April 14th, 2009
In my day job, I work in IT. So when I came across an article about giving presentations for technical professionals, I read on, eager to see how the ideas might relate to my own thoughts about musical performance.
Oh…the title probably caught my attention too: How Not To Throw Up. Somehow it resonated with much of my own performance experience. I’ve never actually gotten to the throw-up stage, but I can still encounter the queasy, nervous energy that has taught me to eat light before playing.
Rands captures many performance issue really well. Here’s the key ideas I took away from his post:
- Work to internalize the material well enough to move from the analytical, left-brain skills you rely on when learning material to the right-brain skills that let you synthesize and effectively communicate the material.
- Listen specifically and intensely to each part of your performance – even in an essay on technical presentations, the ideas of dynamics, rhythm, and cadence are prominent.
- Even with totally planned and scripted material, performance involves a significant amount of improvisation.
- Pay attention to your audience: connecting with them will transform the experience for both the audience and performer.