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Tell me...? what IS the best way to get rid of nerves before a performance.

To me, it would have to be having at LEAST 2-5 performances before hand!
this helped me win my first place and the overall piano champion in a recent competition, because i performed at my school assembly the day before the competition (which mind you, the school assembly consisted of about 2000 people!)

anyone got any other ways they cope with performance?
for some, i understand its probably your LIFE (performing) but you still might have some suggestions for me!?

Nervousness is actually a good thing - it shows you care about your performance.

I get very nervous before I play, but usually once I sit down at the piano I can focus on playing and forget about the people and my nervousness. The best way to learn how to focus on playing in front of a group of people is to do it a lot. And, remember that the extra energy you get from playing in front of people is actually a good thing - it can make the performance more exciting.

performing is definatly a love/hate relationship for me. i love to play in front of people, because i love to share my music. but I HATE the nervousness.
let me tell you, my leg starts to shake at like 1 mile a minute, and it is REALLY distacting. but so far i have found nO way to stop it..does any one else have this problem/ tell me I'm not the only one!

I attended a music camp at Ithaca college over the summer and one of the prof. there told me how to get rid of the nerves and it worked!!!
While walking onstage, take a slow, very deep breath. Once you've breathed as deep as you can, hold it until you approach the bench. When you start to sit down SLOWLY and I mean very slowly, exhale. You should be finishing exhaling while you're bringing your hands to the keys. It really worked for me. I felt fine the entire performance. Usually, a little ways into the song, I forget about the audience anways. Hope this helps!

That was always my problem, getting across the stage to the piano! The piano is like home base - I'm ok once I get there.

[ August 22, 2001: Message edited by: ryan ]

oh thank-you so0o0o much guys!!!

you've left me with some fantastic suggestions, THANK-YOU!

bye for now, I HAVE SOME NERVOUSNESS TO FIGHT! (hahaha)

Walking across the stage to the piano!

Isn't this something even the great Horowitz dreaded? He confessed this a few times. Once he said to Byron Janis the moment he was about to walk out to play from the backstage: "It's a lonely place out THERE!"

Some great pianists as well as some great actors never get over stage-fright. However, if they can control it, some feel that it even heightens the performance. I can't testify to that!

Regards,

you're definitely not the only one! i've had this problem ever since i started learning music, that's since 4 i think... btw, is it your right or left leg that shakes?

I have had leg shakes happen a couple of times. Both times it was the left leg, and I was able to stop it by raising my knee up and pressing it against the bottom of the piano. After the second time, I started making sure I had something to eat before I played to keep my blood sugar up, and this helped.

it is always my right leg, the leg that i pedal with, which is the worst part because it affects my pedaling, and the entire audience can see it! I hate it. a couple months ago I had to play a peice for this random concert, and i played Chopin's raindrop, and it was beautiful, except for the fact that my leg was shaking SOO bad that i was actually THUMPING of the floor! and you could hear it, too! AGHHH

Sometimes my RIGHT leg will shake too! Its so awful because it makes the audience think that you can't pedal correctly!

yeah it's alwayz my right leg too... and then my pedalling gets really bad... but the biggest problem for me is the distraction... once my leg starts shaking i can't think about anything else... i'll have to try out your suggestion ryan... thankz alot...=]

Ha, I loved what Horowitz said. "It's so lonely out there." I feel the same exact way.

Also, my senses become extremely sensitive the moment I walk out there. The lights seem so bright, almost blinding - I feel as if in a dream-like transe where I can't control the next move I'm about to make, as if I'm in store for a fate of doom -the shaking of my hands becomes uncontrollable and spasm like - my fingers feel every little action of the keys to such a strong extent that it's distracting. The more people there are in the room, the more energy I feel, the more eyes I feel staring at my every move, studying my position at the piano. As Glenn Gould said, "I feel as if the audience is watching what I'm doing rather than listening to the music."

I had all these feelings at such an overwhelming extent during my last recital that I screwed up and walked off stage. Everyone still cheered beyond belief. I don't understand why. Maybe I sounded good through half the piece; I wouldn'y know, I couldn't hear myself playing. =0(

Zeldah

[ August 23, 2001: Message edited by: ZeldaHanson ]

The one I really dislike is reaching up to push up or straighten one's eye-glasses at the odd moment while playing, and the audience sees your right hand shake in mid-air. (Always straighten glasses with the "upstage" left hand, if possible!).

When wearing contacts, I've had forehead perspiration dribble into the eyes--not comforatable with contacts. With glasses the sweat seems to manage to dribble down on the lenses.

[ August 23, 2001: Message edited by: MacDuff ]

It could be worst.Think about how bad it would be for violinist.I guess that is why their hands shake so much .Seriously,I think that it is fair to say that some degree of nervousness pervades, virtually, all performers.As you give more performances,however,and get more comfortable at giving recitals, nervousness will begin to fade.Also,just as some people are better than others at giving a speech,some musicians are more comfortable at giving performances to large groups.I don't think that,even for good pianist, nervousness ever completely fades.Especialy for big performances.You just get used to it and find ways to control and deal with it.

I too experience shaky legs during performances and I know how you feel. I've actually had little kids laugh at me while I was playing because my legs were shaking so much. Any other ideas for overcoming this??