11 May Overcoming Music Performance Anxiety
We’re honored to introduce our first Tuesday Tip by FanFlex artist Anastasia Rose. Ms. Rose is a musician by trade and education, having received a bachelor’s and master’s degree in music. She also teaches music lessons and offers mental health counseling services.
Let me introduce you to a good friend. His name is Kyle (changed for privacy) and he is a virtuosic pianist beginning his training at age 3. We were in the same studio when I did my bachelor’s degree. Kyle experienced overwhelming amounts of music performance anxiety even as a graduate student in music. It was a routine for him to vomit prior to every performance whether it be for the studio, jury, or for major graduate recitals. He sweat profusely and his hands shook to the point that I was amazed he could even play the correct keys. Kyle hyperventilated and cried prior to some performances.
On the outside, it appeared that Kyle had no reason to be as anxious as he was leading up to performances because he was an accomplished pianist who had traveled all over the world to perform. However, he was brought up in a family unit where much of his support was seemingly conditional based on how proud he made the family when he performed. Kyle was also an immigrant to the U.S. which carries with it heavy stress and debilitating thoughts of comparison. He has since begun exploring within himself where his Music Performance Anxiety (MPA) comes from and why it impacted him so heavily which has loosened its grip on his creative life.
Kyle is not the only person to experience MPA this way. He probably experiences more of the extreme symptoms of it, but we can all be affected by it — often in different ways. Up to 40% of professional musicians experience MPA to the point that it can decrease job satisfaction, decrease creativity, decrease both mental and physical health, and increase overall burnout. In journals and personal writings even iconic composers such as Frederic Chopin and Sergei Rachmaninoff reference avoiding performance due to the anxiety it caused them.
Music Performance Anxiety is beyond anxiety. It is connected to identity and life experiences. For many professional musicians, music is not just what they do — it’s who they are. At times, being a musician is as much of someone’s identity as their gender, race, or other demographics. When a critique is made on any aspect of our identity, it takes on a significantly deeper meaning than something we do simply as a hobby.
Musicians often begin their musical training in childhood or adolescence. This means that someone is both developing as a person and as a musician simultaneously, and these things cannot be separated easily. Adverse experiences in either personal development or musicianship can impact each other and increase the likelihood of developing MPA.
Music Performance Anxiety is not your fault — so what can you do about it?!
- Talk about it
More people experience MPA than you probably realize. Take the time to identify supportive friends, family, and other musicians — and be the kind of support you’d like to have too! There’s room at the table for all of us. By networking and building bonds with other musicians, we can reality test and end the cycle of getting stuck in our own minds which tend to want to compare us to other musicians and aren’t great judges of our own performance quality much of the time! We’re all better together as fellow artists, no one wins the game of comparisons or turf wars.
- Drop perfectionism
In my work as a music therapist and mental health counselor, we call perfectionism a cognitive distortion. It is impossible to be perfect (plus, perfect is boring and art should not be!) We are human, not robots, and the human element of music is what makes it moving and beautiful.
Try going to jam nights and taking risks in a controlled and supportive environment; this can help remove some of the pressure so you can enjoy making music — mistakes and all!
MISTAKES HAPPEN! It is futile to fight against this reality. It is important to separate your personhood from the mistakes you make — statistically, the best musicians make the most mistakes because they have taken the most risks in their professional music careers.
- Learn some improvisation techniques
Improvisation can help in a bind if a mistake does occur or a bout of distraction or memory loss arises. If you remain composed and play it off, your audience may never notice — or they may even be excited and impressed that you gave them a unique live performance (you don’t have to tell them it all started as a happy little accident — heyo, Bob Ross, thanks for the reframe!)
- Alexander Technique
I’m not making a Hamilton reference here, sadly. Alexander technique was initially developed as a training for classical vocalists to improve air flow, respiration, spontaneity and creativity, while reducing music-related injuries. It has since expanded to be applied to all performance arts across music, drama, and dance/movement. By becoming more in tune with one’s body and somatic experience, you can, you guessed, decrease MPA.
- Therapy/Counseling
My personal belief is that every human can benefit from having a therapist, if for no other reason than to just vent to without potential repercussions from others in their life. In the realm of performance, therapy and counseling can help shed light on some underlying issues which may be contributing to the feelings of MPA (remember Kyle’s family issues and harmful schemas?) Research has shown that individual and group Music Therapy, Cognitive Behavior Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, and somatic therapy/interventions can be helpful for addressing some of these music-related concerns. In some cases, psychopharmacology may be recommended such as beta blockers, but please do your research and be aware of the risks with these medications — particularly to your physical and vocal health (sometimes medications can impact your digestion, breathing, and/or saliva production which may require adjustment when performing).
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Anastasia Canfield (stage name: Anastasia Rose) is a FanFlex artist based in the Denver metropolitan area. When she is not performing, she owns and manages a private music therapy, music instruction, and mental health counseling business called Creative Remedies. Anastasia’s graduate research for her Master of Arts in Mental Health Counseling centered around Music Performance Anxiety through an intersectional lens and how counseling can help musicians maximize their creative potential. She invites candid conversation about music, her research, and music therapy — drop her a line if you are so inclined.