How to get over performance anxiety?

[aeonstrife]

I'm sorry if this has been asked a million times but I'm really want to ask for advice. So I have a performance coming in about 4 days and I'm going to play in front of my year level cohort which is about 200 people. I really have a BAD case of stage fright and all of my piano performances so far were sub-par and where I had played a HUGE mistake. I'm also known as a very self-conscious person and I'm afraid where every time I make a mistake, I feel everyone is going to judge me negatively and thus creates a mental block in my head where I just suddenly forget which notes to play next and ended up making a fool of myself.

So if there's any experienced performers out there who has managed to conquer this anxiety and willing to give me advice then I'll be extremely grateful

[stevensk]

Well im afraid you cant solve this problem in 4 days. But, here we go:

1) Practice the piece whith such an intense that its harder to play it wrong than right
2) Dont play it the same day as the concert
3) Play in front of a small group of friends/relatives (or just one of them)
4) Keep in mind that nobody gets hurt or injured when you makes misstakes
5) Keep in mind that everybody makes misstakes  -no big deal
6) Keep in mind that almost no one will recognize your misstakes
7) Keep in mind everybody will love you and you will survive!

[theholygideons]

Consider yourself luck. How often are we able to perform in a 200 person crowd where everyone in the audience is appreciative of what you have to offer? Consider the fact that, after you graduate, you won't have the same free opportunity to perform for such a large crowd. So Carpe Diem! Noone's going to judge you. If you focus too much on their reactions and expectations, you will miss all that heavenly glory, that being, the moment you are performing the piece in front of them.

[visitor]

over prepare. like has been said above, learn it so well that you can't make the mistakes that plague less preppred performances (this is like exams in schools, the less you study, the harder the test is....).
perform for people often
record yourself with a commitment to make the recording available to others (let them know before you record so you can't weenie out of forwarding them the performance), then send it to them.

rinse, lather, repeat, as often as neccessary.

[minimax]

My advise (as non performer) is to turn away from your thoughts as much as you can. Disregard anything that comes to mind  (I know it is not easy). Your thoughts come from a suppressed electromagnetic energy field of past thoughts and feelings, which fills your whole body and is called psyche. When you give attention (life energy) to any of it, it activates that field from which the thoughts came, increases it (you get more thoughts coming into awareness)... and if for a extended period of time you let negative thinking persist, your body will react depending on how much of that negative (fear) was collected and where in the body it is located. Symptoms like sweating, trembling, memory problems ...etc will appear - hence mistakes while playing piano. When you cannot breakaway from that thinking (you get scared of image that thoughts create), the loop is created, in which energy of old thinking increased by your attention and growing felling of fear, make all that energy move in the body ... you get panic attacks with myriad of symptoms (very unpleasant experience ... trust me).

What you may try is this (You have to watch your thoughts and be aware of them):
* when any thought comes to mind ask yourself two questions (in your mind - not aloud):
* “To whom is that thought?” - You will get an answer: “To me”
* “Who am I?”
After second question that thought will be gone. New one may come, but with same questions you can bounce it into oblivion. When you do it persistently you may get periods in which no thoughts come for a while and no adverse symptoms will be appearing. As always it requires practice to be good at it.

Another thing to try (hard to accomplish in 4 days) is to create a mental picture of something nice (nature is the best ... a waterfall, a mountain ... anything you like). As soon as negative thinking appears bring that image into the mind .....and keep it there until bad toughs subside. Practice it often and in time it will be very easy to do .. will become automatic in a sense.

I do not advocate thinking “positive thoughts”, as usually there is tons of negativity in us which will take upper hand and positive programing that we perform in that case is almost useless in short term. You are still in a habit of thinking. Long term ... neutral (positive and negative are balanced) thinking is the best. 

Good luck.

[louispodesta]

I'm sorry if this has been asked a million times but I'm really want to ask for advice. So I have a performance coming in about 4 days and I'm going to play in front of my year level cohort which is about 200 people. I really have a BAD case of stage fright and all of my piano performances so far were sub-par and where I had played a HUGE mistake. I'm also known as a very self-conscious person and I'm afraid where every time I make a mistake, I feel everyone is going to judge me negatively and thus creates a mental block in my head where I just suddenly forget which notes to play next and ended up making a fool of myself.

