This week marks the CCRI instrumental recital as well as other final projects and concerts, and it gets me thinking about performance anxiety and stress.
Every musician struggles with performance anxiety the day (even if they’ve been performing a while) to some extent and it’s normal to be nervous when you are about to put your heart and soul on display in front of others. Some things that I tell my students to do to redirect this stress include:
- You’ve prepared authentically for this performance, you will succeed.
- Let the performance happen naturally and organically. Focus on experiencing without judgement.
- Focus on your breathing. Whether you’re a vocalist, composer, guitarist, or any other musician, breathing techniques before a recital will calm your nerves and your mind so that you can stay fully focused on what you’re there to do which is to give the audience a musical experience.
- If you hear your own personal critic chiming in, tell it to take a hike that day.
Good luck to all the students and performers this week! You’ve got this!
In Song,
Tim
TMWC Music Studio 