Mujitsu and Tairaku's Shakuhachi BBQ

A few things:

First of all, when playing publicly only play what you really know well -- what you've memorized or almost memorized. Then, when playing the piece, put all your focus on being "in the moment" -- listening to each sound as it arises and ends. Listen to the beginning of each breath, the middle, the fade, the silence in between breaths. Every time your mind wanders, bring it back to the sound (or silence). There is no other task -- no trying to be good, no worrying about whether something is right or wrong, etc. Nobody is going to know whether you are "right" in terms of the notes of the piece, but they will know if you lose focus. If you are able to achieve good focus on what you're doing, then you can also think about how you're giving this music away as a gift to the listeners, not something to be judged but simply given.

While playing, remember that stage fright is a feedback loop: you get a little nervous, then that makes you nervous about being nervous, etc. etc. If you notice fear arise, just notice it and let go. You may need to do this repeatedly. Just try to keep letting go over and over again rather than letting the feedback loop become a noose.

This doesn't work for everyone, but I try to establish a personal rapport with members of the audience -- looking in somebody's eyes, playing a section of a piece for an individual out there, etc. This calms me, makes me feel like we're doing this together rather than a cold harsh me/them scenario.

For many, myself included, it's best not to eat a lot before performing -- that can mess with concentration and make you less calm. Try to establish a meditative state before performing -- take time to chill, do some stretches, breathing exercises, etc. I also try to get out of the performance venue right beforehand and experience the larger world -- this puts it all in perspective.

I don't drill too much right before a gig. I practice and warm up a bunch that day, but then as performance time approaches I do other things. If I work too hard on a piece right before I play publicly, it puts me back in that "getting judged" space rather than the "gift" space.

Am I a hippy or what. Well, maybe I can remedy the new-aginess of the foregoing with this:

If stage fright is a chronic ongoing problem that is not lessened by trying things like those above, there are always beta blockers. I went through a period of stage fright a few years back, did beta blockers for two gigs, and have been fine ever since -- the experience of doing the two gigs without stage fright was enough to change my associations. Just about any doctor will prescribe them if you say you're a working musician.

Thanks, Phil.  These are all very good suggestions, although they seem to fall into the realm of "Easier said than done."  I can certainly appreciate what you are saying, but once that loop begins feeding on itself, I certainly have difficulty breaking it.  I imagine it takes practice.

That brings us to Lance, who also has good advice.  However, taking it in isolation from from Phil's response, if I just practice the same terror response over and over, I imagine it would just reinforce my less than profitable feelings.  Still, I know where you are coming from.  What you meant to say is, "Get in front of people and perform, SUCCESsFULLY."  Otherwise it is practicing failure.  I am not in a situation where I HAVE to do this, so I am not sure that just gutting it out will work.

In my own search for an answer, I came across this.  Others dealing with the same issue could benefit, so I thought I'd post it, although i does notmention Shakuhachi specifically.  Still it is kind of meditation 101, but it does ocus it specifically on social anxiety, which is what I think I deal with in this area.  I think it is what most stage fright revolves around.  If you'd prefer to skip the 48+ minutes, Phil DOES offer a much more to the point concise interpretation.  If you are like me, and need a little more reinforcement (handholding) to actually put it into practice, you could check this out.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sf6Q0G1iHBI

Well I dont see anything Hippy or new agey on your post. Which by the way I find very instructive and confirmed some of the sutff I was doing as well. Anyway I see at being very clear and to the point. There is lots of clean helpfull points in there

I truly think that what you wrote is good old common sense that we tend to forget when we get caught in the loop. What you wrote about is quite similar to the methods I was given by my Iaido master. He gave me the checklist and practices that one needed to do in the old days before going to a duel in order to be fully prepared to any eventualities.

He said that this was the stuff he used in his life not only in martial arts but in his Shinto priesthood or for any important matters.

The rules went as follows.

#1 Try to clear as much of your previous or ongoing business before you get at it.

#2 Get your gear,Kimono,Sword haircut in shape at least 1 day before the duel.

#3 On that day when you wake up take a good bath and get your hair fixed. Then sit around and relax until at least 3 hours before you need to get to the duelling grounds.

#4 Dont eat too much and at least dont eat for at least 3 hours before the duel. As far as drinking do not drink any tea since it can overexcite you. Just drink lukewarm water making sure it is never too hot or cold.

#5 3 hours before you get to the grounds go and check around and see who is there and where you can run if shit hits the fan.

#6 On the hour before just stretch your arms and legs BUT DO NOT MAKE ANY MENTAL PICTURES OF THE FIGHT ITSELF.

