choral briefs midwest clinic performance anxiety - KBB Music

Dealing with
Performance
Anxiety
By Trevor Thwaites
As the KBB Music Festival approaches we get more excited
about the performances we might be giving or hearing. Often
this excitement can get channelled in the wrong direction
and suddenly morph into panic or nervous tensions. How we
deal with pre-performance anxiety is a critical factor in the
production of a successful performance.
For me, knowing the music inside and out is important. As
a percussionist, if I’m working with orchestral or big band
scores, then analysing these and addressing any tricky bits is
critical. If I’m playing music learned aurally from recordings,
then I steep myself in the style of the music or a performer’s
catalogue of recordings in the weeks or days beforehand,
until I feel part of the genre. Where I might have tricky mallet
parts in an orchestral or similar score, I mentally practice the
stickings and the leaps etc, often several times a day. For very
complex sections, I try to find the main harmonic guide tones
that run through the specific section, so that if I do came adrift
I can soon regain my place, and composure, through aurally
recognising where I am.
If playing drums in a jazz situation, knowing the tunes (heads)
is very important, especially if I’m the one counting in. In these
situations I mentally run through the first set before going on
stage. People don’t make me nervous, not being musically
prepared does.
Warming up can be difficult for percussionists, and even if you
do so immediately beforehand, you may not play anything
technically demanding in an orchestral context for 40 minutes
or more. This means being in a state of physical relaxation
while also being mentally alert so that you play the part
effectively when it comes up. Being tense produces nervous
sounding music. I trust my body and find that before a big
performance I often become overwhelmed by a feeling of
absolute exhaustion and find myself wondering how on earth
I’m going to be able to perform effectively in a few hours
time. In learning to trust my body I find that sure enough, in
the thirty minutes or so leading up to the performance, my
body kicks in and I’m ready and eager to play. Playing the
music becomes everything for me.
I asked my secondary music teacher education graduate
students how they deal with performance anxiety. All are
experienced performers and here are some of their responses
categorised under three headings—wellbeing, mental
preparation, physical preparation:
Wellbeing
• Deep breathing before the performance
• A good sleep the night before, or one in the afternoon
prior to a performance
• Putting lavender essential oil on a tissue and breathing in is
relaxing
• Tai Chi or movement exercises
• A small squirt of Arnica liquid on my tongue seems to calm
me down. I know musicians who use other herbal aids such
as Rescue Me
• Don’t eat too much before a performance
• A small amount of physical activity to activate the body, I
then do warm-up exercises and mentally run through the
whole performance. I follow this process every time
• An intake of ‘carbo food’, such as a banana, 90 minutes
before a performance
Mental preparation
• Being well-prepared and run through the various stages of
the performance mentally, including the coming on and off
the stage
• I run through the tricky parts in my head, with the
music in front of me but no instrument
• I think to myself that no one will notice my mistakes
in that they are less important than the total
ensemble performance
• Confidence creates a confident performance
• I tell myself not to worry, getting nervous/anxious is
normal for performers
• I like to find a quiet place, perhaps in the green or
warm-up room, and look over the music
• I try to put worrying about the performance as
something to do after the performance is over –
reflecting on how to improve for next time
• I try not to worry or focus upon the expectations of
others (fellow performers or audience) and simply
try to meet my own expectations
• As a singer I like to focus on the character or story
of the lyrics
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