Try humming very softly when playing. No one will hear you, but it forces you to breathe. One time I was at a competition, and I held my breath during a passage that was really hard in Ravel's Ondine. My muscles started shaking and I had no control of my hand. I then realized that if your muscles don't get oxygen, they can lose their function and control. Hope that helps!
No matter how well or poor your performance goes, it does not define your self worth. I think I will have these words put on my headstone. This has helped so much with my performance anxiety. Thank you, Josh.
duuuuuudeeee! so true! when I think about a passage, I completely forget it! and once the same pathetic thing happened to me. I was sitting in the audience of a concert and I knew that the next performance was mine, and i panicked and tried to remember my piece in my head before going up on stage,and since i couldn't remember it i opened my sheet music and started revising like one would revise a history chapter or something. telling myself which note came first and which was next.
Absolutely - I believe music is highly spiritual, and if you read many of the great composer's insights about their music, there is a much deeper meaning than what one initially sees on the surface. I think Eckhart Tolle has a beautiful way of explaining philosophical concepts that greatly aid in finding the beauty present in a piece, as well as the performance of the piece
Thank you Josh. I'm a teacher and one of my students (an excellent player!) just freezes at performance. I sent her your video and I'm sure it will help.
Hey, I've been there :) My last gig played quite a few noticeable wrong notes (I play Sax) - I normally could improvise a nice solo but my mind went blank and so I used pre written solos or wandered around the tune. All I can say is don't let it stop you, its the nerves and they will get easier to manage, not necessarily go away completely but they will get easier.
Fear of performing is part of the reason I gave up my dream of being a concert artist when I was younger. The only thing I regret 20 years later. I had two memory slips in two recitals in my 14 years of playing (at the time) and the last was at my Sr. Recital. I needed to see this!
Thank you, Josh, for sharing your experience and technique. In the performance class this week, I had a horrible anxiety and I was like a troubled child in a school. I was angry at myself, was devastated why that happened again and was helpless. Actually even the night before, as you exactly said, I started failing how to play the first major (Chopin's Ballade 3) and the day of the class in the freezing temperature, at 9F, I started sweating without wearing a coat on the street when heading for the class. I was miserable and my big ego was hurt. One of my teachers said to me about the cause "because you are not confident enough, you are not ready for the piece. Practice!!" Today I told this to my piano tuner at Julliard who also is pianist and has the same issue and he said to me "probably you could feel more pressure if you practice the piece more and you are ready for the piece more. I screwed up the piece I was most confident with and I was most ready for" . He is totally right. It is nothing to do with proficiency. It is totally with psychological thing...
naoko shimizu My son who performs piano music often, and yet he finds extreme pain on one hand with nervousness in the middle of a piece suddenly and has to slow down. Problem is that he expects so much from himself and rarely satisfied with his performances! He is only 16 and goes through this process of nervous state every time!!
I am a vocalist and your advice still helps. I don't get to distract myself with a piano in front of me but I will try spotting something( such as a light ) and focus on that and try the method of imagining myself in the stage with my mic and making that flow down the river. Thank you so much
+Alicia Levy When I get nervous I just pretend I'm in a different realm, playing just for myself and the music is flowing through me and ascending into heaven and God and his holy angels are my audience. I identify with your light and focus.
Alicia, when I sing publicly, I always take off my glasses so I can't really see anyone. It's one less distraction. I also tell myself my nerves are excitement and this is normal but keep it chill so the audience can have fun and lose control.
Hi Josh, I just ran into this video as I am an adult piano learner. This video has been good to give me some ideas as performance anxiety kicks in for me the moment I video-tape my practice or someone else is in the room. The funny thing is for my work I talk in front of many people, however, at the piano, it seems I am another person when it comes to playing. I will give it a try to your suggestions. Thanks a again and have a great day!!!
Really apprciate this.. I've been playing for over 20 years now. When I was a kid, I was fearless and now I freak out every time I get in front of a crowd. Really weird! I like your river analogy. I've heard something similar before. I'll give these things a try. Thanks man!
