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I meet many piano teachers, at courses, workshops and masterclasses. It is always good to meet other piano teachers, to exchange ideas and discuss aspects of our work. Many of the teachers whom I meet are also performing musicians, professional or otherwise, and many regard performing as a necessary, indeed crucial, part of the job as a teacher.

I also meet many teachers who do not perform, for one reason or another. Some cite lack of time, others anxiety or lack of confidence. I actually met one teacher who claimed she was “too afraid” to perform for her students in case she made a mistake.

As teachers, performing is, in my opinion, a necessary part of the job. An exam is a performance, and we need to be able to guide and advise our students on how to present themselves in a “performance situation” (exam, festival, competition, audition), and to prepare them physically and emotionally for the experience. A whole new and different range of skills are required as a performer, and it is important to stress to students the difference between practising and performing. We also need to be able to offer support for issues such as nerves and performance anxiety, and to offer coping strategies to counteract the negative thoughts and feelings that can arise from anxiety. How can you train others to perform if you have never done it yourself?

A successful performance demonstrates that you have practised correctly, deeply and thoughtfully, instead of simply note-bashing. Preparing music for performance teaches us how to complete a real task and to understand what is meant by “music making”. It encourages us to “play through”, glossing over errors rather than being thrown off course by them, and eradicates “stop-start” playing which prevents proper flow. You never really demonstrate your technique properly until you can demonstrate it in a performance. Performing also teaches us how to communicate a sense of the music, to “tell the story”, and to understand what the composer is trying to say. It adds to our credibility and artistic integrity as musicians. And if you haven’t performed a piece, how can you say it is truly “finished”?

I always perform in my student concerts, not to show off, but to demonstrate to my students (and their parents, who pay my bills!) that I can actually do it, that I too am continuing my piano studies by preparing repertoire for performance, and that I have managed my performance anxiety properly. I also feel that by performing with my students, we transform our concerts into a shared music-making experience.

I hope that by hearing and watching me playing, my students can better grasp aspects of technique or interpretation we might have discussed in lessons, as well as enjoying the sheer pleasure of listening to piano music, and perhaps drawing inspiration from it. I also get ideas when I am performing which inform my teaching.

For the teacher who is nervous about performing, one can start in a very low-key way by hosting an informal concert at home, or by joining a piano group, which provides a supportive and friendly environment where people can perform for one another. Choose repertoire with which you feel comfortable, and practise performing it a few times (at least three) to friends, family and pets before putting it before an audience. I guarantee your students will be dead impressed by anything you can play as a teacher!

Resources

Music from the Inside Out by Charlotte Tomlinson. A clear and well-written book on coping with performance anxiety, with tried and trusted techniques for dealing with nerves and improving self-confidence.

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The final guest post by Charlotte Tomlinson

In my last two blogs on this topic, I wrote about some practical tips for managing stage fright and the deep shame that many performers have as a result of having stage fright. Stage fright is a taboo area and professional musicians, rarely admit to it, even to their closest colleagues, which causes immense distress and can impact the quality of their performance.

Stage fright comes from fear. It comes when the mild dose of adrenalin that you need to help you perform well, gets out of hand. Your body overreacts and goes into fight or flight from a perceived threat. You are ‘only’ performing but that performing in its most extreme form, can feel as if you are in extreme physical danger.

The perceived threat can come from a number of different sources but the biggest is from your own negative self-talk. It can run something like this: “If I don’t do this concert well, I might not be booked for the next one” or “they’re going to think I’m useless if I mess this up.” Just from those two examples, you can see the pressure we put on ourselves, and our anxiety about what other people might think of us. That negative self-talk can be our downfall. It is easy to slide into a barrage of negative emotions, which then give enormous power to what we don’t want to happen.

The first step is to acknowledge the stress and pressure of the situation and let go of beating yourself up – it never helps! Then start to notice when that negative self-talk kicks in:

“Wow! I am being really hard on myself….is this really what I want? Is it helping me by feeling like this? What do I want to feel? What do I want to see happen?”

The next step is to find a way of getting in to a good feeling place. Negative emotions that stem from fear are very powerful and can feel overwhelming at times, but there is a choice here. You are not at the mercy of your negative feelings. You can choose to feel good. Remember your love for the music you are playing and why you are playing music in the first place.

You may say: “But I don’t love that music – how can I feel good about playing it if I don’t love it?” Sometimes it is more challenging than at other times. If you find that you dislike the music you are playing, find something, anything, that will help you feel good. Feeling good comes from the simplest things: remembering the feeling of sun on your skin, the feeling of your child’s hug, the colours of a stunning sunset – whatever lifts you. And then bring those feelings into your present situation.

