These tips will help you to successfully ace that important
audition, performance or music exam:
- Be Well Prepared
This sounds obvious but one of the biggest causes of performance anxiety can be feelings of guilt due to lack of practice or preparation. If you have done the preparation and the practice in the weeks/month leading up to this performance then this is one less thing to feel anxious about. In fact, the sense of accomplishment from being in control and well rehearsed is a confidence booster that will help you achieve a top performance.
- Don't Try Too Hard
The second biggest cause of performance anxiety is due to 'trying to hard'. Sure, you want to put in the effort and work hard to get the best result, but there is also such a thing as overdoing it which can be nearly as counterproductive as not putting in the practice. If you feel overwhelmed, stressed and don't seem to be making progress you are probably overdoing it and would benefit from taking a short break, and coming back to your guitar with a fresh perspective. Take it easy and stay as relaxed and stress free as possible. This is especially important leading up to the performance or exam. keeping a relaxed, but focused mind and body on the big day, and to getting plenty of sleep the night before will maximize the chances of you getting the best possible result. See 'Mind Over Matter' for further details on this topic (below).
- Don't Do Drugs
Using drugs; this includes alcohol or excessive amounts of caffeine as well as other illicit substances before an important performance, audition or exam is never a good idea.
It may be tempting to “tank yourself up” with some “dutch courage” to calm the nerves, and you may feel that this enhances your performance, but what it really does is creates a false sense of security and deceives you into thinking you are giving a better performance than you really are, and can actually make you play far worse than your actual ability (the exception to this is that some musicians take prescribed medications for stage fright).
- Go Bananas.
Eating foods that are rich in potassium such as bananas about 60 minutes before the performance can have beneficial effect on your performance. This will help to take the edge off any adrenaline and allow for a calmer more focused mind and more control over those fine motor skills needed for playing your instrument at its best.....Many professional musicians swear by this! There are also reports of some performers that have been prescribed anti anxiety drugs in the past such as beta blockers to control their performance anxiety confirming bananas can be just as effective.
- Mind Over Matter
A great performance all begins in the mind: You can spend many years learning about music, and working hard to improve your instrument playing, but without a healthy mindset you will rarely perform to the best of your ability. You may occasionally have those moments where the music just flows effortlessly through you where you are “in the zone” but these moments may not happen as often as you would like them to, and may not happen at all when you feel under pressure to perform well (from the presence of a judge, examiner or an audience)..
One of the most important performance lessons I learned was in Barry Greens book 'The Inner Game Of Music': Performance = Ability – (minus) Distraction. There are several key topics covered in this simple statement, which goes beyond the scope of this article, You would need to read the whole book to fully understand this concept, however if I was to try to wrap this sentence up in a nutshell I would say that your performance is only as good as what you focus your mind on. If 50% of your mind is worrying what the audience or judge is thinking (distraction), and 20% of your mind is worrying about that tricky phrase that is coming up towards the end of the piece (another distraction) then you are performing at about 30% of your ability.
Paradoxically your best performances happen when you don't consciously think about them or “try too hard” to make them happen. They naturally flow out of you as a result of hours/weeks/months of practice and focused concentration.
Essential reading: The best performance psychology books I have read that I personally recommend to anyone serious about improving their performance skills are listed below:
Inner Game Of Music http://amzn.to/1dvWGjy
Zen Guitar http://amzn.to/1fo5VD4
Hypnosis is another great way to help you perform at your peak.
There are several specialist hypnosis websites that address 'Stage
Fright' and 'peak performance', however the most comprehensive
hypnosis site I've personally come across is by Sam Brown who
specializes in creating scripts and recordings specifically for
musicians. You can check out Sam Brown's website and Hypnosis
downloads using the links below:http://www.musicianshypnosis.com/
- http://www.sambrown.co.uk/self-hypnosis-for-musicians/
Please note: Many people experience the benefits from a hypnosis recording right away, however, It can take up to 3 or 4 weeks of using a hypnosis audio programme on a daily basis for the full benefits to become apparent.
One last word on peak performance.
Some of these tips can be used to benefit you immediately. Some of
these strategies may take several weeks or longer before you see the
beneficial results, but it is worth persevering with these too.
Remember that learning to train your mind for peak performance is a
discipline that can take almost as much dedication to master as
learning to play your instrument (which is why the best music schools
and conservatories hire a specialist music performance psychologist
to help developing musicians with this 'inner game' performance), but
it is worth doing because the benefits and rewards from doing this
will enhance other areas of your life outside of music and lead to a
more creative, enjoyable and stress free performances that take you
“in the zone” more and more often.