So if there's any experienced performers out there who has managed to conquer this anxiety and willing to give me advice then I'll be extremely grateful

I preface my remarks by saying this, in regards future posters: until "you have walked a mile in my moccasins, then I don't want to hear about it."

Okay, I have low level Parkinson's Disease (since birth) so, you do not have anywhere near the nerve problems I USED TO HAVE!!

Therefore, you pull any string, avail yourself of any contact, and then you get an appointment with a neurologist.  Then, you have them prescribe an NON-NARCOTIC !!! drug which is Inderal/Propranalol.

This (non-side effect) drug has been recommended for stage fright for over 30 years!

The reason you need to get to a neurologist is that it is very important that you get the right dosage before your performance.   It all depends on your particular metabolism which this type of specialist will be able to size-up in a heartbeat.

DO NOT try to do this with your "Primary" physician because they won't know how to recommend the proper dosage.  Realistically speaking,  all you will need is from 10 to 20 milligrams a half hour before your performance.

Most importantly, which your Doctor will not tell you, once you have taken the medication before your performance, QUIT PRACTICING, and then lie down.  Otherwise, your body will fight the medication whose sole purpose is to slow your adrenal glands down.

The great news is that this in no way effects your mind/brain.  Valium/Xanax does, and it really screws up your performance.

[minimax]

Therefore, you pull any string, avail yourself of any contact, and then you get an appointment with a neurologist.  Then, you have them prescribe an NON-NARCOTIC !!! drug which is Inderal/Propranalol.

I strongly advise not to take that route. Maybe in Louise’s case it was appropriate, I cannot say, but in my opinion it is not the way to face life. Drugs always just mask the problem, do not fix it and become an ease way for people with less then strong will.  Look at many alcoholics, drug addicts... it always starts with first time... question is where it is going to lead you? Can you know that? Would you be able to resist the urge to use it again, if it is going to work this time?
Sometimes drugs are the only way for some people to allow them semi decent lives, but these are rare cases. Most of the people do not need them.


Why I made the point above?

Because I want to point you in a direction where most people should look for help, but are not thought that . The world if full of people looking for help outside of them. The true way is always WITHIN. Find out who you really are, how you function, how you thinking and feeling shape your life (for this you have to be really aware of every moment that transpires in the world outside of you and at the same time being aware of every thought and feeling within - takes time to learn that). Be not afraid of facing obstacles (like a performance in a few days), but face them with courage and learn from it. Every second of your life is created by YOU and only YOU. People that you meet, situation that you find yourself in, are ... ONLY a reflection of totality of your desires and fears. There is no outside power from you, that forces you to live it out. It just your consciousness projected outside. Do you fully understand a content of your own consciousness ? Do you still allow other peoples thoughts (including in it - my rambling, TV.. etc.) to get there without using your logic and approval?

Do not believe in anything that you just read !!!. Question it everyday and ask yourself if it is true! The answer to all questions of life are in YOU and not in the books. Good books may only point you in a right way.

If you want to find out how easy, enjoyable and fulfilling a life could be lived, read a book by Lester Levenson " No attachments, no aversions: the autobiography of a master" which is easy to find on the net in pdf form. I also recommend to read at least few first pages of  Eckhart Tolle’s “Power of Now”. By doing this you will find out how utterly miserable and pathetic life of most of the people living around you is. Even people with big money are among them. And they do not have a clue about it.  

The way to the true, happy and fulfilling life is not easy, but I can assure you that you will not get there by starting the easy way out (take a pill and forget the problem way). The choice is yours.

[louispodesta]

I'm sorry if this has been asked a million times but I'm really want to ask for advice. So I have a performance coming in about 4 days and I'm going to play in front of my year level cohort which is about 200 people. I really have a BAD case of stage fright and all of my piano performances so far were sub-par and where I had played a HUGE mistake. I'm also known as a very self-conscious person and I'm afraid where every time I make a mistake, I feel everyone is going to judge me negatively and thus creates a mental block in my head where I just suddenly forget which notes to play next and ended up making a fool of myself.