Now explore choosing some more encouraging and supportive thoughts for yourself:

“I’m about to get up and perform…I do feel nervous…but, I choose to do this and I really want to do it well….I would love to enjoy this whole experience…I would love to feel a connection with the audience…it would be great if all these people liked it as well….they are here to hear me…I’d love to inspire them and leave them feeling good…wow, just thinking like that is starting to make me feel better….oh, I’m actually looking forward to going onto the stage…”

It would be tempting to think “Oh, that’s all nice and fluffy…I’ll give it a go and if nothing changes, well, clearly it doesn’t work…nice idea, but not very effective.”  Start by taking it seriously and give it your attention. Then it is a case of building it into your neurology and this takes practice. It can take as much practice, if not more so, than preparing for the performance itself.

Be aware of the performance, whatever it is, in advance and then, just as you prepare for it physically and mentally, prepare for it emotionally. See yourself giving a wonderful performance; see it going well every time you think of it. Feel the good feelings in advance so that it becomes normal and habitual to enjoy performing. It may take time and commitment, but if it helps you enjoy your performance and let go of your fear, then it is surely worth it!

Charlotte Tomlinson is a pianist, educator and a published author who specialises in helping musicians overcome issues that stop them from performing. Her book Music from the Inside Out deals with the thorny issues that can profoundly affect you as a musician, and which you may not want to face. You are encouraged to look at what lies beneath the surface and you are guided to unlock what’s holding you back.

  • Learn how to transform your own Inner Critic
  • Get to grips with your performance nerves
  • Discover how to play with complete physical freedom
  • Perform to the peak of your expressive power

Music from the Inside Out gives you tools that can transform your whole approach to performing music.

For more information about Charlotte, and to order a copy of her book, please visit her website:

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This is the second guest post on the subject of coping with stage fright by Charlotte Tomlinson.

In my last blog, I wrote about how deeply ashamed many performers are about having stage fright, whether they’re professional performers or otherwise and how this, and the taboo that has built up around it, can cause such distress and massively impact the quality of their performance.

In this blog, I am going to write about simple, practical steps that you can take to manage your nerves, and give yourself a much more enjoyable performance.

It may sound obvious, but one of the most important aspects of keeping stage fright at bay, is to know what you are performing, and to know it really well. Don’t kid yourself that you can wing it. Most of the time, you can’t and it is wise to assume you can’t. Even the people who give the impression that they just get up there and do it, have invariably done a lot more preparation than it might appear.

Practice is essential. Whatever you are performing, get to know it inside out and back to front. Plan it, prepare it, practice it – and then practice, again and again, more than you can ever imagine. What this does is two fold. You build it into your system so well that if your nerves get out of control in the performance and throw you, a form of autopilot can kick in whilst you recover yourself and find your feet again. It also gives you enormous confidence and reassurance that you know it well and that in itself helps with stage fright.

Almost everybody has some form of nerves before a performance and it is helpful to get to know your own individual symptoms so that you can then start managing them. A friend of mine told me that a few hours before she had to perform, she would get extremely sleepy and feel drained in energy. As soon as she then went on stage, the sleepiness would disappear and she would be on top form with all the energy she needed. She found this quite disturbing at first, willing herself to feel better in advance of the concert, regularly forgetting that the ‘problem’ would rectify itself once she was on stage. Once she realised that her body was actually shutting down in order to keep all her energy ready for when she really needed it, she could relax about her pre-performance symptoms.

When you can understand your own individual, physical response to performing you are a much better position to give yourself what you need. Are you someone who needs to eat before a performance or afterwards, for example? I had the rather unpleasant experience of nearly fainting in a concert once because I hadn’t realised that I personally needed to eat before rather than after a performance. I certainly knew what I needed to do after that!

Make sure you give yourself enough rest. Being physically tired or tense doesn’t help with a performance because energy can’t effectively flow through a tired body. You may need to find somewhere to lie down beforehand or give yourself time and space to be quiet, so that you are more able to focus when you are performing. And be very aware that when your body is gearing up for a performance, it is much more of a challenge to carry on with what you might otherwise consider as a ‘normal’ day. You may need to do less on the day of the performance, and certainly avoid other stresses and strains just before you go on.

Breathing is something that is very simple and yet amazingly powerful when dealing with stage fright. Take slow, deep breaths as you are waiting. This calms the nervous system and helps oxygenate your body, which is essential for performing well.

Stretching is also good. When you are anxious, you tend to get physically tense, so stretching can make a massive difference to how you feel. A few simple Yoga stretches or any stretches that you make up on the spot, will work. And this has the added benefit of getting you out of your mind and back in touch with your body.