Thank you Josh for sharing so many different ways of approaching the challenge of public music performance. I like the imagery of the bubble of images traveling along a river in a bubble. Hal
I always have had a story attached to each piece that I learn... It happens automatically when I'm practicing; the whole piece ends up being a bit like a film in my head, narrated by the music. Sometimes at very challenging bits, my mind brings up the sheet music and I am able to follow it in blocks as I remember all the practice sessions during which I resolved the parts. When I think about the exact notes and what my fingers/hands are doing I'll mess up 98% of the time.. you're exactly right!
great topic! i love to see how a lot of common piano student`s issues (technique, speed, anxiety, practice time,.....) have been referred to through your videos, i was searching videos like these, made by serious, dedicated players. Thanks and keep doing useful videos please!
I went to a church and, as always, experience stage fright. It's so bad that my foot starts shaking uncontrollably on the sustain pedal. I freeze, and, I can't remember what keys to play. It's that bad. Even after I have practiced. It's useless.
+mentuemhet Don't give up yet, keep trying. I experienced this too, in my first public performance, my hands shook so bad I could hardly hit the right notes and I was so drained physically and mentally from the experience I nearly collapsed when I got home. But i went back and it got better. I know how debilitating it can be, this demon stage fright but it can be overcome.
Oh dear. My son played at his school tonight, but had stage fright half way through. He was so distraught at the end. I will get him to watch your videos when he is ready to talk about things.
Fantastic! I'm about to do a performance audition for my bachelor degree and just so happens my major work is the Chopin Scherzo No.3 in C# minor . My audition is in 3 days, this video could not have come at a better time ! Thank you !
Gosh this might help me a lot with recordings, I don't really get scared when I play in front of people, I think it's more comfortable ( in my opinion) but when you're recording I feel like it's more difficult cause the microphone (or any other device you're recording with) can record all of your mistakes even the small ones and I just think it's too awkward to record. Thanks Josh, great video!
I have a recital next Wednesday. I’m playing piano. It’s not the first time I’ve performed in front of people, but I’ve always had someone accompanying me, usually always a singer. This is the first time I’ll be doing a solo. And I’m terrified. It’s a short piece, simple. But I know for fact that I’ll mess up because of shaking.
omg i might have replied to u 2 yrs later but I feel exactly the same as u, I'm reading comments hopefully there would be ppl relatable like me so I wouldn't feel like I'm the only one who's nervous and always messes up on piano on performance day but plays perfectly bysmyself
Hey you guys...Remember the Rachmaninoff story? He couldn't compose for two or three years because of a traumatic experience with his first symphony-,and finally went to a hypnotist, who told him," You will write a great concerto. You will work with great ease. It will be an excellent work"- and he wrote the Famous Rach second piano concerto. There are self hypnosis vids on TH-cam... Good luck!
thanks a lot Josh :) last words were so nice ! we should sacrifice our pride :) simplest way to improve and also to overcome nervous ! thanks again bro
But why do I play perfectly when I am alone and mess up when even my mom comes in? I play Chopin, Beethoven, Mozart and ect. Not easy pieces, but I am afraid of making mistakes...
I had a recital and I was super nervous and rushed all my songs and barley, BARLEY was breathing. My legs started shaking on the pedal and my arms. MY ARMS! They were shaking and I was trying my best to control everything. I rushed my songs and my pedal was super messy and oof.
You're absolutely right about thinking too much. It RUINS my practice even. As soon as I start thinking, I'll screw up. And I'm just doing novice stuff - nine months of lessons so far.
I don't know why this happens. Usually when I practice, I do just fine but when I play in front of a crowd, but if I make even a single mistake, I lose control of the whole piece
I'm playing that Chopin A minor Waltz for my end-of-year recital. These are all good tips. I like to think that if the audience has no anxiety, why should I? Also, less anxiety means a better technical performance. By that logic I become less nervous out of a desire to play well.
Thanks this has helped me I have to play a song with a band I’m in a school of rock band and I’m set a lead guitarist and that’s cool and all but I feel comfortable when I play rhythm so wish me luck
Wonderful advices. I am also a pianist and I learned that your mind should not really bother and overANALYZE a piece. Instead, we should SYNTHESIZE it as a whole. That is why artistic people whether it be in music or other forms are mostly right brainded as they say. As for the piano, as long as we have enough practice that is near perfect, the next step is just to ' let it go ' during the actual performance. At this stage, your FINGERS (instead of your mere brain) would have already memorized the entire MELODY of the piece (instead of mere NOTES) and you have mastered your piece at that level. It is like singing a song - it is harder to memorize the lyrics if it was just a poem with no melody.