So if there's any experienced performers out there who has managed to conquer this anxiety and willing to give me advice then I'll be extremely grateful

When you get up at the piano in a couple of days, one of two realities will be in play:  1) Adrenalin will be coursing through your body causing you to be a nervous wreck or 2) your body's metabolism will be stable, and you will able to focus on your music performance.

Self awareness training takes years and years of training.  In fact, I have been trained in Neurofeedback which could be a very effective long term solution to your problem.

What "minimax" and others don't realize is that when you fall apart during a performance it is permanently burned into your consciousness as a negative.  Conversely, I will never forget playing my senior jury with the aid of Inderal.

I knew from that day forward I would be able to control my nerves and focus on my music, forever!

Parenthetically, if you do go see a neurologist just ask him/her how many physicians (especially surgeons) that they know of who take this medication to steady their hands.  You cannot get any more self-aware than these guys.

[minimax]

Self awareness training takes years and years of training. 

This is not completely true. For people that toy with the idea and do it for all other reasons, but the right one, it is true. But if you ignite the spark in you because you used your logic and see this as a way to happiness and freedom in life, the spark quickly turns into a raging fire. That fire is a passion that allows you to turn your attention within and do not seek fulfillment in the world out there only. You never gonna find it outside of you - EVER. You have to use both worlds as outside is a reflection of inside (attachments and aversions to world) and to find all (there is a lot of it that we are not aware at the moment) that you really desire within (to be able to drop it) you have to observe the outside and look for it inside. Inside is reflected outside and your reactions to outside influence inside - it is a loop. But all what happens in someones life is self created - taking early life programing from outside as necessity and thing which is outside of our control. Thoughts create all.

What logic I am talking about?

Look at other people experiences.

Leader of a pop band “Simply Red” admitted to sleeping with over 3000 women in 3 years to whom he apologized. Do you think he found happiness in it? Do you think he is happy now?
Look at Michael Douglas and his wife. They are famous, rich. You still think they are happy?
Look at your own close or distant family. The strife, divorces, arguments which are covered on family gatherings with fake smiles. Not all is bad, there is good staff also. Pleasure and pain alternate in our life, if we live as prisoners of our minds. But this is a pathological way of living.

What is normal you may ask?

Normal is a state in which you psyche is free of any emotional energy. Body is empty of it and your nervous system is not impacted by adrenaline. You body is always naturally relaxed. You do not have ANY thoughts coming and disturbing constant peace that you feel. You may use thought for communication, planing etc. - but you are their master. The thoughts bring feelings with them, but you can change what you feel by changing thoughts. Feeling will follow in 3 to 4 seconds. You never gonna have shaking hands while performing.  Why? Because there will be no stupid thoughts telling you, before you even start playing, that you will probably fail (as it happened before) and expectation of that will make your body tremble in fear. The memories are accessible to you as information but not as emotional energy, trapped in the body and creating havoc there. All of that nonsense is totally gone forever !!! You live in the NOW of things and not in you past memories, or in the unknown future, which you are afraid of. Kids, when very young, live that way. Always full of energy, inquisitive and curious. If get distracted, hurt - quickly comeback to the happy state. Why? Because this is normal !!!
Anyone can live that way. It requires understanding based on logic and self work. That is it.  Very simple to comprehend but hard to implement.

What "minimax" and others don't realize is that when you fall apart during a performance it is permanently burned into your consciousness as a negative. 

It is not permanently burned !!!!. It is only that way if you let your feelings be attached to a memory, as an emotion. That emotion is an illusion created by your thinking about what transpired and what later might happen. If you remove an emotional aspect of that memory it becomes benevolent. It will never bring you new thoughts, unless you consciously will choose to comeback to the memory. Otherwise it will run your life to the end of it, as what is suppressed always wants to expand and leave the body (hence coming thoughts stream), but we do not allow it to happen. That is why you should not want to use “crutches” in life in form of pills, alcohol, drugs, TV to escape from you feelings. They only mask the problem and never fix it. But YOU  alone can fix it !!! Do you want to escape all the time from what you carry inside? For most people their past time (vacations, concerts, TV, ... etc) is an escape from what eats them alive, when they are alone with themselves. You know it, when you get free, otherwise it is just a speculation.

How to remove suppressed feelings from the psyche?

“Sedona Method” created by Lester Levenson is a useful tool that will allow anyone to instantly work on that part of themselves. There is plenty info for free on the net. You just have to look.

