The NYC Ballet recently released a video of one of their principal dancer carefully preparing her pointe shoes. When we see a ballerina dance, we are awed by her power and grace. But we don’t really think about her shoes. She does. And she’ll do any little thing she can do to transform the crazy feat of standing on tiptoes into raw communication.

Classical musicians use their instruments to communicate. They do a whole slew of bizarre rituals behind the spotlight to prepare their bodies and minds for performances. Here are a few of the wacky things they do for their art:

1. Guitarists have a nailcare regimen of shaping, buffing, filing that exceeds the level of attention of any 5-star spa. The surface of the nail is the point of contact with the string, so shaping the nails is part of the way that a guitarist finds his voice. Subtle adjustments of nail strength, thickness and angle allow a guitarist to develop an arsenal of varied sounds they can use in their music. I know a guitarist who superglues pieces of pingpong balls to his nails as reinforcement. Unfortunately, he says the yellow balls work better than the white ones. There’s even this harrowing video that shows how you can use a soldering iron to help shape your nails.

Beautiful nails for a beautiful sound.
 

2. Oboists and bassoonists make their own reeds. Why don’t they buy them, you ask? Reeds need to be so individualized--it depends on the shape of the player’s mouth, the taste in sound, and even what the reed is for. It’s a serious artform independent of actually learning the instrument with a whole set of tools for whittling and sculpting wood. And to make matters even more complicated, reedmaking is a nonstop process. If you practice, you need to spend more time making reeds to practice on. Principal bassoonist of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra William Short (Austin-raised!) shows the painstaking devotion of doublereeders in a snazzy infographic.

Just a small craft project before practicing today, no big deal

 

3. Basically, brass instruments are big vessels for spit. So, they need the occasional bath to be properly degunked.  Unfortunately, there are no bubbles.

Of course there’s a Wikihow for this.

 

4. Harpists and organists are particular about their footwear because both instruments require a lot of fancy footwork on the pedals. Organists typically wear specifically-made organ shoes (they look like jazz shoes), but harpists tend to search for high heels. Sure, they look stylish, but heels--if they’re the right height and shape--also provide stability and dexterity for the performer.

Harp shoes, but not harp-player shoes.

 

5. Opera singers have a particularly hard time preparing their instruments because, well, they are their instruments. This means they need to be in tip-top physical shape all the time. They are attuned to any small indication of illness. They avoid loud restaurants to prevent extra strain on their voices. They sometimes eat/avoid eating particular foods. And they do their sinus rinses.

Becoming the Queen of the Night

 

6. Pretty much every performer gets some anxiety before walking on the stage. There are all kinds of tricks of the trade, but one that has caught a lot of traction is eating bananas. There’s apparently something helpful about the combination of potassium and sugar, apparently. Or, at the very least, the placebo is very effective.

He’s not nervous for his Carnegie Hall debut anymore!