn player. Bachelors and Masters in performance from Julliard. Unbelievable chops and technique but he's been crippled by stage fright. It all but ruined his career as a performer. He ended up working in the computer industry. He had previously played for a living. He was a member of two major symphonies during his playing career. He continued to play locally and did some private teaching. Playing for a living was out of the question.
A few years back I went to a brass quintet performance that he was part of. He played flawlessly all night until he had an exposed solo. The performance was in a very small room and I was sitting very close. I could see his left eye begin to twitch as he was playing. Sure enough, he cracked 3-4 notes.
I've never encountered anyone who suffered from this as bad as he does. |
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blbaumgarn
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Joined: 26 Jul 2017
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| Posted: Tue Aug 07, 2018 10:51 pm Post subject: this week's blog on stage fright |
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Wow, what a good topic. I don't get it anymore because I just picked up the horn after years off and I enjoy just tooting on the thing. I remember in h.s. having a tough friday night football game and having to play in a select band saturday, all day. I wasn't awake and didn't audition well so my friend from a different school earned first chair. She was a friend from jr. high to high school so I didn't mind at all and she was beautiful. We made it through most of the morning practice and the director has us pull out an arrangement of "God of Our Fathers" with about 32 bars of trumpet solo to start the thing off. My friend looks at me and says, "I can't do this." So, after we talked a second and the director looked at us I raised my hand and he said "it is up to you then." Now, her state fright turned into mine. I was fine in rehearsals, but then we had time in between before giving a concert at night to think about it I was terrified. By the time we got to the piece at night I was near hyperventilation but when it started everything cleared out and it went very well. Funny, but in the a.m. rehearsal I pulled out the music and looked and had that quick thought, "wow, glad I don't have to do that solo, hey." I would never have reached that point in soloing that I was ever totally confident. It's a great topic and I thank you for reminding me.
_________________
"There are two sides to a trumpeter's personality,
there is one that lives to lay waste to woodwinds and strings, leaving them lie blue and lifeless along a swath of destruction that is a
trumpeter's fury-then there is the dark side!" Irving Bush |
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NickD
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Location: Chicago (northern suburbs)
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