Music performance – coping with your nerves…

Music performance – coping with your nerves…

Pre-performance nerves are extremely common, even among professional performers. Most of us will have experienced a dry mouth, sweaty hands, the shakes or even butterflies in the stomach – none of which are obviously helpful as a musician. If controlled effectively, however, these feelings and sense of alertness can actually help to give a performance the edge!

Whether it be an exam or a concert performance, performing in front of other people before the big day (even if it’s just your close family/friends) is one of the best ways of ensuring you are ready and relaxed about how the day will go.

Here are some other of ABRSM’s top tips for students and candidates to help you cope with performance anxiety and turn feelings of nervousness to your advantage.  Click on the link for more detail.  They have numerous pages of tips and advice for all ages and abilities of musician looking forward to an exam or concert performance:

Keep fit.

Failing to prepare is preparing to fail

Visualise success

Practise performing in front of friends and family

Controlled breathing

Smile

Concentrate on the music

Don’t worry about mistakes

http://gb.abrsm.org/en/exam-support/coping-with-nerves/

ABRSM exams run three times a year.  They are the benchmark of progression for most of our musicians that are keen to work within a graded system.