Parenthetically, if you do go see a neurologist just ask him/her how many physicians (especially surgeons) that they know of who take this medication to steady their hands.  You cannot get any more self-aware than these guys.

If this is what they really do, it just proves that they as close to self-awareness as the distance between New York and Paris. They rather developed a good concentration. That is all. If you are self aware you see real cause of things that happen and do not guess it. If you see real cause of a problem you remove it, but not use substitutes that mask it.

I will give you an example from my life proving the connection between garbage that we carry inside and the body functioning.
One day I woke up and right away I noticed that my nose was running, I felt weak ... all symptoms of a coming cold. Since I always was starting my day, with conscious removing what I felt inside of me (I developed it really good and it was automatic work for me at that time) I went to work on it. It took me approx. 5 min. to remove most of the other garbage, until I felt a heaviness in my head starting from my nose to the left. As soon as I realized that it was grief, it started going down and instantly all the symptoms were gone. ALL of IT. It took no more then a second. Do you think that I listen to the doctors telling me how the bacteria starts illnesses and all other stuff and take pills that they want to prescribe? Doctors have their place in our lives, most are good people, but why not trust ourselves to find the truth?

P.S. I hope Luis is not taking my rumblings as an attack on his views. He has had his experience in life and shares them whit us and I do the same. As you all can see, my were quite different, and that is why I post. I hope OP will not object that I expanded on my answer to his question. This is just food for thought.

[louispodesta]

First, and foremost, it is not Louise and it is not Luis.  Jeez, I spell out my own name, which is pronounced in the French "Louie," just like a few million people of the same first name (who are of French or Italian heritage).

Secondly, I am, as has been stated before, a classical pianist/philosopher.  Specifically, I am a social activist philosopher.

That means when the OP says  that they have a performance in four days, then I address the problem in terms of the dynamic of a specific event and its associated causality.  Conversely, what works for you, works for you "minimax."

This person is in serious trouble, and there is a relatively easy, albeit short term, solution for his problem.  Leave her/his psyche to those that this person chooses to consult.

For right now, this pianist wants to get rid of the terrible shakes.

[j_menz]

The great news is that this in no way effects your mind/brain. 

Evidence appears to indicate otherwise. 

[minimax]

First, and foremost, it is not Louise and it is not Luis.  Jeez, I spell out my own name, which is pronounced in the French "Louie," just like a few million people of the same first name (who are of French or Italian heritage).

I am sorry for misspelling your name, it was just carelessness on my part - not intentional, I can assure you. You name is not popular in the land of Chopin, where I was born, so I did not even notice a problem. English is my second language and I am far from mastery of it. I hope you will not hold a grudge against me

All of it was a friendly exchange of ideas, I hope. You point of view is not less valuable than mine. It is just different. That is all. It is up to anyone who might be interested in what we wrote, to decide for themselves, if any of it may bring them benefit.

Regards,

Andrew

[zerozero]

Something that clicked in my head. I used to get stomach cramps that would knot me up, but then I just realised, that even if I DID (sirens, music, get carted of to jail) make a M_I_S_TAKE, then the audience can accept that, yes its true, they can smile at a blunder and move on, your not immediately ejected from the forum, the piano stool does not have a very large spring underneath it.

"They" know that we are all human and music is not necessarily about perfection - Johnny Rotten of the sex pistols was one to point this out very loudly.

Before I play a piece that I know by heart, I cant even tell you the first note with my thinking mind, it all takes place elsewhere of course...

[louispodesta]

I'm sorry if this has been asked a million times but I'm really want to ask for advice. So I have a performance coming in about 4 days and I'm going to play in front of my year level cohort which is about 200 people. I really have a BAD case of stage fright and all of my piano performances so far were sub-par and where I had played a HUGE mistake. I'm also known as a very self-conscious person and I'm afraid where every time I make a mistake, I feel everyone is going to judge me negatively and thus creates a mental block in my head where I just suddenly forget which notes to play next and ended up making a fool of myself.

So if there's any experienced performers out there who has managed to conquer this anxiety and willing to give me advice then I'll be extremely grateful

Okay, "aeonstrife," this your opportunity (and you made the initial post) to learn from your recent experience.

