I’ve been playing piano for 7-8 years and EVERY single time I go to a festival, contest, or competition, I TOTALLY FREAK OUT when I enter the room! I really want to conquer this nervousness! I always tell myself that there is nothing to be nervous about but it doesn’t work! I freak out and mess up and get nervous all over again! HELP!!!
Thank you so much, Chinese Cowboy! Great answer!
The truth is there is nothing you can do before a performance at the last minute.
The nervousness is taken care of in how well you prepare. The more secure you know a piece the less nervous anxiety you will have. Nervousness occurs because of a lack of confidence in ones playing. I’m sure you and many others (i have myself) experienced this – prior to a performance you worry about the part that you messed up in practice or the section you could never get right. Then you try to psych yourself up so you play it well…. Unfortunately that doesn’t work. you have to spend your time at the piano wisely.
Learn consciously. Always tell yourself places to jump to in the event of a memory slip. Remind yourself of what key you are playing. Memorize fingerings, sequential patterns, harmonic progressions. The more you know about the piece, the more secure you will be and the less nervousness you will experience.
You will always be a little bit nervous – so eat a banana before you hit the stage. Bananas have enzymes that help relax your nerves.
All this envisioning stuff…. 99% audience thinking… it doesn’t work…. Your preparation months ahead of time is what you need. It is not a quick fix 10 minutes before your performance… By then it is too late. Spend the practice time before the performance preparing yourself by doing as much slow practice as possible. Play things hands separate. Score study so you know the music completely. Playing through a piece won’t work either. Never close you book and "test" the memory. You need to keep the music in front of you, memorizing everything and when you think you have it memorized, do it again. Try hands separate memory.
Trust me on this. None of my students have memory mistakes or feel nervous on stage. They are always prepared and play beautifully every time. This is the same preparation that I do.