It's about more than practicing technique.

Preparing the Music. Practicing the Performance.

Focus on the Process, rather than the Outcome.

Event preparation is a great opportunity to develop and fine-tune your musical and technical skills.  Focus on the preparation process; know what you can control.  It's not possible to determine the outcome of an event where external factors are involved, but it is possible to control the process of preparation. 
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​Develop performance skills and put them to use.

Learn to Center; practice this on a daily basis. Centering is a tool for harnessing energy and attention when you are playing. Like any technique, Centering requires practice to achieve its full potential. Play for your colleagues during the preparatory process, in order to become accustomed to the feeling of performing. 

Plan your work; work your plan.

Create a practice journal using a blank notebook specifically for this purpose.  Record yourself and listen to playback. Organize your weekly practice after you determine priorities based on feedback from the recording. At the end of each week, evaluate progress and plan your next week of preparation.

​Practice the Performance and Taper to the day of the event.

The final two weeks of practice should focus on 1.) practicing the performance and 2.) maintenance practice.  You want to be fresh going into the event. Avoid burnout by reducing your practice time and leveraging the power of mental rehearsal.  

Click here for an overview of Audition Preparation.