The title probably gives it away, but of all the things that help me get over my stage fright, which is crippling at times, I know one thing for certain. The more I focus on my perfection, and the desire to be praised, the more worried I become.
This is entirely reasonable! I am never perfect. Sometimes I really hit some clunkers. And even when I play brilliantly (it happened a few times), I can’t guarantee the audience will notice. … Oh the disappointment of an audience that looks more dazed than dazzled.
But, the more I focus on loving my audience, and regarding my performance as a precious gift I can give to them, the more I experience warm anticipation instead of fear. And joy. When I’m able to perform in this mind/heart space, the music has a radiance, and I actually enjoy what I’m doing. I’m still not perfect. But I am able to recover from mistakes, because the inner critic has no purpose.
This is not my default mindset. I wish it was. I need to spend time in mental preparation. You may use prayer or meditation, but try centering your desires on the music joyfully going out from you to them, instead of focusing on your performance earning their approval.
You have no control over whether they like you. But you can choose to like them.
You might have a background as a classical music student, like me, and grew up going to adjudications, then dreadful competitions and auditions. It’s no wonder a small part of me still expects a page full of criticism and rejection whenever I perform. If you have bad memories blocking you, I recommend doing some work on them. “The Artist’s Way” has helpful exercises.
Do you know other techniques for getting over past experiences that might be blocking your joy of performance? Share them with me in the comments!
Do you have an artist’s pep talk that helps you be in a positive mood for performing? I would love to hear it!
“Here, I picked these for you”. This is how I want to think and feel while performing.