Performance anxiety

@pseudonym58 and @twocats oh my, those are truly heart attack-inducing occurrences!

@sweelinck definitely the degree to which a piece is polished is also key.

Although last fall, I came to think that another benefit, at least for me, from doing these public performances is just the “hard-fast” deadline aspect of it, that the performance date comes whether I’m as ready as I can be, or not. So another goal I have for myself is to be able to prevent nerves from getting in the way of me doing my best, whatever level of ”my best” happens to be.

Part of how I came to this conclusion is connected to the fact that I have always wanted to record and share pieces I’ve polished, but I never feel like they’re at the “truly polished stage,” so I end up recording only very few of the pieces I work on.

But the recital date rolls around whether I’m ready or not, and my pieces are “close enough” to share. So I’d like to be able to play at that “close enough” level without completely falling apart.

Studying at the university, I have to play regularly on different pianos which I never used before and in different set ups. I simply accept the fact that it will be what it will be. Most of the issues people experience with the piano being different or the light, the bench and all these other factors are essentially just psychological, ie it is not so much the set up in itself but the fear we have that makes us concerned about those differences. Over time I got used to just get at the piano and play within the given set up. There are certainly things that will make me play differently than what I do in my usual home set up but I am not trying to play exactly the same way or at least I accept that it will be different.

@iternabe thanks, I'll take a look!

twocats Here are some takeaways:

Wow, thanks for listing those up! I will get to watching these videos soon, but your summary is great!

perform cold daily (can stretch and do cardio, but don't create sound at the instrument until you "perform" and also take bows before or after like you're performing)

I actually did this in prep for my two performances in November... Not sure if it helped or not in that I still got the shaky hands... but at the same time, at least I knew I could sit down and just start playing. I'll definitely keep it in my toolkit.

for 6-7 weeks before the performance, perform at different pianos every week

If only we could all do this! The closest I got was playing a "public" piano on campus, which turned out to have a depressed key, the key below middle C, so that meant I couldn't even play one of my pieces! :/
Nevertheless, this is excellent advice!

if you bomb in a practice performance, it is actually a good learning experience. All performances are useful and quantity leads to quality
if you perform (for real) and you're unhappy with it, it's just one moment in time. It happens!

I love both of these points! I have actually been able to believe the first one, it makes a big difference in being able to use the performance as a learning opportunity.

The second is a little more challenging, because it's hard not to feel disappointment when a performance doesn't go as well as you hoped. But I am work in progress, and these reminders are super helpful!!!

twocats That's wonderful!!

From what I understand, many performers rely on the beta blocker propanolol to keep calm and keep their hearts from racing. It is primarily a heart medication, but it also is used for essential tremor, and many doctors prescribe it for performance anxiety. I think it comes in a range of strengths from 10 mg to 80 mg. I'd recommend trying it at home before using it for a public performance.

@AaronSF yeah, a pharmaceutical solution is not one I'd consider. Especially given that I'm fine with public speaking and other situations. My problem with piano performance anxiety isn't medical.

AaronSF Beta blockers do have side effects, and I would not recommend them to amateurs. I'm not even a fan of the fact that professionals take it, because I think it demonstrates our unhealthy obsession of getting all the notes correct in a performance setting.

To each his/her own. I only suggest propanolol because so many orchestral and solo performers use it regularly.

twocats One word - practice. If you know a piece, well enough so you can play it almost without thinking about it, playing it for an audience should not be stressful. Also, bear in mind, that, depending on the type of audience, non-musicians vs skilled players, the average listener wouldn't notice a few minor flubs. And, most musicians will empathize with your anxiety. And, like someone else said, the more you perform, the more relaxed you'll be.

Occasionally, when I'm asked to play something on the piano, I play a tune, or tunes, that I've been playing for years. So, any initial jitters are minimized by my confidence of familiarity with what I'm playing. One last thing...
An easy piece played confidently will be more impressive than a difficult piece played timidly.