Lesson 87: Performance Preparation, Part 2 — Stage Presence

• Rehearse your entry, tuning, pauses and exit.
• Begin each piece calmly after its planned pause.

Give the silence the same care as the music.

Use the programme from Lesson 86. Plan what happens between pieces so you can focus on the next opening phrase.

Walk through without playing

1. Enter at an easy pace, settle at the stand and greet the audience or bow.
2. Check your music and instrument; tune with partners to an agreed note.
3. Take a comfortable breath, hear the opening beat, then begin.
4. Between pieces, allow time to turn pages, drink water or change instruments.
5. After the last note, leave a short silence, lower the recorder, bow and leave.

Add the music

Practise the last phrase of one piece, the full pause and the first phrase of the next; repeat until the new tempo starts steadily.

Try the sequence in the performance room if possible, checking stand height and space for partners.

Now play these

Record two pieces from your programme with the entry, pause and exit included; listen for a calm start after each silence.