*Updated 30th May 2020 to include Ricky Wilson (Kaiser Chiefs) discussing his stage fright.
A music students I’m helping out at the moment is anxious about performing in public, so this has inspired me to come up with some tips that work for me in helping conquer stage fright/performance anxiety, I thought I'd put them here just in case they work for you too:
1. Be prepared in plenty of time before the performance (sound-checked, instrument tuned, amp/lead etc in place. Write a set-list out if one hasn’t been done for you, get familiar with your part of the stage) and allow enough time to relax after all this/before the show. At least half an hour if possible. Preparations/rituals themselves will also help get rid of some of the anxiety.
2. Before the show spend some time breathing in and out slowly and deeply.
3. Look around the audience, make eye contact with them if you can, and think ‘what’s the worst that can happen' ?!
4. The mind is an amazing thing. Keep telling yourself that the butterflies in your stomach isn't fear or negative stress, it’s excitement! You can actually talk yourself into this and then realise it’s true!
This is because many of the physical feelings & effects of fear and excitement are the same, and how you label them in your own mindset seems to change how you experience these feelings.
5. For me (and many others) I like to do a mixture of relaxing and using up physical energy to get rid of nerves. So as well as the deep, slow, breathing you might want to run manically, super-fast for a minute on the spot, or jump up and down for instance. I will often go for a walk outside of a venue for a few mins too for a change of atmosphere when possible. Stretching exercises are also really excellent for both relaxation and preparing yourself for the physical rigours of a gig.
It can be normal to feel very tired or even exhausted before a gig, don't be worried about this, it’s your bodies' way of preparing you for the adrenaline rush to come.
6. One of the best things to reduce stress is to have a really good laugh before you go on stage, brilliant for getting rid of nerves! You could even contrive a completely ridiculous thing you do with your band-mates before you go on (maybe your own band-version of the Haka, but a ridiculous version that will make you fall about laughing)!
7. For some people it helps to mingle with the crowd beforehand so you realise they are nice, and not the crazed axe murderers who will hate your music that you might've thought they were.
8. Remember, the audience are on your side. They can’t do what you do and they’re looking forward for the gig to start and enjoy you doing what you do. Rather than adding pressure, remind yourself that you're a skilled performer who is prepared and rehearsed and that they're looking forward to what you can do for them just by performing your craft.
9. Don’t worry about mistakes you will make, even the greatest musicians make mistakes. What to you might seem a huge mistake, won’t even be noticed by most people. You won’t draw attention to it, just keep playing, smile to your band-mates as they probably will notice because you’ve rehearsed.. if you’ve got lost in the music you will just join back in when you know where you are.
Anyhow, if you do make a really big mistake, big mistakes are the bits the audience often love best! If you do mess up big-time, own it - take a bow! They find it endearing!
10. The butterflies get easier to manage with the more gigs you do, but remind yourself that all the best live musicians get nervous (or excited!) before a gig. A word famous rock guitarist used to play with his back to the audience a lot in his early days because he was so afraid of everyone looking at him. There’s a top opera singer who actually throws up before every single show, so hopefully you’ll do better than that. Most great musicians are agreed that if you’re not nervous/excited before a show, it’s time to retire! If you don’t feel those butterflies, it means you don’t care enough. Your nerves are jangling (with excitement remember) because it's important to you.
I hope some of those are of help!
