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NYAA: Healthy Living
January Progress Report
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After the long December break, it was difficult getting back into the swing of things, especially because this month I think that there were a lot of setbacks to working towards my goal.
Challenge 1:
One of the first challenges I went through was having my piano exam for G6 canceled. I was looking forward to this exam as I thought that it would give me more experience dealing with stress, but it was canceled because I couldn’t register in time. Since it would be a long time before the next exam period, I moved onto G7.
However, there were some good things that came out of this setback. Firstly, now I can start playing higher level pieces, including one of my favourite pieces of all time. I also realised that when I really love a piece, it’s a lot easier to play it in front of others, and I think that this can lessen performance stress. There will still be nerves, I know, but playing a piece I’m familiar with musically and also one that I really enjoy playing will help my performance anxiety.
I’ve also started lots of new pieces, helping to build up my skill, and also new scales and techniques that will allow me to become more confident. I’ve learned that being less stressed goes hand in hand with practice, and the more I practice, the better I will get and the less nervous I will be.
Challenge 2:
This month in Piano Masterclass, we watched a documentary on being a concert pianist. The documentary is linked here. What I found really disheartening about this documentary was the idea of natural talent, that talent is something fixed that cannot be changed, and since I already have really bad performance anxiety, I never thought that I could become a concert pianist. I don’t even know if I want to be. This is completely putting me off performing, and I realise how much I actually dislike performing in front of others, so much so that after I finish high school, I want piano to become a completely solitary thing for me.
This just worsens my performance anxiety, because the people in the documentary didn’t seem all that nervous while performing, and it just made me feel more isolated. This stresses me out even more.
However, one of the ways that I’m working on lessening my stress is actually perming in front of others and practicing in front of my family, and I know that I can continue pushing on because music is meant to be shared. Music is different for everyone, and this documentary also helped me realise that. Music continues to de-stress me, and watching one documentary isn’t going to change that.
This month was a difficult month, but I know that I can push through it and continue working towards my goal. I’m learning lots of new pieces, and have a performance coming up in March to look forward to.
As always, thanks for reading!