Performance Anxiety: A Beginner's Guide
You've been practicing for weeks, maybe even months. You know your stuff inside and out. But when it comes time to perform, all of a sudden your mind goes blank and your fingers refuse to cooperate. If this sounds familiar, then you're probably dealing with performance anxiety.
Performance anxiety is a type of stage fright that can affect both amateur and professional musicians. It's the feeling of being unprepared or unworthy of performing, and it can be crippling. The good news is that there are ways to overcome performance anxiety so that you can get up on stage and show the world what you're made of.
1. Understand What's Happening
The first step to overcoming performance anxiety is understanding what's happening when you feel anxious. When we feel anxious, our body goes into "fight or flight" mode. This is an evolutionary response that helped our ancestors survive in dangerous situations. When we're in fight or flight mode, our heart rate and blood pressure increase, our breathing becomes shallow, and we start to sweat. These physical changes Release adrenaline and other hormones that give us extra energy and strength so that we can either fight or flee from danger.
In a musical performance situation, none of these physical changes are helpful. In fact, they can be downright detrimental to your playing. That's why it's important to understand what's happening in your body when you start to feel anxious. Once you know what's going on, you can start to take steps to counter the effects of anxiety.
2. Practice Mindfulness
One of the best ways to counter the physical effects of anxiety is through mindfulness. Mindfulness is the practice of focusing your attention on the present moment without judgment. When you're mindful, you're not focused on the past or the future; you're focused on the here and now.
There are many different ways to practice mindfulness, but one simple way is to focus on your breath. Take a deep breath in through your nose, filling up your lungs completely. Then slowly exhale through your mouth. As you exhale, try to empty your lungs completely. Repeat this process a few times until you feel yourself starting to relax.
3 . Visualize Your Success
Another helpful tool for overcoming performance anxiety is visualization. Visualization is a technique where you picture yourself successfully completing a task before actually doing it. For example, if you're about to go on stage for a concert, visualize yourself walking on stage confidently, greeted by applause from the audience as you take your place at your instrument. See yourself playing with ease and control, nailing every note perfectly. Visualization can help calm your nerves by giving you a sense of confidence and control before you even start playing .
Conclusion
If performance anxiety is holding you back from playing music or performing in front of others , remember that you're not alone . Many musicians struggle with some form of stage fright . The most important thing is to understand what's happening when you start to feel anxious , and then take steps to counter the physical effects of anxiety . Through mindfulness , visualization , and other techniques , it is possible to overcome performance anxiety and give confident performances .
One of the best ways to counter performance anxiety is to be confident and prepared in your vocal technique. If you want someone who can help you, let me know here!
