Preparations for performances differ for every player, ranging from concentrating on the present, listening to other musicians, and maintaining focus during practices with the rest of the jazz band.
Freshman Leland Ashworth knows that in his performances, he can’t change mistakes that he makes.
“Leave it in the past, [it’s] not like I can change it,” Ashworth said.
This idea also resonates with sophomore Emery Wylie.
“My mistake is [I] usually need to play louder, and I fix it by listening to recordings and listening to the people around me,” Wylie said.
Senior Merannen Gatien does some exercises before a concert to prepare himself. “Right before the performance, I take a lot of deep breaths and just try to relax my body so I’m not nervous when I go up on stage,” Gatien said.
Ashworth’s routine consists of getting inspiration from other musicians.
“I’ll be constantly listening to music all day, whether that’s the music we’re going to play or the music I enjoy,” Ashworth said.
Wiley’s routine is similar, although she uses music to get her mindset in the right space. “It’s really nice to listen to other bands play before and see where their mindset is at, so that I can set [my mind] where [it] should be. And so I can really just feel like I’m in the moment, rather than outside of it,” she said.
“I listen to the recordings of professionals who play it, so I can try to copy their style and articulation, and make it sound super good, and then usually match that with [my] section,” Gatien said.
Ashworth has another routine that helps her if she messes up during her performance. “I [am] always mentally taking notes of everything that I’ve [wanted] to focus on, because the moment you focus on knowledge, basic things [and] everything else improves 100 times,” Ashworth said.
Gatien focuses mainly on his section’s ability to stay in unison throughout their different parts. “You’re all playing the same thing, same articulation, same style so it’s not different interpretations, then you match it with the whole ensemble,” he said.
Finding a routine is a large part of preparing for each competition or performance, and each player has a unique way of doing so.
