My favorite violinist growing up was Itzhak Perlman, so when I recently observed a Perlman master class, you can bet that I soaked up every bit of advice he had to offer. At one point he was asked for his thoughts on how best to deal with performance anxiety, and his answer (though I think he was being a bit facetious when he said this) was to “know thy enemy.” In other words, to understand how your nerves affect you in advance, so you can figure out what works and what doesn’t in the practice room instead of trying to make adjustments in the middle of a performance or audition (when you are under enough pressure as it is).
Sounds like great advice to me.
So let’s get to know our “enemy” a bit better, shall we?
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Think back to your last big audition or performance. What do you remember feeling, moments before you walked on stage?
Heart pounding in your chest? Butterflies in your stomach? Cold, clammy hands? Feeling light-headed, tight, weak, or shaky?
Perhaps you had trouble concentrating? Felt your mind racing? Doubts and fears popping into your head? A vague sense that something bad was going to happen? Kicking yourself for not practicing more?
Sound familiar?
Is It Just Me?
Well, you’re certainly not alone. In fact, you’re in good company. Pablo Casals, Arthur Rubinstein, and Luciano Pavarotti (to name a few), are reported to have struggled with performance anxiety at various points in their careers.
For what it’s worth, anxiety is pretty common even amongst professional musicians. In one survey, 96% of the orchestra musicians surveyed admitted to anxiety before performances. In another survey of 48 ICSOM orchestras, 1 out of every 4 musicians said that stage fright was a problem for them.
“Ok, fine, but the fact that Rubinstein struggled with nerves isn’t going to help me win an audition.”
Good point. Keep reading.
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