Anyway... specifically about my time with HLS. This week I had one specific goal in mind for our time together: leave HLS with a strong level of motivation and positive energy going into her first (ever!) rep class performance in exactly one week. My plan of attack (which I organized the afternoon before) was to review "rep class rules" and answer any of HLS's questions (how to find background information about her piece and what type of info is appropriate to share with the class, etc.), go through the piece she is performing (reminding her of what to practice and think about between now and then, but also not dwelling on tiny details that could cause unnecessary stress or worry in a first time performance), then practice feeling nervous and give strategies for dealing with that (run through the piece imaging everyone is there watching).
We mostly stuck with the plan. However, HLS had spent most of the week sick and she still sounded very sniffly and was having trouble taking deep breaths. (I have replenished my hand sanitizer bottles... it's sickie time!) So we still reviewed rep class procedure, and that was great because she had several good questions that I could tell she was anxious to go ahead and have answered and not worry about any more! We reviewed the piece as planned and got some great work done it. I was also able to give her a finger exercise to practice this week that should help with one of the really tricky spots - it made a big difference immediately in our lesson. I deviated from the plan, however, when it came to practicing standing up and playing a run through of the piece - by this point in our lesson (a little over 35 minutes in) she looked and sounded worn out. I decided it would be better for us to not struggle through a bad run through (because of her cold and energy level) and have that memory stick with her as she practiced this week. That's exactly the kind of thing that can throw off a young performer, and I wanted her to leave feeling confident instead of anxious. Instead we talked about how she has experienced performance anxiety in the past, and I suggested doing things like taking a few minutes to take some deep breaths and calm the mind whenever she begins to feel nervous. Deep breathing burns a lot of adrenaline and that can reduce the signs of anxiety (sweaty hands, shallow breathing, shaking fingers, etc.) significantly. I reminded her after she takes a bow to take the time to think about what she is playing before she starts and to enjoy every moment. I sensed she was feeling more at ease about playing in rep class after taking the time to think through everything - and realizing that it isn't as scary a situation as she had thought of it before.
HLS left with a smile on her face, a promise to eat some chicken soup and get good sleep over the weekend, and a positive outlook towards her upcoming performance. I was left behind actually feeling a little nervous for her myself (sympathetic nerves, I suppose?) and sent some positive energy into the universe directed toward her. Am I getting attached to these kiddos, already?! :-)
Next week we'll see just how successful this plan of attack was - after rep class!
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