Tuesday, February 13, 2018 by Madeleine King | Performance

I am sitting in the church, waiting for the service to begin. My palms are so sweaty, I am trying not to make eye contact with anybody so I don't have to shake hands. All I can hear is my heartbeat pounding in my ears, and my fingers are as stiff and uncoordinated as cooked sausages. My knee bounces up and down in front of me.

I am at Father Emmett "Pops" Johns' funeral, and I am terrified.

In January, I was honoured to be asked to play at Pops' funeral - described as a "force of nature", he dedicated his life to helping Montreal's marginalized and homeless youth. Selfless, kind, open-hearted, and generous, he made an impact on the lives of so many. Naturally, I accepted the gig without hesitation.

The place is full of politicians, media, and high-ranking officials. Everyone is holding a camera. And I am representing C-division RCMP Pipes and Drums - and in the eyes of many spectators, the RCMP itself. I want to do a good job for Pops. I want to do a good job for all the people that came to celebrate his life - all the people he helped get off the street; all the family that loved him.

So of course, while I sit waiting, I am running through all the potentially awful scenarios: what if my pipes don't hold their pitch? What if I trip and fall? What if I start playing at the wrong time? What if I go off the tune? What if I suffer a complete and utter epic bagpipe malfunction??? *

This is when the usual terror of nerves takes over, and without intervention, this mental visualization can become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Whether it's been at a competition, playing for a College of Piping exam, marching the bride down the aisle at a paid gig, pipe-majoring the band for the first time, or simply playing the solo at the beginning of Amazing Grace at your local Highland Games - nerves can sabotage what would otherwise be a great performance. And it's happened to everybody! But the good news is, easing stage-fright is possible... for everyone.

Here are some things to try if, like me, you suffer from nerves:

1. Change your attitude - nerves can help you.

That's right, nerves CAN help you, if you harness them for good. What I like to call "nervous visualization" is your brain's way of mentally running through your performance and ticking off all the things that can go wrong - even right in the moment! With a deep breath and some clear thinking, this will allow you to actually be *more* prepared and avoid any potential pitfalls you can. An example from the above:

"What if my pipes don't hold their pitch?" Bagpipes are sensitive to moisture and temperature. Both factors can have (sometimes disastrous) effects on tuning, especially if your pipes are sitting idle for a long time between tuning and playing (like, for example, at a funeral). I was careful to place my pipes in a neutral spot for the service - away from the doors, and away from the radiators. I also made sure to blow steady warm air through the pipes for a few minutes before playing. The pitch wasn't exactly as perfect as it had been when I was tuning, but it certainly wasn't as awful as I had imagined!

If you have some quiet moments to think, go over your route if you're marching, and play the tune in your mind. This helps you to iron out any last minute details, like that C you always flub, or the fact that the doors you're supposed to lead the procession through are closed. (In the funeral scenario, they happened to be opened at the very last minute so I could go through. But it was helpful to make a plan "B" in case they weren't!)

2. Be prepared.

This means everything your teacher told you to do but you didn't have time for! Maintain your bagpipe. Practice your tune every day leading up to the gig. Keep spare reeds in your pipe case, and think, BEFOREHAND, about anything that can go wrong. Bring a tuning meter. Bring spare uniform parts if you can.

One tip I like: put everything on before you leave the house. Right from your spats all the way to your Glengarry. That way, you don't forget any pieces!

3. Do a walk-through. 

Tripping, falling, and epic bagpipe malfunctions can generally altogether be avoided by actually walking through your gig beforehand. Competing in ring 5 at the Highland Games? Amble over there long before the competition begins and FIND THAT GROUNDHOG HOLE. Walking a procession through a set of doors at the front of a church? Walk the length of the procession and DISCOVER THE SET OF STAIRS! Once I arrived at a gig only to discover they had planned for me to pipe up an escalator (I did it...!) Obstacles can all be planned for if you walk through your route before the gig starts - as my pipe major always says: "I don't mind bad news - it's surprises I don't like."

4. Sing the tune in your head

Yes, I already said this. But there are two reasons to do it: one is to rehearse the notes, but the other is because the areas of the brain that control anxiety - the amygdala and the hippocampus - are also parts of the brain that respond to music. I don't know if it short-circuits the brain's worrying or if it is just a general distraction from the nerves, but I do know that it helps me. Focus on the music, temporarily forget the anxiety.

5. People have also suggested deep breathing, but this does NOT work for me. It might work for you, though!

6. Warm up like an olympian!

Athletes use highly structured warm ups and they generally execute the same routine before training as they do before a competition. This allows them to avoid injury, but more importantly, it's a neat psychological trick: by repeating the same warm up NO MATTER WHAT, they feel much less anxiety before a competition. The repetition is comfortable and routine, and convinces the brain that everything feels normal and there is nothing to be afraid of.

Pipers can incorporate this technique by using actual exercises for warm ups, or simply going through a checklist of things in their mind before they play. Either way, the key is to do it the same every time, whether you are at band practice or playing in your basement. 

7. Perform often.

This is easily the best piece of advice I can give you. The more you perform in front of people, the less you will feel nervous about doing it! So, take any opportunity you can to play in front of others. Book yourself gigs at the local seniors' residence, gather some friends and play your competition tunes for them. Even playing in a public place, like a park, can help.

Good luck, and happy performance season!

* I feel for the piper in this video

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