Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Dunshire Bagpipe Forum 11/1/06

My First Competition! (my comments on my first year of competition)

I like what Back said as well. This was my first year competing. I didn't get a chance to compete on the PC, so it was straight to the pipes.To add to my anxiety, I was also playing for my son's snare drum solo I was so nervous I could barely play a week before the competition. I finally decided I needed to get some prespective of this or I would totally bomb. I sat back and thought about how far I had come and told myself that this was my first competition and that all I had to do was try my best; nerves and all. I wasn't competing for first place, I was competing for improvement, and this performance would set a baseline for me to build on. Once that sunk in, I was a lot more relaxed.I have played in four games this year and with the exception of one really bad performance (which was still a good learning experience) I have done well. I even got a first place in Grade IV 2/4 march at the Canmore games in Canada.As far as the 8 year olds go, I don't even worry about them. I'm the person I'm competing with and no one else. A good judge will point out your weaknesses and your strengths. The only thing on your score sheet that compares you to anyone else is how you placed.It was also helpful to read through Andrew's score sheets on his website and get an idea of what to expect.

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