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How many times have you been on stage, and seen yourself appear different from when you are naturally being yourself, and "off-stage"?

Performing is no "ordinary" activity, even if you do it week in, week out, because to be at your peak and to deliver 150% at your highest potential, you need to have lots of practice and preparation under your sleeves!

I admit, it's hard to practice when you're in front of the mirror or just with yourself – it just isn't the same as if you were with people or on stage. No matter how much you sing or drum to yourself in front of the mirror, it doesn't come close to the real thing so my simple tip here for best practice and preparation, is that once you properly know the pieces you are performing, get yourself in front of some mics and begin playing in a big space that way.

Oh, and another big thing to check up on before performing, is to make sure you've rehearsed with your band, instead of just appearing and trying to play together. How many times have you seen that go wrong? They may play well individually, but without practice to gel together – will it really work? Rehearsal is the next best thing to actually being there as long as you make effective use of your time…

Also, when you're rehearsing with your band – one of the most biggest things that most musicians miss out is to work on the elements of performance beyond playing their individual instruments together. Ensure you work on movements, gestures, interactions with other band members, talk between songs, taking the mic off the stand, running out into the audience. Such things may seem really simple but there not ordinary behaviour so make sure you get some vital practice and preparation in. Future newsletters may include resources to developing these skills effectively.

It's also great to assess how well prepared you are mentally for the event. I use a set of questions that I came up with to assess my own readiness to perform, and I'd like to share them with you.

It will open as a Microsoft Word document. If you would like some musicians development coaching via email, send through your completed attachment to info@coachkavit.com and I'll be happy to work with you to making the most out of your performance.

Are You Ready To Perform? http://www.coachkavit.com/docs/readytoperform.doc

About the Author

Kavit Haria is the musicians coach and works with musicians worldwide who want to be more confident, master concentration, tame performance anxiety, build better audience rapport and effective communication skills so that you can get regular performances. He runs his own practice in London, UK and runs a fortnightly newsletter. You can also get his free workshop here: www.coachkavit.com