Honestly, there is no substitute to playing in front of an audience. Embarrass yourself so much until you don't care about playing wrong notes. When you don't care anymore and are so calm and steady is when you enter the flow state. Breathing is also good 👍
Thank you. I had a dream of making this account one were I could upload my performances. Yesterday I had a performance and I uploaded it but now I am so embarrassed of it I might just take it down.
TheJoyof PianoMusic Thank you for your kindness. You know, TH-cam is an interesting place...so many kind people, then there are the haters/trolls that will try to discourage you. Don't pay any attention to them. You're being brave and putting yourself out there. TH-cam is a great place to learn from each other. Keep up the good work!
When I play, the notes start dancing around the page or they disappear completely. I may know a piece very well, but then it's like someone flipped a switch and I just stop playing. It has gotten better, but my hands still shake.
I have experiences where i play for my family and I play for fun, but my hands start shaking to the point where i stop and it’s annoying because I like to good for them or for friends too.
Hi Josh i started playing piano a few months ago but i will be going to my first recital in 1 month. my problem is that when I play for people ,even a small amount, my hands start to shake and my mind goes completely blank, because of this when i play i mess up during the middle of a piece what do you suggest i should do?
Don't most or all pianists rely on muscle memory? I thought everyone performs through muscle memory. Except for some parts like in chords or scales, isn't it that pianists use muscle memory?
Really any musician does! I know from my own experiences being a pianist and a flautist that muscle-memory can be a useful thing on many occasions, but in such instance when you start to shake and It's getting out of control... Stop for a second and take a deep breath in through your nose and exhale deeply from the mouth... If you are in the Middle of a piece when it happens, just go back a few measures/bars and start anew! In many instances your muscles will remember what you practised and often times it'll go well the second time! One thing that has helped me personally throughout many years of performing is: Your audience does not know how the piece is suppose to sound like, they just appreciate the music so give it your best and you will feel alot better afterwards! Believe in yourself and let your heart lead the way! I am in this with you! 🙏
Hi Josh or any fellow piano players :) I have a big problem..I have a big recital soon and when I get really nervous I get very cold and my fingers go completely white and drain out! Ouft!! Really hard to play fast with them. Any tips? Cheers mr
This may be good advice for a classical concert but not so much for playing in a bar or club. Hard to imagine being on a peaceful mountain or that it’s just you and the piano when people are singing along a few feet away and part of the performance is connecting with them.
I'm not totally agree with think in another 'relaxing' thing while you're playing, because you may be distracted by this, and forgot the next part of what you're playing 😓... However every one must find his own way to keep calm and focus just in the music during the perfomance ...if this function for you, go for it!
Maybe you got more anxiety after your mission because of the constant rejection that you "had" to undergo ? They would have all accepted your music instead...
Repeat comment-I guess this 73 year old rookie is no different than most...performance anxiety in front of my teacher...first recital in one week...counting on the evening before dry run will help me get through the actual recital. Thanks for this great video!
Try humming very softly when playing. No one will hear you, but it forces you to breathe. One time I was at a competition, and I held my breath during a passage that was really hard in Ravel's Ondine. My muscles started shaking and I had no control of my hand. I then realized that if your muscles don't get oxygen, they can lose their function and control. Hope that helps!
I’m nervous even when playing for my piano teacher...
I'm nervous even when I record myself :|
That’s me. But, my piano teacher is my mom...
That happens quite often to me... ;(
Its cuz I dont practice perfectly🤣
I have a piano recital in 30 minutes. Wish me luck!
Barry B. Benson no
How did it go
how was it?
Was it a JAZZ performance?
ejej shej best comment ever
No matter how well or poor your performance goes, it does not define your self worth. I think I will have these words put on my headstone. This has helped so much with my performance anxiety. Thank you, Josh.
The hardest thing for me is the shaky hands and i find i cant really hear what im playing while im playing it when im under a lot of pressure.
I have my first big solo recital coming up. All my friends are going to hear me okay for the first time. Thank you for the advive
duuuuuudeeee! so true! when I think about a passage, I completely forget it! and once the same pathetic thing happened to me. I was sitting in the audience of a concert and I knew that the next performance was mine, and i panicked and tried to remember my piece in my head before going up on stage,and since i couldn't remember it i opened my sheet music and started revising like one would revise a history chapter or something. telling myself which note came first and which was next.