Ok so those are old school and mostly irrelevant but I feel most of it can be adapted and does seem to be along the same lines as what Nyokai wrote.

playing shakuhachi well & also performing in public is a skill is a profession. You got to invest time (and everything else:-) to get good at it.
Is like every other profession or skill takes years and etc...
I am just being realistic.

Good luck

geni wrote:

playing shakuhachi well & also performing in public is a skill is a profession. You got to invest time (and everything else:-) to get good at it.
Is like every other profession or skill takes years and etc...

That is so true!. So many musicians don't realize that  performing is an art in itself and should be cultivated and studied just like their instrument. I worked a full time job with a theater/movement company (looks like Perry has done lots of that too) as a composer and performer for a few years and it literally changed my life. Many musicians think that is BS, that the music "should speak for itself", but they don't realize how much better music "speaks" when your communication, stage presence, and body language are clear and conscious.

That said, I remember the first time I performed Honkyoku in concert (after no less than thirty years as a performer) I felt like I was doing my yoga , naked, in public. It's really a very private and intimate thing, and it feels like it was never meant for "performance".
Nyokai's great advice is very close to how I handled it . Breath, a state of inner peace (aided by meditation, yoga, and often a nice glass of wine ), and a sincere desire to bring peace and inner healing to those who are listening are for me the most important. The rest is just getting used to it... Once you experience people's appreciation and joy you'll relax into it and trust yourself more.
Best wishes...

Agree with you Pepe,
its not enough to have the product..got to sell it also:-)

Back to topic Jeff. When you perform in front of people-just play with you heart & soul-show them the magic (of music/shakuhachi) & your feelings. Communicating your energy to them is key.

chikuzen wrote:

The comments about "being in the moment" and even "what not to eat before hand", etc., have little relevance because once you get used to playing onstage all that stuff disappears.

As far as this point goes I would beg to differ.

If for any reason before going to sing sutras for a funeral etc I was filled up with all kinds of food by the receiving familly or temple that needed me to be there to help I will feel like crap and although I can sing and do all this is required I know damm well that I was not at 100% and I could have done way better.

I tested this at home a couple of times and indeed if I had a good meal before reciting stuff my voice and power focus etc were not as good. Now that I know this I am always carefull and try not to eat before any performance of any kind. Wil this be of help for everybody maybe not but I do think that being carefull of what we eat, how much , how long before any performing etc can really help in making sure no goof up happens.

lowonthetotem wrote:

That brings us to Lance, who also has good advice.  However, taking it in isolation from from Phil's response, if I just practice the same terror response over and over, I imagine it would just reinforce my less than profitable feelings.  Still, I know where you are coming from.  What you meant to say is, "Get in front of people and perform, SUCCESsFULLY."  Otherwise it is practicing failure.

One way may be to not think in terms of "successful". There are a few things I would like to say.

In Tibet, there is a practice for Buddhist yogis to go begging, from house to house. It involves visualizations and prayers, the essence of which is compassion. One is offering everything to all sentient beings. At the same time, one is begging. From door to door. The responses can be varied. Some people will treat you like a king - a wonderful holy person, dedicated to the precious teachings of the Buddha. How wonderful! Others may shout abuse at you as a bum, a leech on society. The essential training which this practice is, is training you in taking all responses equally. Not to get a big head when people love you, and not to get angry or depressed when people hate you. One is to maintain equanimity in all circumstances.

I have played a lot on the streets. Also people respond in different ways. Some people take me out to eat. Some people grope me as I play. Some people insult me or compete with me. All sorts. In the end, most people don't even pay any attention!
Don't get me wrong, it is very rewarding, and actually there is mostly very positive response. But I think it is better to not focus on that. Try to take it all equally. This is a little bit "hard core" as an approach perhaps. But this will really train your mind.

In your case, if you take the advice about playing a lot in public to get used to it, the street would seem the best place to me. If people don't like your playing, at least they are free to just walk away. That way you never have to feel guilty about forcing bad music on people who can't escape! (E.g. old people's home performance etc.) This in itself should help you to let go of your stress. So what if it's not good?! If they like it, they can stay, if not, they can go. So you can relax about that. Also, there is not schedule. You can play for however long you want.

This time issue is also key. If you do a short arranged performance, it may be short. You may be nervous for the whole thing, and they may or may not like it. Repeating that, as you say, might (also might not) practice your terror response. The thing about the street is, the first time it is scary, but you play for maybe one hour or so. Play everything you have memorized. Then play it all again. And again if you want! The people have all gone by anyway - no-one knows you have played it already! So, you can play PAST your nervousness. It gives you time to get over it. It is great that you feel comfortable already, and then stop. That leaves a good memory in you. Then, if you go back each time to the same spot, you start to feel comfortable in that spot. It becomes homely and welcoming for you. you might even get some regular fans.

