Menopause Matters Forum
Menopause Discussion => Personal Experiences => Topic started by: dulciana on July 23, 2013, 03:21:45 PM
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Right in the middle of this lovely menopause......I've also got part of an organ-playing exam tomorrow! I absolutely adore playing the organ (which I converted to seriously from piano after I was forty - I'm now 54) but sitting exam in it when I'm menopausal?? I really must be mad! I'm really hoping my concentration won't let me down, that I won't be hit by anxiety and/or apathy, and that I won't get my sleep wrecked tonight by the weather we're supposed to be getting after the heatwave. I'm wondering how many other candidates for this are menopausal women - not many, I bet! It's so important to me to get this qualification, having come to the organ late, as it would prove my professional competence. I just hope against hope that I won't under-perform and look ridiculous just because of the meno! My fingers are crossed (not when I'm playing, though!)
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Hi dulcinia
:welcomemm: and I wish you lots of luck for your exam tomorrow and really hope the menopause doesn't get in the way!
Katy x
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Thanks Katy - I'll really need it!
Dulciana x
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Dulciana - Hope the exam goes well.
Concentrate on enjoying the music, and NOT thinking I've got to play well.
You'll feel better when you actually start playing.
If you do get uptight tonight, just look at the music and get it really fixed in your mind.
If that doesn't work, try looking at all the scales. That'll get you to sleep.
Don't panic
BTW - Welcome to the Forum
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Yes, you're right, Limpy. Not panicking is the hardest bit, as I've been doing that big time since this all started. Mind over meno!
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Hey dulciana
Welcome to the forum from me too!
Wow, the organ!! How wonderful to be taking an exam - have you taken any at all recently?
Go for it - sounds brilliant and I hope you do really well.
If you have played in public before then I am sure you won't find it too bad - but if not - just imagine it is your teacher if you have one.
I did a piano exam in my 40's - but I was nowhere near menopausal so I admire you for doing this!
Hurdity x
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;) ........ it's probably the only organ that many women get at this time of Life :o :-X ....... I played the piano for years.
Good Luck! how long do you have to wait for the results .........
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Thanks Hurdity. I've taken exams before and I play every week for services - and I really love performing - but an exam under these circumstances has to be on the list of what NOT to do during the meno!!!
CLKD - three agonising weeks! Mind you, the menopause makes me so forgetful, maybe I'll forget to worry about it! Do you still play the piano?
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Nope. It got carried to the neighbours' when their kids wanted to learn to play. I gave the clarinet away too. Sing - sometimes in the shower 8)
3 weeks to wait :o - which Board did you sit under?
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All the best. I bet you'll do wonderfully. :)
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How did it go Dulciana?
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Hi there
I so hope that your exam went well.
I had a surgical menopause following treatment for ovarian cancer. I am a trainer for a large organisation and am required to pass a knowledgeable assessment I.e. a written exam every year ....so far I have passed all of them...am now 51 , was 47 when diagnosed.
Studying at all ages is now far more common than it used to be .....but well done .
Charlie xxxx
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Thanks for all this support - it's REALLY appreciated - I'm just back from holiday, so I've only just read your posts.
CLKD, it was part of one of the RCO (Royal College of Organists) exams.
Limpy, I think/hope it went not too badly, so my fingers are crossed! Very luckily, I didn't get any hot flushes, panicky feelings or whatever. Here's hoping the menopause didn't matter! Results not out yet, though.
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Well done you. Bet you were concentrating so hard, you never noticed the flushes or feelings of anxiety.
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Holiday - where ? we have a thread on that too ::)
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South west for our holiday, CLKD - friends and family, this time.
And I've just found out I passed the organ exam I mentioned before, despite hormonal hiccups on the day!! It's been really worth stepping out of my own little menopausal comfort zone, because the feeling of personal achievement I've got from this has boosted my confidence and self-esteem in a way that no other remedy could have done at the moment. It's made me see myself less as Menopausal Woman, and more as Me again. I just want to say, folks - don't let the meno. hold you back from doing something you really want to do. It doesn't need to, and if you "go for it", it could make all the difference!
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Well done Dulciana
:congrats:
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:bounce: :drunk:
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Well done Dulciana!!! :congrats:
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Thank you! ............Now for the written papers in five months' time - maybe the meno will be over by then. (Some chance!!!)
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:o ...... I didn't like theory much :-\
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I remember what hubby was like doing grade 3 guitar many moons ago. Think he only did the practical bit though. He said never again, way too stressful.
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It's like when you play in an orchestra or band. Playing exposed solos totally alone, is very very scary approaching the concert. Feel a lot better when you actually start playing.
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Yes, indeed, Limpy!! What do you play? When I first became menopausal, I was already a church organist and was used to playing for whole services every week; however - you know the "concentration lapse" and "anxiety" bits that come with this meno business? Over a fairly short time, they had become my gremlins and I had to fight them on a weekly basis. I've now found ways to win those particular battles, thank goodness. In the end, though, pulling out all the organ stops and losing myself in musical sound really is the most fantastic release from hormonal ups and downs - once I start playing, of course!!
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Dulciana - used to play French Horn at people.
Haven't even tried to blow it for, must be 6 years.
Where I live now is about 30 miles from any orchestra, so things hornwise have gone into disuse.
You never forget the feeling of abject terror though! :-\
Or indeed the total joy if something goes well. :)
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Limpy - I take my hat off to anyone who can play the French horn - and I do know what you mean about the joys and terrors - the joys make it all worthwhile! (And push all menopausal memories out the window!)
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I never felt anxious before a concert, nervous yes but knew that would go once we began playing :-*
Theory is related to maths and I can't do sums - in fact at Music College you can't take music without maths along side ;)
My paternal Grandma could sing
My Dad played the fiddle and could sing
My Mum played the organ but couldn't sing ......
I played piano, (exams), recorder (1st primary school recorder band in the country), clarinet, sang in school Choir and in the band/orchestra
Sister played the piano
We both did ballet and I went on to French and tap classes which meant exams and exhibitions :o
All I wanted to do was ride a horse >:(