How to stop the nervous feelings when playing for audience?

[slurred_beat]

Hi all, I played a piece for audience for the first time. It was recently, for some friends. I was nervous! I played something I have played a many times alone. But never for people before. I was nervous and it caused me to mess up. I could always control my fingers alone but not when I'm nervous! I was trying to make myself stop being nervous but it didn't work, I felt embarrassed that I was playing more bad. Do you know how to fix being nervous so I don't mess up again?  :'(

[brogers70]

What happened is totally normal and nothing to worry about. Getting used to playing for other people takes time and practice. You can work up to it slowly by doing things that increase the potential for feeling nervous and then getting adapted to it. So,

1. Play with a metronome sometimes. Just the stress of sticking to the beat and maybe feeling a bit rushed will give some practice playing under stress.

2. Record yourself. That's almost guaranteed to give you a little performance anxiety to work on.

3. Play for a friend or family member. Relatively low stress, but not like playing only for yourself.

4. Play for the other students of your teacher, a bit more stressful, but often very helpful.

5. Find a church that will let you play the prelude or postlude - often people will be talking quietly and not paying full attention, so it's not as stressful as a recital.

6. Play in a student recital where you are just one among many.

7. Give a house recital where you play at home for a bunch of friends.

The more you do things like this, the more comfortable it will become. The worst that can happen is that you play badly for your metronome or for a few friends. The world won't end. Eventually you'll get more comfortable.

[Bob]

Practice performing.

Don't play something too far out of your technical grasp.

[flyusx]

Something that works for me (and this may or may not help you): I always think of performing as me playing for myself, and that if I enjoy the way it sounds, then everything's fine (considering that we aren't professional concert pianists). Takes a few tries though, I've had nearly a decades worth of recitals and it's only recently since I've gotten relatively comfortable.

[lelle]

I also find it easier to play for people if I feel it as me sharing something I like rather than me performing and trying to prove that I can play well.

[slurred_beat]

Thank you all. I guess it's just that you have to practice it huh? It's just sucks because I'm afraid I'll mess up again when I practice it. I want to show that I'm good when I perform, you know what I'm saying?

[lostinidlewonder]

Relax. Don't worry if you make a mistake no one cares. Once you relax that no one is out to get you you will play a lot better. No one remembers you for your mistakes and if they do then they are not "for" you and then it doesn't matter what they think. This of course requires practice so play for people more often and make lots of mistakes, it's good fun!

[bernadette60614]

Could you think of it this way:

You're excited.

This is something you've put your soul into.

You want to play it well.

You are less so nervous, than vested in expressing the joy you feel in the music.

I find if I can get my "head into the music" when I'm recording the music for playback at home, that carries over when I perform in front of others.

[leigh anne]

Hi all, I played a piece for audience for the first time. It was recently, for some friends. I was nervous! I played something I have played a many times alone. But never for people before. I was nervous and it caused me to mess up. I could always control my fingers alone but not when I'm nervous! I was trying to make myself stop being nervous but it didn't work, I felt embarrassed that I was playing more bad. Do you know how to fix being nervous so I don't mess up again?  :'(

Grab a friend and play in front of her/him. That should help.

[geopianoincanada]

I knew a guitarist in a working band 20 years ago who quieted his nerves with copious amounts of alcohol, so much that he dropped his guitar on the stage during a gig while it was plugged in and amped.

To this day I don't know if he ever resolved his desparate need of alcohol to combat his on-stage nervousness but such nervousness must come from a lack of confidence in one's own playing ability which can usually be at least partially helped with lots of musical practice.

[quantum]

4. Play for the other students of your teacher, a bit more stressful, but often very helpful.

In university we did this on an regular basis, every two to three weeks.  All piano majors would gather in a room and play for each other.  There was no academic merit or penalty based on how one played.  The only requirements were to show up, listen to everyone else play, and play the pieces one was currently working on.  Discussion was optional, some people liked the feedback, others not so much.  The idea was to simply play, not to present polished performances.  If the piece wasn't memorized, no problem, just use music.  If you were working on a section of a very long piece, then that is what you played, no need to plow through the entirety of a 40 min concerto. 

Very often things fell apart, but that didn't matter as it happened to everyone.  This was probably one of the most valuable lessons to be had.  Things fell apart when put in the situation of playing for others, and there was no penalty because of it, only the benefit of learning and self teaching.  One learned the parts of the music that needed more attention.  One learned how the pressure of public performance could affect one's music making. 

As a result of doing this activity so frequently, the novelty and fear of a piece falling apart wore off, and people began to focus on the teaching and learning aspects of these gatherings.  A lot of the times the lessons were non-verbal.  It was more about what you learned about yourself than what someone else thought of your playing.  The professor didn't really comment publicly about any criticism on ones playing, that was saved for private lessons.  It was more about words of encouragement, introducing pieces with some random facts, and maybe telling a joke to calm nerves of some people. 

[klavieronin]

Based on my experience you never stop feeling nervous, you just get better at controlling the effects of nervousness. The more practice you get playing in front of people, and following some of the advice given by other people here, the better you'll get at controlling the symptoms of your nervousness. I don't think there is any other way.

[geopianoincanada]

Some years ago we used to have a coffee shop or two here which hosted "open mic" nights. Many would attend and get up in front of the microphone. Some were terrible and others were unpolished diamonds. If you can find such "open mic" cafes in your area this will help you build up some nerve for playing in front of others.

[yanliu55]

Yeah, I've been wondering about that too. I don't perform often, but I have a good amount of competitions/recitals in the springtime, and sometimes nervousness gets hold of me and I mess up. I think honestly you can't really get rid of it entirely or at all ever, but you just get used to it. In my experience, trying to tamp down the nervousness makes my performance worse (reverse psychology? I dunno), and I've been struggling with that for awhile