We are all on your side!

[rmbarbosa]

propanolol slows your heart rate and causes hipotension.
If you have, for example, 100-60 mmHg, with propanolol you`ll stay with <> 80/90- 50/40 mmHg.
I dont know if it is so good like that to play a concert with PA = 80/40 mmHg...

[louispodesta]

propanolol slows your heart rate and causes hipotension.
If you have, for example, 100-60 mmHg, with propanolol you`ll stay with <> 80/90- 50/40 mmHg.
I dont know if it is so good like that to play a concert with PA = 80/40 mmHg...

1)  The performance is over, and if it was successful, we would have heard about it by now.

2)  Are you a Board Certified Neurologist or Endocrinologist?  If not, what qualifies you to make your statement regarding Inderal, as it is commonly prescribe for stage fright?
 

[j_menz]

2)  Are you a Board Certified Neurologist or Endocrinologist? 
 

Are you? If not, what makes you qualified to "prescribe" it?

[theholygideons]

Why the *** would you take pills for performance anxiety. It's a fact of life. You don't cover it up, you build a bridge and get over it. We are not machines that can be instantaneously fixed nor is it the job of the doctor to fix your emotional issues. Why can't you learn to take full responsibility of your self and take measures to remedy it, such as through progressive desensitization by regularly performing in front of family, friends and people, or getting comfortable interacting with strangers.   

[hfmadopter]

Why the *** would you take pills for performance anxiety. It's a fact of life. You don't cover it up, you build a bridge and get over it. We are not machines that can be instantaneously fixed nor is it the job of the doctor to fix your emotional issues. Why can't you learn to take full responsibility of your self and take measures to remedy it, such as through progressive desensitization by regularly performing in front of family, friends and people, or getting comfortable interacting with strangers.   

I've found my bridge. Anyway, if this forum had a like tab your message would have just gotten one ! Experience is one of the better bridge builders and with experience the bridge is built from both successful and failed attempts.

[louispodesta]

Why the *** would you take pills for performance anxiety. It's a fact of life. You don't cover it up, you build a bridge and get over it. We are not machines that can be instantaneously fixed nor is it the job of the doctor to fix your emotional issues. Why can't you learn to take full responsibility of your self and take measures to remedy it, such as through progressive desensitization by regularly performing in front of family, friends and people, or getting comfortable interacting with strangers.   

1) A local pianist was one of the four students who was selected to study under Claudio Arrau in New York.  He verified for me that Mr. Arrau, because of nerves, visited a psychotherapist on a regular basis, most of his entire adult life.

2)  Vladimir Horowitz was institutionalized more than once for nervous breakdowns.

3)  When Peter Serkin performed the Brahms 2nd Concerto on television, he was shaking so hard I could not figure out how he could possibly strike the right notes.  I thought he was going to have a stroke!

How many examples do you have to see before you realize that (for want of a better metaphor) this Buddhist mindset that expect pianist to aspire to , does not in reality exist?

[theholygideons]

1) A local pianist was one of the four students who was selected to study under Claudio Arrau in New York.  He verified for me that Mr. Arrau, because of nerves, visited a psychotherapist on a regular basis, most of his entire adult life.

2)  Vladimir Horowitz was institutionalized more than once for nervous breakdowns.

3)  When Peter Serkin performed the Brahms 2nd Concerto on television, he was shaking so hard I could not figure out how he could possibly strike the right notes.  I thought he was going to have a stroke!

How many examples do you have to see before you realize that (for want of a better metaphor) this Buddhist mindset that expect pianist to aspire to , does not in reality exist?

How is what I said, 'taking full responsibility of oneself and being progressively desensitised by performing more in front of people' an example of an idealistic Buddhist mindset per se? Pianists are such solitary and overly neurotic people, who have been socially conditioned by recordings and the bad reviews they get. Therefore, you must challenge yourself by going outside your comfort zone so as to 'thicken one's skin' and to have a paradigm shift, where you aren't looking for those scraps of validation and approval from those around you, but seek joy from the creativity and experience itself. In reality, those three great giants do have right reason to be nervous, but who are you!   

A proportion of Buddhism may be wishy-washy and unrealistic, but this is neither, but a part of psychology.