Supporting Your Piano Pathway
Reflection by Andrew Eales
Halloween is a time in which popular culture celebrates the macabre, but for pianists, our most destructive fear is often not an irrational terror of supernatural gremlins, but the panic that fills our hearts at the thought of stepping out on stage, approaching a looming grand piano, and performing to an audience.
I have recently written about the positive benefits of performing, but what about the anxieties that many need to overcome in order to do so? In this companion piece, let’s consider the terrors that must be overcome in order to give a confident performance…
Things that go bump…
It is normal to experience stage fright when performing to an audience. Even the most experienced musicians can be prone to anxiety prior to a concert, and the surge of adrenaline that accompanies us onto the stage is a natural chemical reaction.
Juggling practice, rehearsals, and other commitments can be overwhelming for some. As the big day approaches, we can feel insecure about our skills, under-prepared, and worry that we won’t meet the expectations of our audience. The sense of dread this conjures can be exacerbated by pressure from others, and our own perfectionist desire for a flawless performance.
Practical issues such as organising our diary, choosing and preparing concert attire, finding the venue on time, remembering what to take with us, looking after ourselves and liaising with our support network can all prove fraught within the frantic flummox of nervous energy that ensues.
The fear of making mistakes in front of others can create a mental barrier that prevents some from performing altogether. And a fear of negative feedback and judgment will be far worse if it is underpinned by lingering, traumatic memories of past humiliation earlier in our performing life.
Music lovers, supporters, and educators have a shared responsibility to create positive performing experiences through which players can develop in a nurturing atmosphere, but ultimately we each need to uniquely face our fears if we are to develop our art as performers.
Hiding from the Spotlight
A commitment to performing to an audience necessitates overcoming our fears, the anguish associated with past performances, the dread of future ones, and defeating the scary gremlins that can terrorise musicians all the year around, not just at Halloween.
One of the main reasons that teachers around the world encourage learners to perform, from the youngest beginner to the diploma student and beyond, is to help them become accustomed to the pressures involved. This must always remain a focus.
I think that the educational community needs to grasp this important nettle, because the personal, psychological, and organisational challenges of performing to a live audience are, for many, far greater than the musical ones.
As an aside, it particularly concerns me that the latest video-based performing diplomas from ABRSM and others normalise the peculiar notion that performance can equate to filming ourselves playing at home alone, thus omitting a significant layer of personal challenge, development, and achievement from their assessments.
If we are to encourage the art of performance, then encouraging and equipping musicians to step into the spotlight is a crucial facet of our work.
Coping with Nerves
Once a decision is made to face our fears and perform, we need to tackle the bigger topics of how to prepare effectively: musically, practically, and on a personal level.
In her small booklet Keeping Your Nerve! (available here) Kate Jones offers practical strategies to help musicians prepare for performance. I’ve bought a few copies to lend to students before they perform, and recommend all musicians and teachers keep this outstanding book to hand.
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