Musicians of WP, how do you deal with stage fright/anxiety?

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For backstory, I have had one concert before. Most of the concertgoers were friends and family, and I was still scared and uncomfortable.. (naturally, it was my first concert and there was a camera on me and all the lights and two microphones, that'd be scary for most people I think)

Because I make a point of pushing myself into slightly uncomfortable situations to expand my comfort zone, I'm apparently going to be playing at our town festival for the next two days. This is the biggest thing I've ever done musically, and I really don't want to be reluctant or look terrified on the stage. I want to feel comfortable, or at least fool everyone into thinking I'm comfortable.

If any of you have a good tip on how to relax during a public performance, I'd love to hear it.

Love and thanks, Socky.

I've played in bands for years. I actually never got over my stage fright. Either I kept my eyes on my guitar or looked over the heads of the people in the audience. I used to look at the wall at the back of clubs or glasses on the tables or some other inanimate object. You'd think that after years of playing clubs and bars I'd get used to it. Nope. Crowds have always been hard for me. It's the reason why I still don't speak at AA/NA meetings. Too nervous and too shy.

I had a similar experience to redrobin62 -- played in public for years but never really got over my stagefright every time out, and used to just look at the back wall. I found that meeting the gaze of anyone in the audience threw me badly.

Funny thing with stagefright though, for me, was that I had it badly before going on, and for the first few minutes/couple of songs, but then I would settle down a little and start to enjoy things just a bit more.

View your feelings of stagefright as something that will likely go away after the first song/piece or two, and look forward to that moment with confidence -- believe you will feel better and sometimes it actually works.

I also second the advice to look toward the back wall -- even famous musicians and performers use this trick not only as a fright-avoider but also to help project one's performance to the full extent of the audience. It's a psychological trick that kind of gets your music and the emotions to every last member of the crowd. But it also helps in avoiding eye contact too!

I never could stand to make eye contact when up on stage, but then, sometimes that's okay, unless you're doing a "connecting" act like a Diana Ross. Sometimes it's okay to just be one of those artists who close their eyes -- although I think I did that TOO much, really, looking back. Every picture I have that someone took of me when I was onstage, my eyes are closed!

Another trick is to imagine everyone there naked, or imagine them as babies in diapers, pooping and gurgling. Some artists say this thought has helped them to mentally reduce the people there to a human, vulnerable level, and they don't seem so scary after that.

Also, try to think of them as exactly that -- human, worrying about if they left the gas stove on before coming to the show, or someone just lost their granddad, or someone else is nervous about a promotion. Trying to think about the humanity of each staring face helps to reduce your fear, when you realize they're just nice, ordinary people enjoying the music and taking their minds of things for a while.

Almost forgot to remember -- breathing! Breath is very important in affecting our moods and stress levels, and if you can take a few moments before going onstage, to breathe in a calm, relaxed way -- don't force it, just try to breathe deeply but naturally -- it can go a long way to changing the chemistry running around and lowering the adrenaline. Keep mindful of your breathing and keep it at a steady pace to keep control of your stagefright. This too will help get you to that "couple songs in" relaxing a little more.


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Hi Socky,

You look like the spitting image of a deep-thinking rock-n-roller alternative type person.

You've passed your first hurdle already!

I find the above advice useful.

Hi Socky, a lot of good advice already given. Let the music flow. It is more fun as a musician if people appreciate your music, but yeah people and especially crowds can be overwhelming. I focus on the music. If a particular piece is difficult to play or sing, I practice that part more so I won't have to struggle as much with it on stage. The main thing is to have fun. After all, even if it takes dedication and practice to be a better musician, it is still called "playing" music.

When I am on my bicycle performing for a crowd of course my eyes are usually open, but then the scene is shifting so much that any eye contact made is fleeting. I do have to keep a lookout for stray children or dogs who might run in front of my wheels. That will probably not be as much of a problem for you.

