Jan 26 2010
Performance Anxiety; Positive Thoughts
We all know nerves can shatter our performance…Whatever we play in practice is so much harder in public, and many times, I like many others, have felt I have not done myself or the music justice by the way I’ve played after a performance.
A lot has to do with preparation. The need to practice until finger movements become automatic. Which means of course, you have to have much time to practice and prepare. I have felt it is useful to have about a dozen or so pieces that are always “on the back burner” so I can call on them to be ready to play at almost any time. That leaves some room for new pieces that can be slowly developed in practice. BUT, constant repetition of pieces (to the point of playing on auto pilot) can easily lead to going musically stale.
John Williams in an interview said the root of nerves is lack of confidence. An extension of this I feel is negative thoughts, perhaps about oneself, or even the venue where you are asked to play, limited time for preparation ect. Maybe even bad past experience can play on your mind, such as “I hope it’s not like THAT again”…Other common thoughts can include “I am not as good as..” or “I have not practiced enough” or “my technique is flawed”. If you can focus on your most negative thought, you are on the way towards a more positive thought that can work for you, instead of against.
Self Discovery
One way towards a more confident performance is looking inside ourselves, as opposed to attempting to take on board formulas that claim have helped many other players. Towards this process, try to understand how your inner voice can shape your feelings. Whereas negative thoughts can stimulate fear and self doubt, positive thoughts can create a positive outlook. It is easier to control thoughts than feelings. What we say to ourselves, and how we say it, is a factor in how we will perform under pressure. When musical expression is in synch with our inner soul, it can create an inner strength built on assurance.
Determine your priorities
It helps to focus on your abilities and how to use them. If you feel a technical weakness, work on it at home, for example, don’t play something like Recuerdos in public if you feel tremolo is not your strong point.
If practice time is limited before a performance our lives, and therefore playing, can appear out of control. Add an audience to that and panic can set in. Look at your priorities and take some tough choices. Consider the music you want to play and ask yourself if you are expressing it in the way you would like to express it. And not the way maybe others do. Does your technique allow you to do this? If not, maybe make a list of pieces to perform that you have more playing control over.
To overcome nerves, first you need to free yourself of impossible goals, or even hard to attain goals. This need not restrict your aspirations, just leave them to one side, and think of playing in public experience like you do technique, like building blocks. Start building from the bottom upwards.
Try to define what you want out of a performance…You will want to do your best, but “best” is VERY rare, for almost every player. Are you satisfied with a performance that is clean, memorised..I myself try never to “sell myself”. I prefer to attempt to express the music, to express what I feel about it.
Understand the fear
It’s easy to think beforehand “no one will respect me if I mess it up” or hating the thought of letting composers music down. It can help to discuss it with others, to open up the topic rather than keep it as a secret fear. Eventually, the goal here is to make performance anxiety a part of our musical training, as much a part of how to interpret and phrase. No guide will ever in itself help us to overcome the fear. But to understand the fear, and why it is there, is maybe the first step towards overcoming it.
