Overcoming Nerves

Lesson 8/145 | Study Time: 5 Min

Course: Complete Harmonica

Overcoming Nerves

There are three essential elements in overcoming nervousness and turning it into a positive. The first of these is knowing your material well. This means thoroughly rehearsing all aspects of each song before you even consider performing them.

If you are unsure of the key or which harp to use, or the notes or timing of either the melody or the accompaniment, it is not surprising that you would become nervous. The more certain you are of these things, the more you are free concentrate on expressing the meaning and feeling of each song and making great music.

The second element is being comfortable with your equipment and your environment. Most public performances involve the use of microphones. Using a microphone will be discussed later in this lesson. When you are on stage, it is important to be comfortable using the microphone and to not be startled by hearing yourself through the PA system or foldback speakers. If possible, it is advisable to have a sound check before members of the public arrive. Most professional ensembles have a thorough sound check in which all the equipment is tested individually and together at least an hour (preferably more) before the show. This allows everybody to become comfortable with the sound of the room as well as the equipment. If you learn a bit about PA systems you can also communicate your requirements and preferences to the person operating the sound system.

The third element is trusting yourself. If you are considering playing in public, you are probably fairly confident that you are making a good sound when you play and you have probably received compliments from friends as well. In this case, you should be able to play equally well or better in public, particularly once an audience begins to respond. Your body instinctively knows every aspect of producing a good sound, so it is usually just a case of "letting go" and becoming part of the music. The more you can become the character in each song (like an actor) the more convincing your performance will be and the better you will be able to deliver it.

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Class Sessions

1- INTRODUCTION 2- The Diatonic Harmonica (Key of C) 3- Making Musical Sounds 4- Rests 5- Playing Single Notes 6- Hand Vibrato 7- The Eighth Note 8- 12 Bar Blues 9- The C Major Scale 10- Cross Harp Playing(Second Position) 11- The Triplet 12- Sliding Between Notes 13- Bending Notes 14- Grace Notes 15- Sixteenth Notes 16- Dotted Eighth Notes 17- What are These Sounds? 18- Cross Harp Sounds 19- Articulations 20- Improvisation 21- Eight Bar Blues 22- Third Position 23- Fourth Position 24- Harps in Other Keys 25- The Chromatic Harmonica 26- Solving Reading Problems 27- Sharps and Flats 28- More About Major Scales 29- Playing the Chromatic Scale 30- More About Keys and Key Signatures 31- Transposing 32- More About Blues Scales 33- Intervals 34- Minor Keys and Scales 35- Relative Keys 36- Using the Compact Discs 37- How to Hold the Harmonica 38- Reading the Notation System 39- Moving Between Positions 40- The Lead-in 41- The Train Whistle 42- Double Tonguing 43- Rhythm Playing 44- Key of C Major 45- More About 12 Bar Blues 46- Swing Rhythms 47- The Trail Off 48- Licks 49- The Trill 50- First and Second Endings 51- Notes on the C Harmonica 52- The G Major Pentatonic Scale 53- Accents 54- The Turnaround 55- The Dorian Scale 56- Relative Major and Minor Keys 57- Bending Exhale Note 58- Holding the Chromatic Harmonica 59- Positions on the Chromatic Harp 60- The Chromatic Scale 61- Major Scale Pattern 62- Enharmonic Notes 63- The Key Cycle 64- The Key of E Flat Minor 65- Interval Qualities 66- The Harmonic Minor Scale 67- Learning a New Minor Key 68- Approach to Practice 69- Bar Lines 70- Playing Songs 71- The Tie 72- Breath Control 73- Syncopation 74- Chord Numbers 75- The Shuffle 76- More Notes to Bend 77- Throat Vibrato 78- Sixteenth Notes and Ties 79- Complete Range of the C Harmonica 80- The Minor Pentatonic Scale 81- Ghost Notes 82- Ear Training 83- Simple and Compound Time 84- Swinging Sixteenth Notes 85- Understanding Chords 86- Understanding Music 87- Intervals 88- The G Major Scale 89- Major Scales in all Keys 90- Interval Distances 91- The Melodic Minor Scale 92- Minor Scales in all Keys 93- Types of Harmonicas 94- Consecutive Breaths 95- Combining Chords and Single Notes 96- Posture 97- Root Notes 98- Stop Time 99- The Major Pentatonic Scale 100- The Blues Scale 101- Learning From Horn Players 102- Call and Response 103- The Blues Scale in Third Position 104- Playing in Other Keys 105- Melody and Harmony 106- Standard Music Notation 107- Using the Slide 108- Key Signatures 109- Using the Key Cycle 110- Identifying Intervals by Ear 111- Table of Minor Scales 112- Tonguing 113- Tone Development 114- Learning Vocal Melodies 115- Playing Octaves 116- Different Types of Chords 117- Learning the Notes on the Staff 118- The F Major Scale 119- Jam Along Progressions 120- Playing by Ear 121- Leaving Space Between Phrases 122- New Topic 123- Note Values 124- Performing in Public 125- Riffs 126- The Note Tree 127- Overcoming Nerves 128- Range of the Chromatic Harmonica 129- Eye Contact 130- Playing Songs on the Chromatic Harmonica 131- Stage Presence and Stage Craft 132- Slurs 133- Developing Your Own Style 134- Cut Common Time 135- Microphones 136- Octaves on the Chromatic Harp 137- Microphones for Performing Live 138- Developing Your Music Reading 139- Amplification 140- Overdrive 141- Using a Harmonica Rack 142- Listening 143- Transcribing 144- Recording Yourself 145- Learning More About Music

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Overcoming Nerves