Ben Chan asks Hilary Hahn about nerves

[@treborria4001]

No ego at all. What a kind, sweet person.

[@dalmacietis]

And smart, too! What an informative answer!

[@edub9930]

I adore her

[@gudjonabjork]

That was so good to hear! I especially like this part: "They're not there to see you fail and if they are, they shouldn't be there" :)

[@kanade1498]

I find 3:15 very encouraging and reassuring, not just for a violin performance, but for life in general. Thank you for your kind words :)

[@fernandofariajunior]

Not only is she a great musician, she's also adorable as a person :-) That's great advice she gives.

[@mitchellperilla739]

I would say one important factor in her well-controlled physical responses is beginning performance at a young age. Like Hilary said, the more you perform, the easier it is to get a grip on the excitement. This is why it's SUPER important to keep arts/music in the schools. Being able to manage performance anxiety in front of peers & teachers without judgment is a crucial part in transitioning into college or adulthood period.

[@duncanandrew3307]

Wonderful outlook on, not just performance, but the whole of life. No wonder she is a brilliant musician.

[@stephanieleaster]

Wow, thanks Hilary for all your good advice. I've played flute for years, and before I played flute, I sang. For some reason, I have never gotten stage fright when I sing, but when I play flute (even in an orchestra), I have a terrible case of it. It is interesting because I have never thought of relaxing parts of my body to calm myself. I do this during speeches and presentations that I have to give for conferences, but I never thought about translating that for playing for others.

[@cate7791]

Ms. Hahn expresses well in this short segment that the energy of nervousness can have different symptoms, in her case apparently having a kind of clarity. I might recommend "The Inner Game of Music" which discusses in greater depth a variety of techniques to learn to focus transform negative manifestations of your adrenaline into positive ones. But of course, like violin, it takes practice to transform. Good luck to all of us "nervous" people.

[@christineanneho]

Thank you for sharing with us this very important topic about nerves. Yes, I agree that your positive perception about your audience is a very important factor in staying calm during a performance. During my major violin recitals, I have found that prayer, and keeping an imaginary curtain and distance between me and my audience helped me focus more on enjoying my performance experience, rather than fearing it. I also agree with Hilary that the more you perform, the easier it gets!

[@Amarynthine]

the they're not there to see you fail part was really helpful

[@pianoviolinandwhat]

omg I followed Ben Chan cuz he's videos are amazing and I loved Hilary Hahn! Never thought there's a video Ben Chan interviewing Hilary Hahn!!!omg!!!! how did he get to interview Hilary Hahn!!!! omg!!! love you HH!

[@wendyazpeitia9694]

Thank you so much. This is very practical, sound advice. Thank you for your realness and encouragement.

[@jimmypes3111]

Such a great outlook on this topic! I so wish I would have heard this back when I was in music school.

[@hiasnhias]

Yeah, thank you very much!

[@pyrioni]

She's great and she's right! You need positive excitement to play well, I play better on stage than at home, coz I get excited on stage...When I was little I had negative excitement, that's called nervousness. When you don't have any excitement that is called sloppy

[@kurd55]

Excellent advice.

[@gvn933]

that's very good advise thanks so much for putting this up :D !

[@TiqueO6]

Wonderful! Thanks again! Here's my little 'trick' for transforming what could become negative response into positive excitement. For me, it's nice full diaphragmatic intake of breaths when feeling the 'butterflies-in-the-stomach' sensation (which is probably adrenalin). This transforms the energy outward from the center and is actually a pleasant feeling. It energizes the body in a good way and adds to the positive anticipation. Since '68 when I discovered this I never have "Stage-Fright".

[@TheJensenInterceptor]

Fabulous

[@emmaabigail741]

thank you Hilary !!!!!!

[@TiqueO6]

I totally agree! (See my post of seconds ago). I also learned breathing technique from trombone. Even though I'd never perfected the technique I used it at age 14 (1968) unexpectedly finding a way to cure stage-fright. Since that day I didn't have negative effects from anticipation of performing.

[@gulisha520]

Yeah, first you have to play on stage a lot, and of course, excitement, not nervous She is awesome

[@WUHUNEE]

Very informative. Thanks for the video!

[@stephanieleaster]

I have always struggled with negative thoughts and thinking that others are there to hear me fail. I grew up performing, so I grew up with the other singers being so competitive and waiting for you to mess up. I have a hard time remembering that the audience isn't that way. How do you handle the competitive atmosphere of the music career?

[@katherinecheng9622]

Thanks! ^^ It really does help a lot when I think of this way... But what should you do if your mind just suddenly went blank?

[@elyz98]

She definitely doesn't suffer from anxiety lol

[@charliep3]

A brother of mine,. who plays trombone says, if you can control your breathing you can control your emotions.

[@fitoviolinista]

hi i dont speak english. i am from peru. i like give to hilary a present when she come here. june 27th 7:30 pm is her concert in lima, peru. i like to know where she will stay in lima for give her the present from the lamastre violin club to which i belong.

[@Scriabin_fan]

Your eyes look very blue in this video!

[@TiqueO6]

Learn diaphragmatic breathing and use it to channel the feeling into positive energy (see my post below).

[@eugeance8834]

a llorsr