how can you stop being nervous?

[dudejan]

most pieces I play I can play without even one mistake at home.. But as soon as I have to play elsewhere, for an audience or something, my fingers start shaking & quivering and I can't play decently, so everytime I have to perform I'm getting more and more insecure.. Can somebody help me with this please? I really want to lose it

[Kassaa]

Perform more in public. If you get more experience you will be less nervous.

But I know the problem, I have a really important exam saturday and I'm really nervous :|

[aerlinndan]

Kassaa's response is short but it's spot-on. The only way to get better at performing in public is to do it so often that it becomes habitual. You want to make it so that it is no big deal to sit in front of the crowd with a piece and play it. That being said, there are certain things you can focus on when you sit down to play each time in public that will help you if you practice them repeatedly.

1. Adopt the attitude that you're simply going to share your music and the work you've done with a group of people. You're not there to impress, or make yourself seem special - just to share.

2. "Psyching" yourself out before a performance sometimes really helps. Once when I was playing a Haydn concerto for a concerto audition, I started jumping around idiotically in the greenroom right before I went on stage. When I went on stage I had a huge smile on my face and I played my concerto as good as I would ever have wanted to.

3. Just focus on the MUSIC once you're there. Devote your mental energy to shaping the sound and making as beautiful an interpretation of your piece as you can. In my senior recital, there were several moments when I literally forgot that there was an audience there watching me because I became so engrossed in what I was doing at the keyboard.

4. Treat any mistakes as if they themselves were correct and written into the score.

Good luck! Performing without nerves in public is something that took me two years at an arts boarding school to nail down. Try to play for as many people as you can - friends, family, and whoever else will take the time to listen.

[Bouter Boogie]

I have the same problem, but I think there's nothing to do about it  The only thing to make it less worse is to play as often as possible in front of audience.. At least that's my experience 

[dudejan]

yeah but that's my problem, if I play in public, I get really insecure & play much mistakes.. The result of that is that I get more insecure next time, it's like a never ending circle, but then a few weeks ago, I did my piano exam started nervous, but because I was so sure that I could play those peaces without mistakes, I could and I really played well and got great grades & comments, but if I have to play something really really difficult, that I'm not sure of, it doesn't work out good.. But anyways, thanks for helping, I'm definately gonna try more & more difficult songs to play for audience, maybe that is the key for me..

[keys]

self hypnosis maybe? Nerves are hard to cure.

[mattm]

i struggle occasionally with stage fright myself be it a piano piece or a speech or what not.  it basically comes down to practice for me.  it only makes sense that the hard pieces will cause more stress, and the easier pieces will be easier, of course  .  if i dont have a 'hard piece' completely down where i could almost play it by memory or blindfolded, then i dont have any business playing it out.

it's always a good idea to be in great health the day of performance.

[6ft 4]

Remember:

You're so frikking sexy and handsome.
You're an amazing player, everyone wishes they were as good as you.
You can play much better than anyone in the room.
Everyone likes you and likes your company.
Everyone loves to hear you play.
YOU ARE THE MAN YEH BABY

[Derek]

Just keep playing for people and eventually you'll get more comfortable with it. Try to maintain a positive attitude: "I *WILL* get used to playing for people".   I'm not used to it yet though, heh 

[Mozartian]

heh.. the best performance I EVER gave was when I got really good and mad beforehand.. wow did I ever nail that piece, glorious stuff. haha.
I figure it's probably because I was so mad that I forgot to be nervous, lol.

[mattm]

i try and keep in mind sometimes that A LOT of performers / musicians say that the moment they dont get butterflies in thier stomach before they perform is the day they will quit . . .

[atticus]

Taking lessons in the Alexander Technique has really helped me with this.  It has allowed me to focus on relaxing under circumstances where there is an audience and as a result I make less mistakes and breathe better. 

atticus

[Tash]

be enthusiastic! don't dread the experience, just keep a totally positive attitude and psych yourself up beforehand. like you want to show the audience how great you are- you know you can do it already so just show them! be excited, music is a fantastic thing and sharing it with an audience is superduper! show them how much you love it and they'll feel it too. yay it's exciting!!! be excited!!!  

[g_flat]

Hmm, I struggle with this too, but all of these replies have been helpful. I especially like the idea about psyching yourself out.

Anyway, I was talking to a good friend of mine about this last night. He seems to find it beneficial to literally get mad at at your nerves before going on stage. Maybe cuss them out a little bit, mental-punch them around, I dunno. It's what he said. I guess it kinda goes along with the person above who mentioned being mad made her forget about being nervous.

[offenbach]

May I suggest reading, "The Inner Game of Music" by Barry Green.  This book has been considerably helpful to me, and directly addersses and deals with performance and not letting nerves take away from this. However, it can also be applied to any area of your life.

Also, take the opportunity to play, play, play, in front of others (family, friends, classmates, etc) anytime you can. Even over the phone. Also, I have found recording oneself helpful as well.

O