Author: Susanna Cassam

Music performance – coping with your nerves…

Pre-performance nerves are extremely common, even among professional performers. Most of us will have experienced a dry mouth, sweaty hands, the shakes or even butterflies in the stomach – none of which are obviously helpful as a musician. If controlled effectively, however, these feelings and sense of alertness can actually help to give a performance the edge!

Whether it be an exam or a concert performance, performing in front of other people before the big day (even if it’s just your close family/friends) is one of the best ways of ensuring you are ready and relaxed about how the day will go.

Here are some other of ABRSM’s top tips for students and candidates to help you cope with performance anxiety and turn feelings of nervousness to your advantage.  Click on the link for more detail.  They have numerous pages of tips and advice for all ages and abilities of musician looking forward to an exam or concert performance:

Keep fit.

Failing to prepare is preparing to fail

Visualise success

Practise performing in front of friends and family

Controlled breathing

Smile

Concentrate on the music

Don’t worry about mistakes

http://gb.abrsm.org/en/exam-support/coping-with-nerves/

ABRSM exams run three times a year.  They are the benchmark of progression for most of our musicians that are keen to work within a graded system.

PIANO LESSONS FOR CHILDREN.  Music, in all its glorious diversity, enhances our lives, helps us express ourselves and opens our minds to numerous dreams and possibilities. No-one should be without it… and the lucky ones get to create and perform it themselves.

Everyone has music inside them, alongside the desire to listen and be inspired. If you ‘discover’ music when you are very young, you’ll learn faster. You’ll certainly grow up to be more creative… and it’s very likely you’ll follow a musical path through your youth and beyond. I was brought up in a very musical environment, and was frequently surprised at school by how much I naturally understood about music without ever actually being told. So listening to music is important, now how about playing the music yourself…

The instrument you choose to play as a young beginner is crucial to enjoyment and being a Pianist myself I am arguably biased, but I’ve seen the piano being used as a platform for all kinds of musical adventures, in private and public environments alike.

With a combination of fun lessons, a talented and inspiring tutor, plenty of variety and some practise on the side, a child can learn to play the piano from as young as 4 years old and progress effectively. There are numerous benefits: You can play straight away, you can learn virtually any style or genre, you need no accompaniment and yet at the same time the instrument is big enough for a parent or teacher to play alongside. Additionally, many children begin music lessons at the piano and then add other instruments to their skills base, having gained a thorough understanding of different musical styles, how music works… and how to make the most of it. Add to that a boosted self esteem, new-found confidence and ‘musician status’ in the playground.

Why not find out for yourself if it’s true. Unleash that musician waiting to jump out of your child, and see how quickly they progress. In fact, pull up a chair, join in, and see how addictive it can be. You might even find you want lessons yourself!

Piano lessons for children.  Find out more…

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NEW TESTIMONIALS

We asked our clients for feedback about their music teachers last week… and here’s what they said.  Thank you to all of our tutors for their total dedication to the cause, especially Clare, James, Rich, Priya, Jinny, Rosanna, Zara, Annalies, Jonathan, Vicky, Philip and Adrian… who have all been specifically targeted for high praise!!!

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Alison (parent)

We have two tutors from SCMT – Clare for piano and James for Guitar.  Both are excellent, highly expert and very passionate about the instruments they teach. They have engaged and inspired our children to want to do more with music.  Clare has particularly progressed both children on the piano in so far as grades are concerned and momentum is building on the guitar.  We are very happy indeed.

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Dan

I feel very lucky to have Richard as my tutor. His enthusiasm, patience and knowledge have really improved my understanding in Music. I always feel inspired and motivated after every lesson and hope to continue them long into the future. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend him.

Dedication to a pupil’s progress on their instrument – Brilliant

Inspired and engaging teaching methods – Very much so

Good time keeping – Yes

Good rapport with pupils – Yes

Regularity of lessons – Able to fit around me

Friendly, polite, professional attitude – Absolutely

‘Variety’ during a lesson (for example sight-reading, theory, scales, pieces, composition) – Great

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Jenny (parent)

Feedback for Jinny (violin) and Priya (flute and piano).  They’re both excellent, knowledgeable and professional and we’ve never had a single issue with either of them.

Jinny is an excellent instructor who is not only extremely talented but also warm and engaging, and I’m very pleased with the progress I’ve made on the violin in such a short time.  I would recommend her to anyone.  10/10 in all areas.

Priya is a dedicated teacher who has helped my daughter progress in leaps and bounds on both the flute and piano. She clearly works well with children, keeping them engaged and helping them learn with fun, age-appropriate lessons. I have complete confidence that she’ll bring out my daughter’s full potential.  10/10 in all areas. 