Lastly I wanted to mention kyudo. I have no idea if you have kyudo where you are (Japanese archery). That helped my performances. When you do kyudo, there are other people there. but it is not a performance. You are just engaging in the art, in public. And if you are tied up in hope and fear, it is not kyudo. If you are disappointed when your shot is bad, you are doing it wrong. If you are proud when you hit the bull, you are doing something wrong. Just do it. See. See where it goes. Ah.
I think that is a good way to play.
That there are people there, is some kind of coincidence.

If I ever judged whether my playing in the streets was successful, it would be to question, how was my heart today? Was my heart with love and compassion today? If so, it was a successful playing. Or, was I out of that, was I thinking "how much money am I getting today? Will those people give me some money?" etc, then, that day was unsuccessful playing.

Good luck.

Justin
http://senryushakuhachi.com/

Justin wrote:

In your case, if you take the advice about playing a lot in public to get used to it, the street would seem the best place to me. If people don't like your playing, at least they are free to just walk away. That way you never have to feel guilty about forcing bad music on people who can't escape! (E.g. old people's home performance etc.)

From what I've seen of old people's homes and from judging lowonthetotem's example of his playing, I don't think he'd have anything to feel guilty about.

I agree about the street playing being a good thing, although if it's in an area where there's a lot of energy it can be just as overwhelming as a stage in front of an audience with high expectations. I ran into that once when I was playing tin-whistle, I wanted to get past stage-fright by playing in public but just couldn't bring myself to play on the street. Parks and renaissance festivals were fine. Actually the best thing I decided on to help with stage fright that worked, and I know some people will think it's a nuts idea, was karaoke. It also got me interested in taking voice lessons and learning to sing, You've got to pick your karaoke bars carefully though, some are for drunks to get up, sing bad, and entertain by making fools of themselves, while others attract a lot of wannabe singers who have no other outlet. It's the ones with the wannabe singers that you want to go to. It might be a bit harder these days to find decent karaoke bars for this purpose since the fad sort of died out.

Besides, stage-fright can actually be sort of fun, it really gets the adrenaline flowing in a much safer environment than what usually gets the same internal chemicals moving. Pay attention to your dreams on nights around performances as you're working on stage-fright, they can be very revealing.

radi0gnome wrote:

Justin wrote:

In your case, if you take the advice about playing a lot in public to get used to it, the street would seem the best place to me. If people don't like your playing, at least they are free to just walk away. That way you never have to feel guilty about forcing bad music on people who can't escape! (E.g. old people's home performance etc.)

From what I've seen of old people's homes and from judging lowonthetotem's example of his playing, I don't think he'd have anything to feel guilty about.

My quote abstracted like that sounds quite personal! I hope that's not how it came across. I think of it in terms of me playing, or anyone actually. I have sat through some really terrible performances here in Japan. I would not like to put people through that. Even great music can be unpleasant for people who do not appreciate the genre. What I really was pointing at was how you actually do not even need to let this consideration worry you in the situation of the street. That consideration ("Do they like it?") can cause nerves. So at least that contributing factor can be let go of in this setting (letting you take another step towards being able to play confidently) by realizing they are free to stay or go as they please.

Justin
http://senryushakuhachi.com/

Tairaku wrote:

lowonthetotem, do not fear. The folks you'd be playing for in the hospice will not be judgmental about your playing. Remember we play an instrument and music they have never heard before, so they have nothing to compare it to. They will just accept it for the soothing sound it is.

I'm not a pro, but I have to second this. The honkyoku especially has no meter, no melody and no harmony. When I play in public (which does make me nervous) I try very hard to remember that even if I play the piece wrong, or make some wacky sound, or even play with no sound, the audience has no idea I've messed up!

Also (and this is incredibly, incredibly important): play with confidence. I've had a couple of performances where I didn't play the piece correctly, but I played it confidently (keeping point one in mind), and audience members came up and told me how much they appreciated it, and how great I played. This in turn boosted my confidence, so I got a little positive feedback loop going. (And never, ever apologize to the audience after a mistake. You're going to want to, but don't!)

-Eric

Are you suggesting Gishin in nu5 that we check the venue out in case we need to do a runner?

I think it is important to do a 'dry run' several times and at least a few weeks before the performance. It is important to not stop and redo any phrases we messed up. We can then get a better idea of how well we are prepared and accept it. Nervousness often occurs because we do not set a realistic expectation of what our performance will be.

I also find myself getting the jitters a few hours before a performance. This gets the nerves out of my system.

I had a nerve wrecking experience last week during an outdoor performance in London when a sudden gust of wind lifted my music stand and music into the air. My improvisation skills stood to me and the audience got a performance to remember.