Absolutely - I believe music is highly spiritual, and if you read many of the great composer's insights about their music, there is a much deeper meaning than what one initially sees on the surface. I think Eckhart Tolle has a beautiful way of explaining philosophical concepts that greatly aid in finding the beauty present in a piece, as well as the performance of the piece
Thank you Josh. I'm a teacher and one of my students (an excellent player!) just freezes at performance. I sent her your video and I'm sure it will help.
Thanks I'm heading for a recital in one hour and I think I'm more relaxed now.
My recital is soon! Hope I don't fail it
You'll do great!
I have a rehearsal in an hour and a recital next Saturday... Wish me good luck!😂😅👍🏻🍀
Hey, I've been there :) My last gig played quite a few noticeable wrong notes (I play Sax) - I normally could improvise a nice solo but my mind went blank and so I used pre written solos or wandered around the tune. All I can say is don't let it stop you, its the nerves and they will get easier to manage, not necessarily go away completely but they will get easier.
Fear of performing is part of the reason I gave up my dream of being a concert artist when I was younger. The only thing I regret 20 years later. I had two memory slips in two recitals in my 14 years of playing (at the time) and the last was at my Sr. Recital. I needed to see this!
Thank you, Josh, for sharing your experience and technique. In the performance class this week, I had a horrible anxiety and I was like a troubled child in a school.
I was angry at myself, was devastated why that happened again and was helpless.
Actually even the night before, as you exactly said, I started failing how to play the first major (Chopin's Ballade 3) and the day of the class in the freezing temperature, at 9F, I started sweating without wearing a coat on the street when heading for the class. I was miserable and my big ego was hurt. One of my teachers said to me about the cause "because you are not confident enough, you are not ready for the piece. Practice!!" Today I told this to my piano tuner at Julliard who also is pianist and has the same issue and he said to me "probably you could feel more pressure if you practice the piece more and you are ready for the piece more. I screwed up the piece I was most confident with and I was most ready for" . He is totally right. It is nothing to do with proficiency. It is totally with psychological thing...
naoko shimizu My son who performs piano music often, and yet he finds extreme pain on one hand with nervousness in the middle of a piece suddenly and has to slow down. Problem is that he expects so much from himself and rarely satisfied with his performances! He is only 16 and goes through this process of nervous state every time!!
Great hints! Thank You so much!
oh. my. god. i just screamed when you mentioned the book! love it and never expected it to be mentioned in this video. thank you for your advice! :)
I am a vocalist and your advice still helps. I don't get to distract myself with a piano in front of me but I will try spotting something( such as a light ) and focus on that and try the method of imagining myself in the stage with my mic and making that flow down the river. Thank you so much
+Alicia Levy When I get nervous I just pretend I'm in a different realm, playing just for myself and the music is flowing through me and ascending into heaven and God and his holy angels are my audience. I identify with your light and focus.
Alicia, when I sing publicly, I always take off my glasses so I can't really see anyone. It's one less distraction. I also tell myself my nerves are excitement and this is normal but keep it chill so the audience can have fun and lose control.
Hi Josh,
I just ran into this video as I am an adult piano learner.
This video has been good to give me some ideas as performance anxiety kicks in for me the moment I video-tape my practice or someone else is in the room.
The funny thing is for my work I talk in front of many people, however, at the piano, it seems I am another person when it comes to playing.
I will give it a try to your suggestions.
Thanks a again and have a great day!!!
Really apprciate this.. I've been playing for over 20 years now. When I was a kid, I was fearless and now I freak out every time I get in front of a crowd. Really weird! I like your river analogy. I've heard something similar before. I'll give these things a try. Thanks man!
Thank you Josh for sharing so many different ways of approaching the challenge of public music performance. I like the imagery of the bubble of images traveling along a river in a bubble. Hal
I have a piano recital tomorrow!!!
