Whenever I practice, I notice during harder passages I often tense up in anticipation of a mistake I know I'll make. This is frustrating and leads me to be very anxious during lessons and performances.
I've been working a lot this past week on relaxing while I practice. I've been trying to relax in the space before I begin playing, taking steadying breaths and looking at/thinking about the music that I plan to get through during that particular sections. Long tones have made their way back into my warm-ups so I can relax while actually playing something VERY easy to do, but very hard to do well.
Another thing I've been trying to do is relax in general. As we all know, college is stressful. For this reason I've been trying to incorporate "chill time" during the weekdays where I can do homework that doesn't stress me out, or just watch goofy videos on buzzfeed. When I'm relaxed and happy I practice and play much better.
How does everyone else relax before a practice session?
I'm totally alike in the sense that I get really stressed and anxious during harder pieces. To kind of relax myself, I try to get really into my warm-ups. I find that if I'm fully engaged in my warm ups, I tend to practice better. I make sure I get my high and low register while mainly focusing on my middle (my trouble spot) the most while still focusing on my energy.
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