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?
92 replies
-
It is very easy to state the solution to this problem, although that solution can be very difficult to implement:
The only way that I am aware of to get less anxious, and better at performing, is to perform!
I too, am familiar with the high anxiety that accompanies a live performance, and also with those things that inexplicably go wrong when performing, which have almost always gone right in practice.
With repeated performances, some of these tendencies and patterns become more familiar, and thereby much less inexplicable, then you can start to develop strategies to counteract them.
As a veteran of many performances that have gone off the rails, I feel qualified to speak on this subject! Here are some of the things I’ve observed running through my mind just before some calamity takes place:
“I wonder how this is coming across to the audience, are they bored, annoyed, excited, impressed? OOPS now where am I?”
“whew, I just made it through that difficult part that I had been so worried about, congratulations to me – yikes here’s the next section and I forgot to set it up the way I like”
”oh oh here comes this section that always gives me trouble, now what was it that I thought I just learned about it last night?”
”oh no I’m blanking on the specific details of this part, is muscle memory going to carry me through?”
“this section always goes better if I don’t think about, so try not to think about it, try not to think about it ARGHH I’m thinking about it!!”
and so forth. Basically, these are all instances of distractions, creeping in because of the unfamiliar environment of performing. With practice at the skill of performing itself, you can start to see some of them coming, and nip them in the Bud by reminding yourself to get your attention back on the music.
-
said:
I also don't completely share your fatalistic view point.Oh I wouldn't want you to share it! I'm the type to expect the worst (perhaps because of my training as a physician) and then often be pleasantly surprised.
-
Already 7 members in "my" group now! I think we may stop recruiting for now, because I remember the meetings were too long with the 10+ group, even when not everyone is playing each time!
These things change all the time anyway, so I will let y'all know whenever we recruit again. Thanks for interest! We're all in it mostly for ourselves anyway 😄.
-
said:
I don't really have performance anxiety, so I can't really relate to making mistakes because I am nervous.That is an extraordinary gift, Maria!! Too bad we won't hear you at the upcoming Liszt challenge. But I understand you have many big pieces to prepare at the same time, and I certainly look forward to seeing your grand entrance at the next community concert!
-
said:
I think Peter Golemme did it with barroom playing, if I am not mistakenOn the one hand, it is true that I could walk into a bar/restaurant/cocktail lounge/ right now, without any preparation, and sit down and play all night without a moment's hesitation or the slightest anxiety. But put me on a stage or on a video camera for a Community Concert to play something I've practiced hundreds of times, and I am as much a nervous wreck as anyone on this thread. Also, when I go to make a recording, whether of classical repertoire or of a standard tune that I can toss off effortlessly in a bar, I become very stiff and tense and find it extremely difficult to capture the spontanaeity and relaxation that are necessary for a good performance.
The key difference in these scenarios is that, in a bar or restaurant etc. nobody is really listening very closely. The customers were there for mostly other reasons and I was there to fill in the background. (This was very hard to accept in my younger days, when I saw myself as an "artist" stepping out onto a stage to be the center of attention ; ---many times I had to be told to turn down the intensity and volume because it was interfering with people's dinners or conversations ☹️) .
Even if they did come to listen, the noisy background, could mask a lot of defects in execution, wrong notes, dropped beats or other infelicities. In contrast, on the concert stage, everyone is there for the express purpose of listening, and will be paying close attendtion.
Another factor is HABITUATION. You will inevitably become less anxious about performing the more often you do it. My gig in the Vermont ski lodge really habituated me quickly to this kind of setting, as I had to play 7 nights a week 8 hours a night, for the whole season, with only a few random nights off.
It's difficult to become habituated to playing in a concert setting when you only get to do it a few times a year. It should be done repeatedly within a relatively short time span in order to become habitual. That's one reason I encourage everyone to participate as much as possible in the ToneBase concerts, and it's why I'm excited about the prospect of participating in a Zoom group. These are priceless opportunities to perform for a knowledgeable & friendly audience, with rather low stakes if the performance doesn't go well.