I was asked to play with two friends Saturday evening and it was on a stage for a small audience. I got very nervous as this was the smallest group I had performed with. It was so bad I could not make a proper note out of the low D which I recently learned to play a few slow tunes. I had to ditch the low whistle and play the trusty d but by then my hands were sticky and my nerves were shaken. The low D eventually flew across the stage along with my note cards and that mishap broke a lot of tension as we all laughed. I would love to have some tricks up my sleeve for dealing with stage stress. (I read the early thread about stage fright and will try some of the advice given there)
I wanted to know if there is any sort of magic cloth or tip that more seasoned players can share for this kind of thing. How do I dry my hands when I’m up there and not look too foolish. I’m reminded of a gymnast standing by a huge bowl of chalk before taking a leap on the parallel bars.
Hmm…chalk might work. Don’t bowlers use a little chalk bag to dust their fingers? That could be an option.
I remember a story about a music student who complained of nervousness to his teacher:
“Whenever I play in front of people I get so nervous that my mouth gets all dry and my hands sweat”
The teacher replied “So? Put your hands in your mouth”.
that’s really funny. I think my mouth was dry and I was blushing too.
The problem I see with chalk is getting it on my clothes. Or scratching my nose and leaving a white spot on it. Then wondering why everyone is staring at my nose after the concert.
Maybe if I had brought my Busman, I would have played better…
However, I’ve only just started playing it in groups and it’s still teaching me how to play it.
Not to be construed as medical advice, but back when I was a practicing Podiatrist, I used to recommend this to patients with excessive foot perspiration with great results:
Back when I was a kid and played the piano, I found a light dusting of baby powder on my hands helped on those nervouse days. I don’t remember handprints being a problem but I do remember needing to wash my hands before eating. Keeping the keyboard clean and unsticky helped too. I don’t know if this translates to the whistle. I’m old, sweating hands is no longer the problem.
Geez Hoopy, I thought I already explained that you got the Autralian method barse ackwards. If you were to do it right, living in your neck of the woods up there, you would have to be belly down (as opposed to your pictorial representation of the (in)correct method). The whistle would be sticking out the back of your head if you lost your grip too!