This was an awesome video I;m not even a piano player I am a figure skater and this will really help me in the future
I always have had a story attached to each piece that I learn... It happens automatically when I'm practicing; the whole piece ends up being a bit like a film in my head, narrated by the music. Sometimes at very challenging bits, my mind brings up the sheet music and I am able to follow it in blocks as I remember all the practice sessions during which I resolved the parts. When I think about the exact notes and what my fingers/hands are doing I'll mess up 98% of the time.. you're exactly right!
great topic! i love to see how a lot of common piano student`s issues (technique, speed, anxiety, practice time,.....) have been referred to through your videos, i was searching videos like these, made by serious, dedicated players. Thanks and keep doing useful videos please!
I went to a church and, as always, experience stage fright. It's so bad that my foot starts shaking uncontrollably on the sustain pedal. I freeze, and, I can't remember what keys to play. It's that bad. Even after I have practiced. It's useless.
+mentuemhet Don't give up yet, keep trying. I experienced this too, in my first public performance, my hands shook so bad I could hardly hit the right notes and I was so drained physically and mentally from the experience I nearly collapsed when I got home. But i went back and it got better. I know how debilitating it can be, this demon stage fright but it can be overcome.
Thanks for the encouragement.
Oh dear. My son played at his school tonight, but had stage fright half way through. He was so distraught at the end. I will get him to watch your videos when he is ready to talk about things.
Such a great video. Thank you for this(: may i just add that you are a very gifted musician !!
Fantastic! I'm about to do a performance audition for my bachelor degree and just so happens my major work is the Chopin Scherzo No.3 in C# minor . My audition is in 3 days, this video could not have come at a better time ! Thank you !
Gosh this might help me a lot with recordings, I don't really get scared when I play in front of people, I think it's more comfortable ( in my opinion) but when you're recording I feel like it's more difficult cause the microphone (or any other device you're recording with) can record all of your mistakes even the small ones and I just think it's too awkward to record. Thanks Josh, great video!
I have a recital next Wednesday. I’m playing piano. It’s not the first time I’ve performed in front of people, but I’ve always had someone accompanying me, usually always a singer. This is the first time I’ll be doing a solo. And I’m terrified. It’s a short piece, simple. But I know for fact that I’ll mess up because of shaking.
omg i might have replied to u 2 yrs later but I feel exactly the same as u, I'm reading comments hopefully there would be ppl relatable like me so I wouldn't feel like I'm the only one who's nervous and always messes up on piano on performance day but plays perfectly bysmyself
Hey you guys...Remember the Rachmaninoff story? He couldn't compose for two or three years because of a traumatic experience with his first symphony-,and finally went to a hypnotist, who told him," You will write a great concerto. You will work with great ease. It will be an excellent work"- and he wrote the Famous Rach second piano concerto. There are self hypnosis vids on TH-cam... Good luck!
Great advice. I'm about to perform tomorrow for a group of old people . I'm as nervous as heck!
thanks a lot Josh :) last words were so nice ! we should sacrifice our pride :) simplest way to improve and also to overcome nervous ! thanks again bro
Thanks Josh great idea! Loved your video on jumps this morning - very helpful! :)
But why do I play perfectly when I am alone and mess up when even my mom comes in? I play Chopin, Beethoven, Mozart and ect. Not easy pieces, but I am afraid of making mistakes...
Great advices!! i totally agree! thanks Josh!
I had a recital and I was super nervous and rushed all my songs and barley, BARLEY was breathing. My legs started shaking on the pedal and my arms. MY ARMS! They were shaking and I was trying my best to control everything. I rushed my songs and my pedal was super messy and oof.
You're absolutely right about thinking too much. It RUINS my practice even. As soon as I start thinking, I'll screw up. And I'm just doing novice stuff - nine months of lessons so far.
I don't know why this happens. Usually when I practice, I do just fine but when I play in front of a crowd, but if I make even a single mistake, I lose control of the whole piece
Thanks Josh! Great video.
I appreciate this!
I'm playing that Chopin A minor Waltz for my end-of-year recital.
These are all good tips. I like to think that if the audience has no anxiety, why should I?
Also, less anxiety means a better technical performance. By that logic I become less nervous out of a desire to play well.
Ahhhh thank you so much!!!!!
