Nerves and Breathing

One of the most renowned methods of calming nerves is the breathing technique. So many times have I heard the words “breathe in” [takes a long, deep breath] “and breath out.” [Exhales] When we’re nervous, our muscles contract and tighten up, “therefore debilitating our abilities and only making ourselves more nervous.” 

(http://doublebassblog.org/2007/09/performance-anxiety-causes-and-solutions.html) Breathing is obviously very important, and learning to do it properly can work wonders. Of course, there are many breathing techniques, but I’ll focus on one known as “deep breathing” here. Breathe in while counting to three slowly and then out again within the same time frame. Repeat this 3 times or until you believe you have calmed down. Afterwards, you may want to slow down your counting even more and repeat until you feel necessary. This is how I would complete the exercise if I was outside an audition room around other people. However, if you do not care about looking ridiculous or you are at home, an easier and maybe more effective way to complete this is with the aid of a metronome. Set the metronome to 60bpm, and complete the exercise above (breath in for 3 clicks and out for 3 clicks), only while breathing in, raise your arms towards the ceiling in a circular motion, and then back down (again in a circular motion) as you exhale. Bring the metronome to down a couple beats and repeat. While this exercise can be effective in relieving you of a lot of physical tension, it affects everybody differently and only you can discover if it works or not.