Can you give examples of how your body reacts to stage fright?
this post was submitted on 19 Feb 2025
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if I'm nervous my hands tend to get cold and tingle. Then my hands start to freeze and become hard to move, especially whenever I'm playing on the piano.
Can you record a video of yourself playing for someone to check if you're maneuvering your hands in a painful way? E.g., when your body gets stage fright, you might unintentionally bend your wrists up or down which might interfere with your tendons and blood vessels -- restricting blood flow or twinging nerves.
Even if the idea of recording a (small) performance makes your body stressed, remind yourself that you want to observe any physical oddities so that you can improve them.
Also, do you practice vocalizing your performance? I don't mean sing it, but rather get the pitches roughly correct but with good timing. I find that by vocalizing a piece first, you're teaching your brain how to perform it, which helps teach your body how to perform it as well.
Oh I actually never thought of that before! I'm not really sure about if I vocalize before a performance bc I actually have never heard of that before, but I practice the piece I will perform shortly before a competition or recital starts if I can.
Cool. I highly recommend learning how to vocalize music. Note, though, that vocalizing will feel difficult at first, because you're basically starting a new instrument. To make it more interesting for yourself, try writing down words/syllables for each note on a copy of your sheet music ("la di da", w/e) and rehearsing it the same way. Eventually, you can "perform" your vocalization for yourself, even up to the performance speed.
You'll be surprised how much you will improve and how much confidence it can bring.
Best of luck!
Thank you so much!!! 🫶
I always remind myself that no matter how badly I bomb most people will forget about it within a few days and maybe tell the story once in a blue moon when they remember.
I find it's better for me mentally if I pretend like the audience doesn't even exist and I'm just playing music or talking with friends or family.
Also if there is a group order always try to go up first. People will always remember stage disasters, but if you go first it's more likely to be overlooked by a gaff someone might make later on.
Lastly remember when you were in the audience and saw someone struggling on stage. Do you think about it all the time? Did you laugh at them or did you feel for them? Remember that most people also struggle with public speaking/performing so there is generally a mutual understanding of nerves from many in the crowd.