Thanks this has helped me I have to play a song with a band I’m in a school of rock band and I’m set a lead guitarist and that’s cool and all but I feel comfortable when I play rhythm so wish me luck
Great talk in a performance fright
***** Thank you for your kindness
Wonderful advices. I am also a pianist and I learned that your mind should not really bother and overANALYZE a piece. Instead, we should SYNTHESIZE it as a whole. That is why artistic people whether it be in music or other forms are mostly right brainded as they say. As for the piano, as long as we have enough practice that is near perfect, the next step is just to ' let it go ' during the actual performance. At this stage, your FINGERS (instead of your mere brain) would have already memorized the entire MELODY of the piece (instead of mere NOTES) and you have mastered your piece at that level. It is like singing a song - it is harder to memorize the lyrics if it was just a poem with no melody.
Honestly, there is no substitute to playing in front of an audience. Embarrass yourself so much until you don't care about playing wrong notes. When you don't care anymore and are so calm and steady is when you enter the flow state. Breathing is also good 👍
I like this approach, also found this video helpful How do I cope with performance anxiety?
Thanks a ton! Great advice..
Hope this mtna goes well tomorrow.
I performed last Sunday, and I can honestly say that I sacrificed my pride on one of the pieces.
Thank you. I had a dream of making this account one were I could upload my performances. Yesterday I had a performance and I uploaded it but now I am so embarrassed of it I might just take it down.
TheJoyof PianoMusic Thank you for your kindness. You know, TH-cam is an interesting place...so many kind people, then there are the haters/trolls that will try to discourage you. Don't pay any attention to them. You're being brave and putting yourself out there. TH-cam is a great place to learn from each other. Keep up the good work!
Thank you for this.
When I play, the notes start dancing around the page or they disappear completely. I may know a piece very well, but then it's like someone flipped a switch and I just stop playing. It has gotten better, but my hands still shake.
I have experiences where i play for my family and I play for fun, but my hands start shaking to the point where i stop and it’s annoying because I like to good for them or for friends too.
Hi Josh i started playing piano a few months ago but i will be going to my first recital in 1 month. my problem is that when I play for people ,even a small amount, my hands start to shake and my mind goes completely blank, because of this when i play i mess up during the middle of a piece what do you suggest i should do?
good advice thanks!!
Don't most or all pianists rely on muscle memory? I thought everyone performs through muscle memory. Except for some parts like in chords or scales, isn't it that pianists use muscle memory?
Really any musician does! I know from my own experiences being a pianist and a flautist that muscle-memory can be a useful thing on many occasions, but in such instance when you start to shake and It's getting out of control... Stop for a second and take a deep breath in through your nose and exhale deeply from the mouth... If you are in the Middle of a piece when it happens, just go back a few measures/bars and start anew! In many instances your muscles will remember what you practised and often times it'll go well the second time! One thing that has helped me personally throughout many years of performing is: Your audience does not know how the piece is suppose to sound like, they just appreciate the music so give it your best and you will feel alot better afterwards! Believe in yourself and let your heart lead the way! I am in this with you! 🙏
Literally the judge was behind a screen and I was worried they would think I looked immature😂if that's not sad what is
Hi Josh or any fellow piano players :) I have a big problem..I have a big recital soon and when I get really nervous I get very cold and my fingers go completely white and drain out! Ouft!! Really hard to play fast with them. Any tips? Cheers mr
This may be good advice for a classical concert but not so much for playing in a bar or club. Hard to imagine being on a peaceful mountain or that it’s just you and the piano when people are singing along a few feet away and part of the performance is connecting with them.
I'm not totally agree with think in another 'relaxing' thing while you're playing, because you may be distracted by this, and forgot the next part of what you're playing 😓... However every one must find his own way to keep calm and focus just in the music during the perfomance ...if this function for you, go for it!
Is that a home theater behind you in those dbl doors? I always imagine that.
11 year old about to play last post at school in front of 500+ people(anxiety).
Did you practice the piano during your mission?
The 'calm place' thing doesn't work for me. I am way too rattled to think calmly right before a performance.
I'd suggest wearing gloves and getting some hand warmers.
You should re-record these without the potato camera.
Nice potato cam
Maybe you got more anxiety after your mission because of the constant rejection that you "had" to undergo ? They would have all accepted your music instead...
Hey I guess this 73 year old rookie is
Repeat comment-I guess this 73 year old rookie is no different than most...performance anxiety in front of my teacher...first recital in one week...counting on the evening before dry run will help me get through the actual recital. Thanks for this great video!
Good luck. Have a really good performance.