How do many of you deal with performance anxiety?

I have a problem staying focused when I play in front of people. even when I play in my own home. I play okay, but I find that I lose my focus because I keep wondering how I sound to those listening to me. I make mistakes that I would never make in practice. Some are mistakes I never made before. How do some of you stay so focused? Is it just because I need more experience playing in front of people or are there other methods you all use?

102 replies

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    • Larry_K
    • 3 wk ago
    • Reported - view

    I read somewhere about a piano teacher who would make noise to try to disrupt students at the piano. I thought it was Nadia Boulanger but I am having trouble finding a source.

    Graham Fitch advised to have someone in your household deliberately try to distract you while playing. My wife does this quite well without being asked. :)

    If my mind wanders at the keyboard, I am doomed. Richter had a “no stopping” rule and would play a piece ten times through without stopping.

    Once, I saw Raphaella Smits play Bach’s Chaconne on a tiny, quiet, romantic guitar. In the middle of the performance, a woman about twenty rows back screamed, “I CAN’T HEAR YOU!!!!” Raphaella did not miss a note and did not stop.

      • Concert Pianist • Piano Researcher • Piano Educator
      • Emma_Leiuman
      • 3 wk ago
      • Reported - view

       ,

      I used to do something similar, but instead of asking someone to distract me, I'd put on headphones and play something extremely familiar at a very loud volume: Rachmaninoff's Second Piano Concerto was one of my favorites. Then I'd play my own soft piece...

      If I could still hear my own music internally despite the concerto blasting in my ears :) my fingers would continue to follow that inner hearing almost automatically. Surprisingly, I made very few mistakes.

      It became a powerful way to build confidence because it proved that, when the musical image is truly stable in the mind, external distractions lose much of their power.

      • Mom, fitness instructor, lover of music
      • Michelle_Russell
      • 3 wk ago
      • Reported - view

       What I've found to be challenging is putting on headphones with the piece I am playing, but starting at a different spot, or finding a performer who plays it more quickly. Having a different piece in the headphones seemed to help me concentrate and learn to block out the distraction, but when it was the same piece it increased the challenge to maintain my own playing against someone else!

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