Hotel Mark

Playing music in public creates dread in some musicians. No matter how good ones playing might be, performance nerves can destroy many a public recital, and there’s nothing more frustrating than the feeling of not being able to prove how you can really play.

An interesting aspect of performance nerves which comes up in discussion at times is the so called “Sound of silence”…The thing is, when one sits down to play, it is easy to be lulled into “listening” to the silence which invades the arena, creating in the mind the only sounds thereafter will come from your instrument, if you are playing solo. I read of a guitar student who saw his tutor play Albeniz in concert, and beforehand he was literally shaking with nerves, you could see his hands trembling. How then, thought the student, will it be possible for the player to perform the delicate finger movements needed to pull off the technically difficult Albeniz? Yet, the concert went well, the player/tutor played very well, with hardly a fluff, and with trembling hands beforehand..

How then, do some people overcome this fear, and others never find any effective answers? The most effective method, it sounds so obvious really, is practice to the point where your finger movements become automatic. Imagine yourself in a concert situation while you are practicing, perhaps even record yourself as often as possible. This can create an awareness of people listening to you. The ultimate aim being to be able to play as though it means nothing, with not a care in the world, but same time, it must mean everything. To marry the two elements, requires work and practice to the point of autonomy in playing, leaving room to shape and polish the interpretation and music.

 But to overcome performance nerves, your technique must be rock solid. It is technique you rely upon, when starting off playing, if this is not solid, or you are playing something you are likely to fluff when playing at home, mistakes will multiply for sure when in public. David Russell advices us to think of technique as “building blocks”, getting the foundations correct, and build up from there.

If all else fails, guitarist John Williams has this advice regarding performance nerves, quotation from a radio interview; “I get nervous only when I am playing something new, or in public for the first time. Until one has played it, you do not know the exact pitfalls, but I believe confidence (or lack of it) is the root of all nerves. I would say this, if you are the kind of person who absolutely dreads playing in public, DON’T play solo, play in an ensemble”. John’s went on to explain his point about getting to simply enjoy making music with other players, and this gives less time to allow feelings of dread playing in public to build up.

Guitarist Karin Schaupp  is an expert on stage fright, having written her Master’s thesis on the subject, and she says that musicians “have very little training in the pitfalls of performance”. Her research into sports psychology revealed the methods athletes use to overcome performance anxiety. Relaxation, imagery, and switching negative thinking are some of the techniques that come into play. Schaupp also recommends exploring the reasons why we perform; for her it’s a matter of “giving to the audience, rather than worrying about what she can get from the audience”.

I play in less stressful situations these days. Recently a works colleague of mine told me he gets very nervous playing in public. I replied I used to but I came to realise I’m going to mess up anyway, so why worry, and try to enjoy it I guess humor works best with many things, even music

Tags: Music, performance anxiety, classical guitar

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