Performance anxiety

twocats · 2025-01-12T07:17:37+00:00

Today I went to a super casual playing event at someone's home, and on the drive over I imagined myself walking up onto a big stage and I got pretty bad anxi...

Sidokar

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

YouTube pushed me this video by David Chang Music. I am really impressed by his methodical approach to preparing his students for in-person performance. He has a playlist on Performance Training, too.

twocats

iternabe thanks for sharing! I also watched his other video that he recommended:

Here are some takeaways:

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)
record yourself daily to be able to identify your problems, he puts dates on the issues so that he can collect more data and see where he messes up some areas more often or whether it's random and just due to nerves
for 6-7 weeks before the performance, perform at different pianos every week
"perform" in different conditions, e.g. different lighting, cold hands, just got back from gym and sweaty, when there are noisy distractions. Treat things that will mess you up as useful! If you're a night person, practice in the morning! If you're stressed, perform. Anytime you're feeling that it's not optimal conditions, embrace it and perform.
perform as often as you can
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!

ShiroKuro

@iternabe thanks, I'll take a look!

ShiroKuro

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

All of this has really highlighted to me how important it is to perform in front of people and on different pianos often if I care about performing well. It used to not be a goal for me but now it is, so I'm a lot more motivated to go to casual piano performance meetups.

Plus, I've been making friends! Some are old friends that I've reconnected with and some are new, but they're mostly very nice people. Having it be social is motivating to me as well! I'm a participant in a quarterly event, have recently been invited to a monthly one, and was given info for a different monthly one. Not sure how much I actually want to go to but there is certainly no lack of opportunity here!

ShiroKuro

twocats That's wonderful!!

twocats

ShiroKuro 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!!!

That was just your first public recital if I recall? I would like to remind you that you're very brave for putting yourself out there at all!

I see all of these to be tips for improving over many months and years, there's definitely no quick fix here. But it's a new year and feels like a great time to start something different 🙂

ShiroKuro

twocats That was just your first public recital if I recall?

Sadly, no. I have experience performing dating back to.... 2005 I believe 😅 I'm including various types of events ranging from piano parties, to formal "school" recitals where I played one piece, to "concert" type settings, such as one where I played a program with 5 pieces.

However, the two performances I did in Nov. 2024 were my first times playing in public since 2020 -- the pandemic took away all my piano performing chances, and so I was definitely rusty.

But I have always struggled with piano performance anxiety, that's why last fall I made a lot of effort to do performance-specific prep etc. I have no doubt it helped, but as I said, it's hard not to be disappointed when you didn't perform as well as you hoped.

For me, and based on past experience, I think the single biggest factor at this point is having consistent opportunities to play publicly. Once or twice a year will not cut it, but having two performances two weeks apart in Nov. was quite good.

We'll see how it goes, I don't have the kind of opportunities you do, but I'm working on it!

twocats

ShiroKuro We'll see how it goes, I don't have the kind of opportunities you do, but I'm working on it!

I know you were thinking about creating a meetup of some kind and I hope it works out!

I feel like two big things I have to work on:

not stomping so loudly on the Bluetooth pedal
keeping my hand towel on the piano instead of on my lap -- I have a genetic condition that causes sweaty hands (or if the sweat isn't "on" it's excessively dry and slippery, which is arguably worse) and it's a source of comfort but I can't have it there during a performance and so I should put it on the piano at home. Even thinking about not having the towel on my lap makes me uncomfortable but it needs to be done!

AaronSF

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.

twocats

AaronSF I played with a violist who used beta blockers for performance anxiety! I think I'll try exercise to "burn off" the adrenaline first.

ranjit

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.

ShiroKuro

@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.

twocats

ranjit I just looked online and side effects include cold hands and feet! That's no good.

I think some people take them because otherwise they would just fall apart from nervousness and it helps them to feel better. I can respect that but I don't think it's for me.

AaronSF

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

PianoMonk

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.

twocats

I played at a casual event today and I thought I was all good, but by the end I felt like I had been shaking inside the entire time. I may have had worse stage fright than last month! I guess I just need to keep going to these events and keep at it, because right now it's really not good.

ShiroKuro

@twocats I’m sorry to hear this!! I have been experiencing, and trying to prevent, performance anxiety for years, so I truly sympathize.

I am just starting to re-read the Inner Game of Music, which helped me a lot 20 years ago, after I had a massive “crash and burn” at a recital … But after years of not playing publicly (thanks, pandemic), I still struggle to keep the shakes at bay, so I’m reading it again now. I don’t know if I will still find it helpful but I’ll let you know as I get more into it.

twocats I guess I just need to keep going to these events and keep at it

To this, I would say, yes and no. And here’s why:

Yes, in that playing in public in a variety of situations is a very important form of practice, and I don’t think we can get better at playing in public without playing in public a lot.

But, here’s the “no” part of my answer. I don’t think just playing publicly a lot is sufficient for anyone who experiences performance anxiety. In the same way that we can’t “just practice” to become better pianists but need to learn strategic practice methods, I think we also have to figure out, and practice, ways of countering nerves in order to get better at playing publicly. And that’s where something like the Inner Game comes in…

So my advice for you is to do some reading and maybe find some ‘tricks and tips” to implement when performing. Something like the Inner Game or the stuff on the BulletProof Musician website might be good places to start…

But I will stop here because you didn’t really ask for advice 😅

twocats

ShiroKuro I'm always up for tips and tricks! 😃

Please share if you come across some good ones, I was going to put that book on hold at the library but they only have it in audiobook form.

ShiroKuro

twocats I would not want to do a piano book like this as audio.

I’ll let you know as I get into it if I recommend it or not 🙂

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