In my next and final blog about stage fright, I will be writing about how you can best respond from an emotional perspective and how, by learning to manage your emotions, you can give yourself the best possible chance of overcoming stage fright and so that you can perform at your peak.

(read Charlotte’s first post on Stage Fright here)

Charlotte Tomlinson is a pianist, educator and a published author who specialises in helping musicians overcome issues that stop them from performing. Her book Music from the Inside Out deals with the thorny issues that can profoundly affect you as a musician, and which you may not want to face. You are encouraged to look at what lies beneath the surface and you are guided to unlock what’s holding you back.

  • Learn how to transform your own Inner Critic
  • Get to grips with your performance nerves
  • Discover how to play with complete physical freedom
  • Perform to the peak of your expressive power

Music from the Inside Out gives you tools that can transform your whole approach to performing music.

For more information about Charlotte, and to order a copy of her book, please visit her website:

www.charlottetomlinson.com

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The first of a series of guest posts on understanding and coping with stage fright by pianist, educator and author Charlotte Tomlinson.

Charlotte will feature in a forthcoming At the Piano interview.

Imagine this scenario: one of the world’s finest symphony orchestras is preparing to go on stage, at, let’s say London’s Barbican Centre. Musicians are tuning up, putting rosin on their bows and warming up their instruments. It seems totally normal and you would almost think that everyone was so professional and so used to giving concerts that they didn’t suffer from stage fright at all. But the reality is different.

Chris is going over his flute solo silently in his mind, his heart beating wildly and his breathing short and sharp. Despite his professionalism and years of experience, he is terrified and hardly slept the night before. Naomi, one of the second violins, doesn’t feel quite so pressurized because she is surrounded by other players and never plays solos, but try as she might, she always ends up chatting incessantly and nervously about anything at all, just before she goes on stage. It is her way of releasing excess nervous energy. And Suzy, the cello soloist, has just stopped herself from throwing up and is now pacing up and down her dressing room, breathing deeply.

These are a few imaginary examples of what can happen when professional musicians are about to go on stage. Nobody talks about stage fright, certainly not in professional performing circles. Musicians backstage at the Barbican wouldn’t have shared their anxieties to each other, for fear of losing their credibility and more significantly, their employability. Stage fright is considered taboo. It’s not only considered taboo, but also shameful. I have known many a highly successful, seasoned professional, who has confided in me, their deep, deep shame at having nerves that cause them such distress. They will lie to pretend they don’t have them, suffering in silence so that no one knows their big secret, their ‘weakness.’ And it is often the case that the greater their success, the bigger and more shameful their secret becomes.

I have given many talks about how to deal with stage fright to teenagers at schools, who are about to give recitals that will be assessed and marked as part of their final year exams. When I ask how many of them feel nervous when they are about to perform, hands go up slowly and tentatively until every hand has gone up, including my own. They look around, amazed. They have no idea that anybody else goes through the same experience as them and the relief in the room is palpable. How wonderful if we could learn from early on that having a form of stage fright isn’t taboo or shameful, and that feeling that way simply exacerbates the problem.

Stage fright happens as a result of an overdose of the body’s production of adrenalin from a perceived threat. The body interprets walking on to a stage to give a presentation as the equivalent of coming across a sabre toothed tiger in the jungle. A small dose of adrenalin can be an advantage when you’re performing. It heightens everything, keeps you alert, ready to perform at your best. But too much can have a crippling effect. The perceived threat can come from so many different directions: too much pressure, fear of looking a fool, thinking everyone will criticize you, not feeling good enough, not preparing adequately. It may be only a ‘perceived’ threat, but it is very real and can cause enormous distress.

Stage fright is more common than we would like to think. An enormous number of people are suffering from it, silently, not daring to own up to it. Understanding and recognizing this can be the first step towards letting go of its hold on your life. So what’s the next step? Maybe finding a way of sharing it with an empathetic, compassionate person, someone who respects and acknowledges your feelings – someone who just gets it! This can take the valve off the pressure cooker and begin the journey towards healthy, enjoyable performing…and free of stage fright!

Charlotte Tomlinson is a pianist, educator and a published author who specialises in helping musicians overcome issues that stop them from performing. Her book Music from the Inside Out deals with the thorny issues that can profoundly affect you as a musician, and which you may not want to face. You are encouraged to look at what lies beneath the surface and you are guided to unlock what’s holding you back.

Music from the Inside Out gives you tools that can transform your whole approach to performing music.

For more information about Charlotte, and to order a copy of her book, please visit her website:

www.charlottetomlinson.com