How to show emotion?

Question

I play the violin and i know emoiton is a big part of playing an instroment. but i sow absolutly no emotion whats so ever whne im playing. people in orchestra think that its funny and joke around about it but, i dont know why i dont show emotion. i get nervus soooo easly. like just walking into a room or walking down the hallway i get nervious. just emagin during a concert or something how nervous i get. i cant even move i am so nervus. like whis weekend i had a solo thing and i didnt play the song as good as i can playing at school cause i was shaking soooo much. i walked in confedent and walked out depressed. i wanted to do soo well on the song but, every one said i didnt good but i know i didnt. why do i get so nervus? please help me. i want to the best musician that i can be.

Answer 1

You're raising a lot of issues here.

First, about showing emotion: don't worry about it.  If you play well, the emotion will be conveyed; you don't have to force it via theatrics.

Second, about making mistakes.  I recall vividly watching a video of one of my performances when I knew I fudged a note.  I listened very carefully to the audio, and was amazed that I couldn't hear my mistake!  Fact is, you are closer and more in tune with your instrument than anyone else, and so you will hear tiny errors that the audience members can't detect.  Take heart from this fact.

As far as nervousness is concerned, one cure for it is experience.  Eventually, you will realize that you've made a fool of yourself so often that one more time will make no difference.  Now, you can find psychological relaxation recordings, and you can find deep-muscle relaxation exercises in acting or public speaking resources, but that's only if you think you need them.  Otherwise, just keep getting more experience, and eventually you'll become a gamer.