When sitting though, my eyes are closed much of the time I am playing. I wouldn't recommend keeping your eyes closed all the time, but it can help one focus on the music more if one does it sometimes. Let the music flow through you. Whatever inspired you to become a musician is inside you and will come out. Good luck and have fun.

Lavender essential oil helps calm me, too.

I rub some on my wrists and the tip of my nose.

Hi,
I just try and remind myself that there are either two situations that can possibly occur. Either the performance goes really well in which case people may come up to me after the performance and compliment me and say they really enjoyed the performance or they do not like it in which case a group of strangers won't like it but I will never have to see them again. I can just walk out the door and try and erase it from my memory. Having it a little bit of nerves is very good for a performance I find though. In fact, I find I play better when I am anxious since it fuels the emotion of the music even more and I want to lose myself. Often performances can lack something when the musician seems overly relaxed. I know it sounds extremely odd and peculiar but I even find that performances can be better when you are even feeling sexually aroused since the tension can provide a more energetic performance. I know it is nerve-racking but it always tends to be better than you think it is going to be. Just try and lose yourself in the music and enjoy it for your own sake and not other people's. I personally find being onstage far less terrifying than social situations. I would rather play in front of a hundred people than speak to one random stranger.

Hi,
I just try and remind myself that there are either two situations that can possibly occur. Either the performance goes really well in which case people may come up to me after the performance and compliment me and say they really enjoyed the performance or they do not like it in which case a group of strangers won't like it but I will never have to see them again. I can just walk out the door and try and erase it from my memory. Having it a little bit of nerves is very good for a performance I find though. In fact, I find I play better when I am anxious since it fuels the emotion of the music even more and I want to lose myself. Often performances can lack something when the musician seems overly relaxed. I know it sounds extremely odd and peculiar but I even find that performances can be better when you are even feeling sexually aroused since the tension can provide a more energetic performance. I know it is nerve-racking but it always tends to be better than you think it is going to be. Just try and lose yourself in the music and enjoy it for your own sake and not other people's. I personally find being onstage far less terrifying than social situations. I would rather play in front of a hundred people than speak to one random stranger.

well i don't really. i try to avoid performing/speaking in front of crowds as much as possible - on the rare occasions i do perform.
my scariest and most notable performance was a piano duet in front of an elderly, moderately sized audience in a church, i was freaked out but i just focused on breathing , tried to look away from they keys and stared at the wall right behind it. (it was an upright.) it lasted a lot shorter than i thought.

I suppose it depends on the music you are doing. But as a general rule - No1. Know your stuff, the better you know it the easier it will go. Nerves are a normal thing before going on stage and are useful. Make sure you go to the toilet just before you go on - nothing worse that needing to wee half way through the set. Focus on what you are going to do just before you go on, turn the nerves into adrenalin. Know your stage, explore it before the show, know how much room you have, know where the trip hazards are, see if there's anything you can climb on. Make sure everything is in its place.

Remember the stage is your licence to explode, normal behaviour rules do not apply on the stage. On stage you are free!! !

When you get off stage, go somewhere quiet for a bit, before you have to deal with the drunks who want to talk to you.

I relate to Skurvey's advice about a quiet place right after leaving the stage --- this was a weirdly big deal for me when I used to play out. Immediately after a performance I was always in a very strange mind-state where I found I was even less well equipped than usual to deal with chitchat!

Even something as simple as someone approaching me and paying a compliment discombobulated me more than usual. I hid that and simply thanked them but I look back now in the light of knowing about the spectrum, and I see that it was one of my issues/challenges, and that ideally I needed a few minutes alone to "come down" from the stresses of performing.

Even someone who enjoys performing is experiencing a tiny bit of certain types of stress, increased heart rate, increased emotional stimulation, etc. So, for me who kinda hated it, that effect was heightened. I needed quiet moments right after, but never got them as I was not proactive about my needs back then, not even knowing why I was so weird.

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Any near-sighted people tried taking their glasses off so they can't really see the people of their faces?

I remember an old saying: a wrong note sung/played with confidence is an interpretation. A wrong note sung/played tentatively is a mistake.