With recital season quickly approaching, how does one handle the performance nerves? I remember when I was in my very early 20s, my right leg used to shake uncontrollably as I performed on stage. Even with wearing a long skirt, it was noticeable! My hands and armpits would get super sweaty and my heart would start racing. It was a very uncomfortable situation every time leading up to a performance, however, the nerves definitely subsided over the years. Here are some tips to combat the nerves and reduce performance anxiety for pianists of all levels.
Mental reminders:
Preparation is key: Keep in mind that all that time that you practiced will benefit you as you proceed the stage. Practicing slowly, putting in the time on your piece or pieces, and hopefully doing mock performances for others will put you at ease leading up to the big day. Play your pieces back to back with cold hands. Visualize an audience while you are playing.
Positive talk: On the day of your performance, think of positive outcomes and how you want to feel during and after. If you think that you'll mess up, most likely you will! I tell myself constantly that I've prepared as much as I could and whatever happens will happen. I try to enjoy the music that I'm playing with the goal of emoting as much as I can. This mentality has helped me so much in my own small and larger performances.
Have fun!: Remember your why for performing. Hopefully you enjoy playing and want to share your love of music with others. As I perform, I am constantly reminding myself that I enjoy the piece I'm playing and focus on conveying this feeling to my audience.
A few very useful books in approaching performance anxiety include "The Musician's Way" by Gerald Klickstein, "Notes from the Green Room" by Paul Salmon & Robert Meyer, and "With Your Own Two Hands" by Seymour Bernstein.
In "The Musician's Way", Klickstein has a great way of breaking down concepts into small chunks. With performance anxiety, he categorizes building confidence into three strategies: personal, task-oriented, and situational.
Personal: Know what is specifically stressing you out and address it head on with your "antianxiety toolkit." Know what your performance means to you and your audience. Assess your performance for improvement in the next one. This means you won't know how a performance goes until you go out and do it! Practice self-care as a musician as it can be taxing mentally, physically, and emotionally.
Task-Oriented: Be mindful of the level of difficulty of your performance piece. You are setting yourself up for an uneasy performance if you choose a piece outside your technical capabilities. Setting realistic performance goals, effective practice routines, and "practicing" performances in front of other people are great steps to take towards a successful performance.
Situational: At home, you can recreate a performance environment. I often tell my students to play in front of other family members who intentionally listen or video record their performance. Work on your stage presence to exude confidence and easiness. In the days and hours leading up, try to create a stress-free environment for yourself by being organized
"Notes from the Green Room" by Salmon & Meyer is focused on performance stress and anxiety. They cover a wide variety of subtopics including "the whole performer", "the nature of anxiety", and "basic stress management skills." Within the chapter of "stress and performing", this passage stood out to me: "Try to conceive of the performance as an experiment or a learning situation, in which the goal is to learn about yourself and your skills, rather than as a situation in which you must either succeed or fail." I feel that many of my students, especially adults, think of performing with an all or nothing approach. They anticipate making mistakes which results in an unsuccessful performance or the idea of performing with children in a studio recital is too embarassing. Both of these views need to change! No matter what level you are at, the process of performing is a learning experience, and you can prepare in a positive and systematic way. This book scan be found on ebay, thriftbooks, your local library, or Amazon.
Finally, Bernstein's book "With Your Own Two Hands" is a wonderful all encompassing book for musicians with the last part of his book dedicated to performing. He includes a wide range of tips for memorizing and managing nervousness in the months, days, and hours leading up to a performance and after it. His style of writing is personable and down to earth, like a teacher guiding his pupil. As a wise teacher would say, "Nervousness is the price we must pay for the privilege of performing. Enduring it, making it work for us, channeling it, and converting it into healthy energy is self-mastery in its highest form, and efforts should be directed toward achieving that synthesis of feeling, thought, and physical coordination..." This book can be found on ebay, thriftbooks, your local library, or Amazon.
Hopefully this blog post has convinced you that performing doesn't have to be as daunting as you think and that the tips above will help you reduce and manage performance anxiety. Remember to start off small and work your way up to bigger performances to gain steady confidence over time.
If you need further support with your playing and want an encouraging piano community, I highly recommend Ashlee Young's course for adult pianists called the "Casual to Confident Piano Player." Her course focuses on developing effective practice techniques and musicality for confident playing. This in turn, can significantly help you build more confidence in performances. Enter promo code HANNA for 10% off!
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