I am starting to do research on the Alexander Technique and performance anxiety. One article I found, lists all of the obstacles that you can face before/during a performance. Some of these may not go away not matter how much you practice, however there are certain ways to reduce the amount of stress of these things.

1. Uncontrollable breathing
2. Tense muscles
3. Loss of balance
4. Unclear thinking
5. Dry mouth
6. Moist hands
7. Impaired sense of time
8. Trembling

Now, I will list a few ways that could improve these stressful things we experience before we do a performance.
1. Breathing exercises, or meditation before a performance can help calm the nerves.
2. Yoga, or brief stretching and deep breathing can help relax the muscles.
3. Practice a few balancing exercises before you go on. (Such as the tree pose)
4. Try to focus on the now, not mistakes you have made or the unknown outcome.
5. Be sure to stay hydrated before the performance.
6. Possibly bring a small rag, or towel to wipe hands before you go on?
7. Relax, to keep away from the tendency of rushing, but be sure to subdivide.
8. Focus on relaxing specific parts of your body before hand. For example for trembling hands, try thinking of relaxing every finger, and possibly even massaging them to reduce the trembling.

I made it to my goal! I practiced two hours each day last week! I felt really good about it, but this week I unfortunately feel a little burnt out. I also have a lot of things I have to do, so its not as easy to fit two hours of practicing in. My goal this week/next week is to interview a few professors here about how they deal with performance anxiety, and what mindset they have as a performer.

So, I am really proud of myself! Today and yesterday I practiced for two hours and I feel fantastic about my playing! Why haven't I done this before? I am making a lot of improvement very quickly. Hopefully I will continue this two hour practice time deal! Also, today I started in an excerpt group which went really well. Going into it I played as confidentally as I could even though I hadn't seen the music before today. It was really a great experience to play in the atrium and with other musicians(that don't play tuba). I'm feeling good about tuba I must say :)

So today I have my lesson, and I feel that it will go really well! I have been on a good practice schedule, but this week I am going to work on increasing my time. I typically only practice for an hour a day which being a performance major, is not ideal. This week I'm going to try to bump it to an hour and a half/two hours. Wish me luck! I will blog about my progress at the end of the week.

Drawing for my friend Tiffani!

Today I started a new method for practicing! I am starting to try and play things by ear. When I first started it was really hard to sound confident just because I didn't know what the notes were. After I practiced a few songs for a little bit, my confidence improved and I could add more musicality. I am going to make this part of my every day practice!

I finally found a very useful way to practice for myself! Yesterday I warmed up for fifteen minutes doing scales, arpeggios, and long tones. Afterwards I practiced my etudes and solo, then at the very end I did another "warm up" to mostly test and improve my endurance. This practicing has been helping my higher range a lot, so I will keep it up! Unbelievably yesterday I played a C without any force. I used all of my hair and just played how high I could and got up to an E flat but first I realized I played a C and it wasn't difficult at all. Oh happy day! :)

http://www.tonedeafcomics.com/a-tuba-players-brain/

So today I did my yoga work out before I practiced. I think it went really well! Normally when I play for some reason, my body just feels the need to move(typically my legs and feet). Today I noticed there was not as much tension, and it felt relaxing to play. Also, I have been doing breathing exercises before my practice sessions. The improvement in my tone is amazing! Doing breathing exercises, and octave slurs have really helped what I sound like in the upper and lower register.

The yoga workout I did today was simple because I am getting back into the swing of things, but here are a few moves/basic stretches I did

Eka Pada Parivrtta Upavisthasana 
Navasana
Parsva Upavistha Konasana
Baddha Konasana
Child Pose
Warrior Pose
Vasisthasana

Bare with me! I'm not the greatest with making videos yet, but I'm working on improving. Later today I will post if doing yoga helped me, and how breathing has helped me with practicing lately.

Today, I learned that you should always plan on things going wrong, when working with an accompanist or trying to figure out your senior recital. There are a lot of things that I didn't even think about, that you need to prepare for(such as program notes, appropriate stage lighting, finding a time to do a dress rehearsal, and making an appropriate order of your selections).
In other news, unfortunately I didn't have a good lesson today. In preparation for the etude I struggled the most with, I didn't spend enough time without the metronome. I got lost quite often and found that I wasn't constantly subdividing. When I used the metronome, I let it do the thinking for me.. so I wasn't always thinking about the time. Well, I will do much better on my next lesson! Also, keep watching.. this weekend I am going to do yoga before I play, and see if that helps me relax or improve my playing.

Goal performance

One day I will play the Three Romances for Susie by Barbara York. My professor played it beautifully!

Today I am going to start doing breathing exercises that I found from a video, and also do some that I learned in high school. Hopefully I will see improvement in how long I can hold notes. Also, since I have an issue with taking short breaths, seeing if I can improve how fast I can take in air. Wish me luck! :)

A beautiful drawing my friend Tiffani drew for me.