One of the things that comes up frequently in lessons is managing nerves when performing. Nervous energy can help us focus when performing, but it can also have a negative effect on our singing if we let it get out of control. There are many, many ways to work on improving your attitude towards performance nerves, but below are the things that have worked for me.
Preparation
This one is boring and simple, but definitely bears repeating: all the performance tips in the world won’t really work if you’re not prepared. This means knowing the lyrics, the melody, the form of the song and how it fits with the accompaniment (live or recorded).
It can be really tricky to calm yourself down if there’s a genuine risk that you’ll forget some of these things. Conversely, if you’re as prepared as you can be, you can remind yourself that you’ve done everything you could to prepare, which can help calm your nerves.
On this note, being prepared can sometimes mean choosing repertoire you know really well, rather than something new that you aren’t that familiar with yet.
Check In with Your Excitement
This is a little trick I’ve been using for years to connect with my excitement about performing (which can often be mistaken for nerves). If I’m really nervous before a performance, I imagine how I would feel if someone called me and told me it had been cancelled. Nine times out of ten, I find I feel disappointed at that thought. This makes me realise that I am actually looking forward to it, which helps calm my nerves a bit and reminds me why I’m doing it.
Remember Your Job
Whether you’re a paid professional performer or simply getting up to sing at an open mic night, your job is to share music with the other people in the room. It really is as simple as that. Sure, you might be at an audition or exam and you know the people watching are there to critique you, but thinking of sharing music as the overall goal (rather than singing perfectly) really helps me stay grounded and also consistent across my performances.
Even in situations where you’re auditioning or sitting a music exam, the people in the room are there to listen to your performance and, hopefully, want to see you shine far more than they want to nitpick at what you’re doing.
Know Your Why and Check That It’s Helpful
A very 21st-century cliché, but for me, this is essential. Thinking through the reason you’re going to perform and checking whether it’s a positive motivator can really help calm your mind when your nerves make your brain start asking, “Why the hell did I volunteer for this?!”
For example, if you’re working on improving your singing and that’s important to you, having a performance to work towards is a great goal. So, in the moments before you perform, you can say to yourself, “Improving as a singer is important to me, and this performance will help me improve my singing.”
For me, I love jazz music and improvisation, and they’re important parts of my life. I value music deeply, and improvising live with the energy of an audience is an important part of how I express that value. So, performing live is important to that value, and remembering that helps me calm my nerves.
This gives me a positive focus before and during my performance, and something to keep in mind other than “make sure you don’t stuff up”, which is never helpful ;)
Calming Exercises
Everyone is different, but I generally find that it really helps to take some time to practise mindful breathing and focus my mind before I perform. For me, this helps slow down my thoughts (which can tend to race before a performance) and reminds me to check in with the two elements described above.
You can find lots of different guided meditations on the internet that might suit you, but even just a minute of slow breathing really helps me.
Going to Other People’s Performances
I love going to concerts and gigs of all sorts. But one thing I often find is that my performance anxiety gets worse when I haven’t been taking the time to go to gigs and performances as an audience member.
When I’m in the audience, I’m reminded of how much I love live music and the energy of the room. I also remember how much I enjoy watching people perform.
Being in the audience reminds me that I’m generally just looking to have a good time when I’m in the audience, and that I rarely notice any “mistakes”. This is invaluable when I’m back performing at my own gigs. I can remind myself that live music is great and that the audience is generally there to have a good time, not to scrutinise everything I’m doing.
Hopefully, some of that is helpful. It’s worth adding that I’ve learned most of the above through lots of experience performing, and maybe that’s the most helpful thing of all: just getting out there and doing it. Sometimes you’ll be more nervous than others, but overall, practising performing is the best way to learn. It will help you find your own way to learn to manage performance nerves and find more joy in performing.
