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I've read several articles on this topic, and there seem to be studies that support both camps: those who believe that physician prescribed beta blockers help reduce nervousness (ie. before a performance) ... and those who opine that they do not assist in that regard at all. A great deal of opinion seems to be based on anecdotal evidence.

My question to the TubeNet community is simply this:

Have you personally used doctor prescribed beta blockers before a performance, and if you did, what effect did they have on your nervousness, good, bad or indifferent ?

I have never personally used them so I can't offer first hand evidence. However, I used to think they were bogus until I found out during my undergraduate studies that our flute professor, who was a brilliant performer, used them regularly. She wouldn't even go to a rehearsal without them. According to her, they did not reduce her nerves mentally, but they did reduce the physical symptoms of nervousness, if that makes sense. Since then I've run in to several well-respected performing musicians that use them and swear by them.

First and foremost, any use of beta blockers should be supervised initially by a physician. The type and dosage for anxiety versus other purposes can make a substantial difference and there are specific issues with some beta blockers and asthma. Beta blockers should help an individual deal with the somatic (physical) symptoms of anxiety. The emotional/cognitive/etc side will be largely unaffected though the reduction in somatic symptoms can help control other manifestations of performance anxiety. It's a very complicated subject and I recommend Dianna Kenny's book The Psychology of Music Performance Anxiety is you want to read up on the scientific side of performance anxiety.

I do know several performers who regularly use beta blockers. For those who have trouble dealing with the physical symptoms of performance anxiety they can be extremely useful. A few have recently won auditions and do not believe they would have been successful without them. There is a fair bit of research on beta blockers and they are generally regarded as effective though they are far from a magic bullet. Not everyone responds the same way and some find they are not terribly helpful.

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A good friend, former secondary instrument teacher, used blockers for a few recitals and auditions. He had had problems with physical manifestation of nervousness while in college himself, and had used them with great results.

I used them for a while, to see if they would help with my tremor. Didn't. Just made me sleepy.

Using beta blockers for performance anxiety (primarily) only delays the opportunity to truly face "the audience." The audience will be there next time (if there is a next time)...love the audience...hate the audience (I don't care which), but you must embrace/connect with your audience. Sedatives...anxiolytics...tranquilizers...beta blockers...amphetamines...only add distance between you and the audience. I am not even a fan of beta blockers for those with severe anxiety (for similar, parallel reasons).

Beta blockers? Unless you have the specific cardiac arrhythmia or other physical medical condition they were designed for - stay away! When I first had my blood clots in 2007, I was prescribed Atenolol, "...in case a clot damaged a valve." Well, my valves weren't damaged. Worse, all the pill did was render the side effect that almost overnight I gained twenty pounds (which all these years later I still have not had the best of success getting it back off). I told my doctor I was going to quit. He said basically that you can't, once you're on them, you have to stay on them to keep everything regulated. I said bull **** and watch me, and tossed them in the trash in his presence and never took another one. I am much better off.

Now, I don't mean to give the "last great act of defiance" to modern medicine. Quite the contrary. Modern medicine found the cause of my blood clots, prescribed me the proper medicines for them, including warfarin, and I take it exactly to schedule and get my blood checked as periodically recommended. As a result, I am here to talk about it instead of being talked about, unlike my ancestors who all died before they should have because medical research had not found the cause of the clots at that time yet.

There are other medications that I have heard about as "anxiety relief" for musicians. This, in addition to all the recreational substances that have accompanied certain musicians on stage for years, are, for better or worse, part of performing musician culture: easing performance jitters.

It doesn't mean you have to ingest anything. What bloke said is the best attitude and approach. You know who you are. You know there are better musicians. You know there are worse musicians. But you are there because someone else believes in you, that you can play the gig, and do it well. I show up, have a social beverage appropriate to the gig, whether coffee, iced tea, soda pop, or a beer, and smile and enjoy the gig. We get too caught up on "what if..." and not enough on "right now," as in live in the enjoyment of the moment of the gig and the anxiety will take care of itself. If it doesn't, then that indicates a more profound psychological issue that may need systematic counseling or other treatment, not just pop a pill before a gig.

Again, unless you suffer from the particular cardiac arrhythmia or other physical medical condition the beta blocker was designed to address, stay away.

Have used them (and not used them), my experience is that they put a buffer between you and the performance, keeps you from being "in the moment" and reacting to it. I have colleagues that can't play without them, but for me that edge takes away from the music.

Beta blockers, specifically propranolol, is amazing. For me, there are no side effects other than the desired effect of me not being nervous, no dry mouth. Also it is not mind altering and does not take anything away from the music. Propranolol is a miracle!

I was thinking "vodka tonic!!"

The ultimate reality: it's like a mouthpiece or an instrument. Everyone is different. You have
to posess the personal and physical maturity to make a decision on efficacy, good, bad, or indifferent. There's nothing fun about any medication, and use could have serious negative effects, or they could be quite helpful. Talk to your doctor.

Nervousness goes away when performing is something you often do. Like other aspects of your work, start with short and easy.

This topic has already been discussed here last year. This is my take on the subject as a physician and a not particularly gifted amateur musician. Oddly, performing surgery never induced any anxiety because I was always 100% on task. Getting off task and worrying about yourself rather than the task at hand is the root of performance anxiety. There are many, many approaches to ameliorating the problem as our previous discussion illustrates. Ignoring it and hoping it will go away will work for a few lucky individuals, but when it totally bollixes the show we sufferers can legitimately seek remediation.

I use BluBlockers.

GregTuba79 wrote:Or you could do like any Jazz Tubist does and smoke a joint lol

All kidding aside: When I was much younger and playing in a big band on trombone, I would drink exactly one 12 oz. beer before the set started. It made a world of difference in taking the edge off if I had to solo.

GregTuba79 wrote:Or you could do like any Jazz Tubist does and smoke a joint lol

Not this one.

I took about 10 or so auditions or more without them, nerves always being a big issue (especially with heart rate and breath control). I asked my doctor about beta blockers, she said they were non-habit forming and are fairly common for these situations. I took them, and still take them, for auditions and was very happy with the result. Calm body but focused mind. Just my experience but that's my 2 cents.

Tubaryan12 wrote:

GregTuba79 wrote:Or you could do like any Jazz Tubist does and smoke a joint lol

All kidding aside: When I was much younger and playing in a big band on trombone, I would drink exactly one 12 oz. beer before the set started. It made a world of difference in taking the edge off if I had to solo.

The advice is, "All kidding aside, drink beer." Only on TubeNet.