On Monday 18th September, FHS music scholars gathered in St Cyprian’s Church to take part in a masterclass given by Sam Queen (London Singers Studio, ArtsEd).

With a focus on performance anxiety and nerves, Sam began the session with “accent” breathing – a multi beneficial exercise which calms and slows the breath as well as releasing the throat muscles and vocal folds (ideal for singers and instrumentalists alike). Repertoire ranged from Schubert and Mozart through to Adele and ABBA, and Sam honed in on individual concerns as well as musicianship and artistry. Girls ranging in age from the Thirds to Lower Sixth were encouraged to practise states of performance anxiety and Sam got them doing multiple star jumps to get heart rates up, mimicking the adrenaline rush of nerves. Holding breath was also a common theme – nerves amplify being able to breathe in whilst breathing out becomes harder – and everyone came away chanting Sam’s maxim: “when in doubt, breathe out!”

Donya in the Upper Fourth said, “We each performed one of our pieces and were given advice from Sam about anything we felt we struggled with or wanted to change/ improve. Sam helped us all with dealing with performance anxiety and even gave us a simple example of how the feelings someone may have about a rollercoaster could be total opposites, e.g. excitement vs nervousness, but have a lot of the same symptoms, much like performance anxiety.

We did a exercise to help experience one of the main symptoms: a fast heart rate. Sam had us all doing star jumps to get our heart rates up, much like how we feel before a show/ performance. This was also helpful in another way, as it got any embarrassment out the way (!) Even though the range of music went from Etta James to Adele to even Mozart, Sam still knew exactly what we needed to improve and what we did do well. Sam also gave us singers a fantastic rhyme to remember, which I’m sure will stick with us for the rest of our lives: “When in doubt, breathe out”. We would all like to thank Sam so much for all the help we got in those two hours and I also really enjoyed listening to all the talented girls perform their own pieces.” 

A huge well done to all the girls who took part, all of whom performed with professionalism and a willingness to experiment with new suggestions and ideas.

Charmian Bedford, Visiting Music Teacher

Music Scholarships are available at 11+ and 16+ entry. More information is available here.