If you are a musician, chances are you have had to perform in front of an audience at some point in your life. And unless you’re one of the lucky few who never deals with nerves, then you have also probably experienced stage fright. Here are 3 surefire ways to conquer those nerves and have an amazing performance.
1. Channel the nervous energy into excitement.
Instead of allowing the nervous energy to control you, turn it into something beneficial: excitement to perform and confidence in
Instead of thinking about how nervous you are, tell yourself you are excited! Imagine yourself succeeding and how you will feel when that happens, and use that to fuel good energy before the performance.
So shoo the stage fright away, and instead approach the performance as an exciting challenge and an opportunity to grow. Not only will this help you perform better, but you will see a boost in your confidence and ability to succeed in front of a crowd.
2. Remember to breathe.
This sounds silly, I know. But it’s one of the most important things to remember when gearing up for a performance. And it’s something that everyone forgets to do when they get nervous. But as you control your breathing, you control the stage fright.
When we step out in front of an audience, our bodies react to the external stress by initiating “fight or flight” mode. You know the feeling: heart racing, sweaty palms, trouble breathing, dry throat; it’s your mind preparing to fight or run at the first sign of trouble. There’s a whole bunch of science behind it that you can read here.
Unfortunately, the shallow breathing from this reaction prevents oxygen from reaching your brain. This not only makes the nerves worse, but it makes it harder to think in real-time (especially if you are performing memorized music). And you could potentially faint in front of your audience, which is not fun.
Before you perform, notice your breathing. Slow down and deepen the inhales and control the exhales. Fill your body with oxygen.
During the performance, check in with yourself every once in a while. While I was preparing for my piano recitals at university, I noticed that I would hold my breath during the tricky parts. Of course, this made the hard music more difficult to play, so I practiced breathing with my music and was better able to control my nerves during the actual performances.
3. Be prepared.
In many cases, nerves attack when one is not fully prepared with their music.
If you did not practice, your sub-conscience knows that you will mess up, so your body initiates “fight or flight” in order to help you deal with any unwanted stress.
If you did practice, you will be much more successful. They say practice makes perfect, and that’s because practicing a skill engrains it into your brain. Then when the time for performance has arrived, your mind already knows what to do. The more prepared you are, the better equipped you will be to deal with any stage fright that comes your way.
So the next time you are performing, remind yourself that you got this! Replace that stage fright with excitement and remember to breathe. All of your hard work will pay off.
