"The shakes"

[melancholy]

I often find myself plagued by unwanted shakiness of the hands and fingers when performing in public. It really hurts both my ego and my spirits:

My ego, in the sense that I feel that the image of nervousness in a performance signs to me of both amature-ism and "not wanting to be on stage", in a sense -- I consider myself having escaped from the land of the amature many years ago; and I desire very much to perform in front of audiences.

My spirits, in that the blemish to my ego begets feelings of sadness and disappointment.

Do others experience "the shakes" of nervousness on stage? I have seen it among my peers at piano-focused summer camps, so I am sure it is not just me.

In others news, tomorrow I am auditioning at the University of North Carolina in Greensboro with the purpose of entering their music program and, of course, majoring in piano performance. Wish me luck!

[drexo]

Yes, I can relate to this.

I've once had a blackout during a performance. The nervousness before going on stage after that experience was eventually the reason for me to quit playing the piano for a while. I never performed on any major big events though, but I'm even terrified to play in front of friends. It's all in the brain and really a mental problem which has a huge impact on the rest of the body.

I'm interested in peoples advice and experience regarding this subject and I wish you all the luck tomorrow!

[megadodd]

You have to build confidence. It's a long process. What seems to be working for me is, play for your teacher, when you are not nervous in front of her/him anymore, go onto playing for 1 or 2 friends. Then go on playing for a couple of more, when most of that nervousness is gone.
After that, play spontaniously for people, without preparing much. But let them know, it's just because you want to learn to control your adrenaline.

Move on to playing for 10+ people. When this is easier, one have to try playing a concert sometime soon. Perhaps not the hardest pieces you know, maybe just 2 or 3 "easier" pieces you know- and prepare them to 150%.

[birba]

My advice is to learn to live with it.  You say you saw your peers suffering from the shakes?  Well, I'll have you know I sat on stage right next to the piano in a Horowitz concert at Alice Tully hall in New york.  And his shakes were so bad when he started off with a scarlatti sonata, it sounded like Shonberg.  We all get nervous.  It's part of the trade.

[omar_roy]

I used to have really bad shakes.  Not only would my hands shake, but also my feet when i was pedaling.  As a result, I would try to stop the shaking by tensing up.  Combine this with very sweaty hands and disaster often ensued.

However, an important part of your professional training as a musician in a music program will be your studio classes (also called repertoire classes).  These are basically where your entire piano studio gets together and you play for each other.  It's a weekly thing, and while you won't play every week, it's often enough to build up a sort of familiarity with the aspect of performance, even if the audience is smaller than normal.  This was absolutely instrumental (haha!) to helping me with my stage fright.

Play for your friends as often as possible, and record yourself too!  This will force you to develop reflexes to keep soldiering on if you make mistakes or have memory slips.

Performance is hard, and like anything difficult you need to practice it, and the only way to practice performing is to perform!  The confidence will come, but you need to keep at it.

[iansinclair]

It's called stage fright, my friend, and if you don't have it from time to time -- or even every time -- it's probably because you are dead.  To give you an idea -- my daughter in law is the Principle Soloist (prima ballerina) for one of the world's major ballet companies.  She's been dancing at the top of her profession for 10 years now (and dancing professionally for 20).  She is so nervous before a performance that she can't eat... I know lots of pros in all the performing arts in the same boat.  Just... learn to control it and carry on!

[pianogirl13669]

Yes.  This happens to everyone.  I play weekly in public and although I've gotten used to the situation for the most part, there are still some days when I am anxious and feel shaky.  New situations are more difficult.  I played in a piano festival in the fall and didn't think I was very nervous but found myself feeling like I was having an "outer body experience" while playing.   I played well but it made things very interesting to say the least.    I saw Emanuel Ax play last year and even he talked about how nervous he gets.  It just goes with the territory.  The only advice I have is prepare, prepare, prepare. 

[pianogirl13669]

Oh...and have some confidence in the fact that you have prepared.  Trust in the fact that you've done the hard work ahead of time and trust whatever comes out.  Good luck!

[maxwebr]

Being prepared is the best advice. The more confident you feel with the piece, regardless if you are playing from memory or from the music, the easier it will be to perform in public.
I use to get the shakes too.. Now I feel pretty comforable on the stage. Though if I feel I don't have a section down 100%, then adrenaline kicks in and you try to play it faster to get it finished. That can be devistating to say the least. Keep you piece in control, you will play better.

BTW I am playing this weekend and I am already a bit uptight.

[cjp_piano]

Most of the responses so far have been mental or emotional, but I'd like to offer a physical remedy. The "shaking" is the adrenaline running through your body, allowing you to run for your life or kick some a@%! Obviously, you aren't going to fight or flight, so you have to do something with all that energy. For me, I do some very physical things right before I perform, and this lessens the shakes a great deal:

Jumping jacks
Run in place (or run around if you have a large area!)
Tighten and release certain muscle groups a few times in a row (legs, arms, fists, etc)
- just tense up your muscles (not your whole body at once, just certain groups mentioned above) for a few seconds, then release for a few seconds. Repeat a few times, then do another muscle group.

This allows your body to expend that energy that's causing you to shake. The WORST thing you can do is sit still and hope it goes away. Of course, you can mentally calm yourself down by deep breathing and such, but the mind is very powerful, and if you find yourself not being able to focus on calming down, these physical exercises are bound to help!

Try it next time! 

[maxwebr]

For those that still cannot cope with performance anxiety, there are medical solutions. Beta blockers are widely used medication for such "performance anxiety". I have been told 3 in 4 professionals use some form of beta blockers. Something to consider.

[quantum]

You may wish to check out this book:
https://www.amazon.com/Notes-Green-Room-Anxiety-Performance/dp/0787943789

[piano_vs_science]

I often find myself plagued by unwanted shakiness of the hands and fingers when performing in public. It really hurts both my ego and my spirits:

really???
i get freakin' nervous when playing in front of my dad!!!
but i just hide it

[austinarg]

Well, my teacher said she always got nervous when she sat at the piano in front of a big audience, but that it all disappeared after hearing the applause of the people after ending the first piece.

[sigill]

I've found that the longer the piece, the less nervous I become. After about 2 or 3 minutes of playing, my hands and legs stop shaking. Maybe it just takes time for the body to calm down.

Good luck!

[keyboardkat]

This is universal in the performing arts.   A young actress once met the great actress Sarah Bernhardt backstage before going on.   The girl said, "Why, Madame Bernhardt, you seem so nervous.  Why is it that I am never nervous before going on?"

The temperature in the room dropped by about 50 degress.   Madame Bernhardt replied, "You will be , my dear, when you have learned to act!"