Not just for heroes - How to become a more courageous performer

January 14, 2016, 3:37 AM · My first experience with improvisation was… terrifying. I was a teenager when I took part in a jazz workshop, given by a wonderful sax player (regrettably I have forgotten his name) in my home town, Sassari (Italy).

Given that many of us were classically trained, we started with simple exercises. Without instruments, we had to sing a single note, or sound effect, in turns. That was fun, I could do it, no problem.
However, when in one of the rehearsals someone prepared the band nicely to introduce the violin solo, I totally chickened out. I remember thinking ‘I can’t improvise!’ and that was it, I did not play a single note.

About fear

Fear is a very normal reaction. Our brain is wired to protect us. An unknown situation gets the alarm bells going as potentially life threatening. Facing an angry beast or having people listening to your music, is basically the very same thing for our brain and it will trigger the same physiological responses in our bodies. You logically know the difference, but the primal brain, the amygdala, where this response comes from is faster than reason.

A good news. Research has determined that a part of our brain... [continue reading here...]

Tiziana Pintus