Nervousness in performance isn’t a bad thing; it’s a way of collecting your energy, like a loaded spring. But anxiety, especially to the point of what some call stagefright, is clearly detrimental.
Below are some of the key suggestions of experts who deal with stagefright anxiety. How do you think teachers can encourage the enjoyment of performing, so that this terrible anxiety doesn’t have a chance to develop? I’ve made my own comments on the experts’ suggestions; please add your comments, too!
1. Practice, be prepared. Feeling prepared is clearly an important way to feel comfortable, and to direct energy into producing good music rather than into fearing mistakes or criticism. And yet there are many angles to practicing. If someone practices so as to play a piece perfectly every time, what happens if there’s a distraction in the performance or an unexpected mistake? Many experts recommend not only practicing the music, but practicing performing, to get a chance to adjust to one’s own thoughts and build confidence while playing for various people. We can give students opportunities to perform in enjoyable surroundings, as discussed in my earlier post. We can also give students confidence that they are prepared even if in small sections at a time. We can help them start small and successfully, with easier pieces done well (though this has to be balanced with giving them music that inspires and challenges them).
2. Relax. Some experts recommend meditation, stretching, breathing. I remember a teacher of mine listening to me play a difficult passage and then simply saying to me, “Remember to breathe.” It was true, I was holding my breath, hoping to get through the passage. Yielding to the music, trusting the practice and preparation, directing energy into the music rather than into mere tension, are part of relaxing. This is easier when prepared, and works closely with physical preparation. It can go a long way if the teacher can offer some stretching exercises to relieve muscular stress. Teachers can also set good examples by not allowing stress and anxiety to build up in lessons. A sense of humor is priceless.
3. Accept self and others/rise above yourself. Even if you’re prepared, you may worry about what you have to offer, and whether it’s good enough. Since you’re performing, you’re the one who has the floor; it’s your feelings about the music that people want to hear, not your teacher’s or someone else’s. As teachers, we can encourage students to have and express their own ideas. More, we can set an example by filling in as much as we can about the background of a piece of music, its composer, why it was written, a story about how it was used or for whom it might have been played. All this information helps performers rise above themselves, and have something they want to give to an audience.
4. Feed off the audience, visualize them in constructive ways. Experts like the word “visualize” but it sometimes comes across as basically trying to fool yourself, as if you’re using a trick to think something you don’t really think. Some recommend imagining the audience in silly ways, for example in their underwear–anything to make the watchers feel less daunting. But I think performers don’t need these tricks. We can get a lot out of thinking in our own ways about why people come to listen to the music and why we play it: most people have a very personal hope of enjoying the music and are glad you’re there to perform it for them. They are not there to size you up or question you. There might be some critical types out there but we can’t do much about them; it’s really their loss that they listen to music in that way, whether it’s you or someone else up on stage. Play to the people who love music; they’ll give you every benefit of the doubt. For them, it’s not about you but about the music, and they’re glad you’re there to play it for them. As teachers we can be the ones who love the music and appreciate what the student has to say musically, even in a phrase or a small section.
5. Confidence. I’ve read that when a group of violinists were hypnotized to imagine that they could perform like a famous concert soloist, they played much better. This is what confidence does, taking all you can do and pouring it into your performance without second guessing. If you’re on stage, you may as well feel like you own it! Even big mistakes are more fun to listen to than timid perfection. If the audience senses that you enjoy playing, they enjoy listening all the more. Finding ways to help students enjoy lessons, enjoy playing with other students and enjoy playing for relatives, friends and finally strangers, is very rewarding. Focusing too often on perfection at the expense of a student’s confidence won’t help them get very far. They need that confidence in order to practice and get better, and to perform for appreciative listeners.
6. Physical preparation. Sleep is a big help, and eating good food. Stretching and strengthening helps keep a student’s body balanced; often long practice can create imbalances and extra physical tension if not offset with breaks and stretches. Wearing clothes that are comfortable and look good can remove stress about appearance, and being on time and familiar with the performance space can make it feel more exciting and comfortable. A massage is good for balancing muscles and relaxation.
7. Be in the moment. Playing music is telling a story; it’s hard to tell a story when you’re worrying about what you just said (or meant to say) or about what you haven’t said yet. The notes you’re playing right now want your attention, need to be persuasive, deserve to be enjoyed. We can help our students practice many aspects of their music, and one of them should be continuity–playing through and enjoying the story they’re telling. It’s a great performance skill to be able to take a listener through to the end, regardless of mistakes. And it’s a great practice skill to be able to make a mental note of a problem spot to come back to, without stopping for it. We can enjoy and appreciate and affirm a student’s overall performance, before going into all the details which will make it even better.
by Jacob — Mon Apr 7, 2008 @ 5:17 am