Ask an Expert: Archive

Q: What is the best approach for overcoming anxiety? I have found that with age, I have become increasingly more anxious about performance. In fact, the better prepared I am--and I practice A LOT--the more nervous I become. I am a much different animal in the practice room, and I feel that what I put forward beyond those walls is not at all a representation of the hard work I've logged.

Matthew Jaynes

A: Whenever I’m trying to master something new I’ve found you can feel like you have it, but as soon as you have someone in the room with you, it’s a different story. So...ask one of your buddies to come listen to you play something challenging or ask your wife or girlfriend to check it out for a minute. I’ve found that this can put the pressure on even though it’s an audience of one. So if you can do that regularly and get comfortable with it that can help when you get into a performance situation. I’ve found performing A LOT is the way to get comfortable performing. I know that after having played thousands of gigs I’m a lot less anxious to play in a challenging situation (say with some one I hold in high regard and haven’t played with yet) than I was a thousand gigs ago. Also remember-what’s the worst that can happen. It’s just music. Whenever I get nervous I think of Evel Knievel. If he messed up, he broke bones and wound up in the hospital (or possibly dead). If we mess up as musicians we can still walk away (hopefully) and try again next time.

Take care,
Stanton Moore

A: Anxiety on the stage - in my opinion it has to do with a wrong preparation for the concert/exam. During master classes all over the world I recognized that young people often learn a piece pretty quickly and from this moment they forget the music sheet. They play and repeat the piece often, sometimes with mistakes, sometimes well – but mostly automatically. For whatever reason they do not check the music, and then after weeks, forget the material.

There are different points to concentrate on, which help learning the piece CONSCIOUS. And being conscious helps to perform pieces 100% in the practice room and on the stage. One could concentrate on

1. first notes/chords of each phrase
2. rhythm of the pattern
3. metrum – especially for pieces with changing metrical structure it’s important to know exactly what is going on (even thinking "dry" about the piece just retell the structure)
4. practicing the piece from different moments – not to start always at the beginning, but maybe from the middle or any special place which is kind of a new part of the piece.

These are some suggestions, which help me a lot and as far I can see results, also other performers.

Best greetings and good luck,
Katarzyna Mycka