Cassie after performing Gabriel’s Oboe with the Rockville Concert Band.
Our Spring Recitals are coming up in 2 days! Yay! I always look forward to our recitals. They are so much fun, and I love hearing our talented students perform. Every recital, I get to meet the parents of our newest students. I also see the great progress of the students who have taken lessons for awhile. Seeing their joy and love of music first-hand reminds me why I do what I do. It’s so gratifying!
In today’s post I want to talk about something that comes up every recital for most students: nerves. Most every student, except sometimes a very young student, feels nervous energy in some capacity before or during their recital performance. I’d be lying if I told you that I don’t also feel nervous when I perform. I absolutely do. Still, after a couple of decades of performing, my head feels weird, my stomach is queasy, and all of a sudden I feel like I need to run to the bathroom before I’m about to take the stage.
Years ago, my nerves used to get the better of me and often negatively affect the quality of my performances. Over time, I learned how to feel my nerves and perform anyway. In fact, if you process your nerves correctly, they can actually fuel you into having a remarkable performance.
Honestly, if you feel nervous, it means that you care about the performance; it matters to you. That’s a good thing! After all, you worked really hard practicing to prepare for the recital. If it didn’t matter, you wouldn’t feel nervous at all.
In my opinion the only real reason to let the nerves bother you is if you don’t know your piece. If you do not know what you’re doing, and the piece sounds a bit rough every time you play it, the odds are much higher that a mistake may occur.
A lot of students, myself included, have thoughts like, “What if I make a mistake? Everyone’s watching. If I make a mistake, I’ll be so embarrassed,” etc. This is completely normal.
If you know your piece backwards and forwards, left and right, the chances of you making a mistake are slim. Even if you do make a mistake, our families are compassionate and supportive. They will be kind even if things go wrong.
Above all else: Know your piece! I talk about my top tips for having a fantastic recital performance in this blog post, which I recommend you check out. I talk more about handling your recital nerves here.
Past that, I want you to keep in mind the following about recital nerves:
1. Nerves = excitement
If you think of your nervous energy as excitement rather than fear, it will fuel your performance. Nerves and excitement are both adrenaline released into our bodies from the fight or flight response — the ancient programming that helped us run from predators in the stone age.
Change how you think about the energy you feel. Don’t think of it as something that will make you lose focus and mess up. Instead, think of it as excitement about performing for everyone. I know it’s easier said than done. But with practice, you can train yourself to relate your nerves to excitement. You’ll have a great performance and will have fun too!
2. Anything can happen during a live performance
This is the truth; no matter how much you prepare. Even if you’ve played your piece perfectly a million times, anything can happen. This is just the nature of live performances.
This is not a bad or a scary thing. Life is the same way. No matter how much we prepare or want to control our destinies, really anything can happen at anytime.
It’s not about what happens, but about how you recover. When something does happen, don’t let the glitch bother you. Keep on playing and stay focused on what you’re doing at that moment. Chances are no one even noticed your mistake.
3. Just participating in a recital is a feat in and of itself
It’s a ton of work to prepare a piece for a recital. You have to stay motivated and practice on your own between your lessons. Performing can be scary. Seeing a huge audience and going up to play for them is daunting.
I think sometimes we focus more on what we did wrong in a performance rather than focusing on what went right. We lose sight of the fact that just getting up there and doing it is a major accomplishment. Each performance builds confidence and ease in public situations — skills that are essential in so many life situations.
Don’t forget to celebrate your success!
Thanks so much for reading today’s article. I look forward to seeing many of you on Saturday at our recitals!
Now I want to hear from you, what have you done to help yourself handle your nerves for a performance or public speaking event? Leave a comment below and share your tips to help our readers.
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Have a wonderful day!
Sincerely,
Cassie
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