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Marion (parent)

We are really delighted with Rosanna.  She is lovely, patient and conscientious, and Becca enjoys her lessons.  She brings new pieces to play and adapts her methods to Becca’s needs. She teaches her useful mnemonics to help her learn the tricky bits!  She is punctual and reliable and recently supported Becca through her grade 2 exam.  Rosanna is also flexible with times, which is really helpful for us.

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Louise  (parent)

Olivia (13) really loves her singing lessons with Zara.  She has learnt a huge amount and is gaining confidence all the time.  Zara and Olivia decide on the songs to work on together and the lessons are always engaging and varied. She learns different songs and has done some song-writing and quite a bit of recording. Zara has a really lovely manner and a great rapport with Olivia. The lessons are every Wednesday.  From my point of view, Zara is an excellent teacher.  She and Olivia are recording songs and she often sends me the recordings, which is lovely.  She is very professional in the billing etc.

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Dinah (parent)

Annalise is a fantastic, enthusiastic teacher and we are very fond of her – she hits all those points you raised with ease.

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Gemma (parent)

Jonathan is a great teacher.  Ned has made really good progress since he started lessons with Jonathan and has been much more motivated to practice (which he normally does for 15 mins a day without needing to be nagged).  This is a real turning point as the whole ‘practice’ issue used to be a bit stressful. He also helped and advised us when we needed to upgrade Ned’s instrument.  Jonathan is extremely punctual, reliable but also flexible and very considerate. Ned is really happy with his lessons, he has great respect for Jonathan who encourages but also challenges him.

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Marion (parent)

Bobby has Vicky as his saxophone tutor, and enjoys his lessons. She has been really fantastic and has encouraged him every step of the way. She has been really flexible when he has had other after school commitments and been so patient with him (teenage boy….need I say more?).  Vicky has encouraged him with solo and group playing and made the music interesting and enjoyable, and has been an important person in his development. She has even come to watch when he has played saxophone in some school productions.  She has always been totally professional and reliable and she keeps us informed of his progress.

She is currently encouraging him towards his grade 8 exam, and I think she has been an inspiration to him.

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Corinna (parent)

My son is still having lessons with Phillip. He is happy with the teaching and Phillip is good at encouraging him and has even got to him to write some of his own music. He has always been punctual and is friendly and polite.

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Linda

Thank you for sending through the video from the Christmas concert. My singing teacher is Adrian.

Dedication to a pupil’s progress on their instrument – Adrian is a very dedicated tutor who pushes me in a positive way to improve.

Inspired and engaging teaching methods – Adrian will always teach me good warm up exercises and good methods on how to reach higher notes, or on how to sing certain words in order for it to sound better.

Good time keeping – excellent time keeping.

Good rapport with pupils – very good.

Regularity of lessons – yes, very good.

Friendly, polite, professional attitude – Adrian is very polite and friendly.

‘Variety’ during a lesson (for example sight-reading, theory, scales, pieces, composition) – Adrian makes every lesson fun and he will vary the type of songs I sing.

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Vanessa (parent)

Olivia has piano lessons with Jonathan.  We are absolutely delighted with him.  He is helpful if we need to alter lessons, is either on time or early… and great with her.  Olivia has gone from basic pieces, self taught, when he started with her to now playing chords and much more complex pieces, in which I feel is a very short space of time.  She always enjoys her lessons and he is able to teach her using music that is in the charts now as well as classic pieces, so he is able to work with her on her level.

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Elena (parent)

Adam continues to progress well with electric guitar lessons. James has all the traits you mentioned in your mail and we have never had a problem with him. Highly recommended.

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Karveen (parent)

Dedication to a pupil’s progress on their instrument:  We are very happy with Priya’s dedication, support and teaching of India and really do feel she cares about her and her progress.

Inspired and engaging teaching methods:  Priya uses technology and apps to help India learn and entice her to sustain interest and we find this very innovative. She also writes clear and precise notes for homework on a wipe board and in her book.

Good time keeping:

Priya is always punctual

Good rapport with pupils:

India loves being taught by Priya and looks to her like an older (very strict) sister.  She seeks to impress her and is disappointed with herself when Priya is disappointed with her progress.

Regularity of lessons:  Weekly

Friendly, polite, professional attitude:  Very

‘Variety’ during a lesson (for example sight-reading, theory, scales, pieces, composition):

Priya ensures India makes progress on all the dimensions for her grading

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