Do you get strage fright?

[tubalux]

Hi Tubenet,

I'll be live streaming an interview between Sarah Willis (horn with the Berlin Phil) and Dinka Migic-Vlatkovic on December 6th 2pm Berlin/ 8am New York/ 7.12 12am Melbourne.

Dinka is a therapist who has done significant study into the area of stage fright and performance fear... and she is also the wife of world famous horn soloist Radovan Vlatkovic - so she has plenty of experience of top class performers. I've just come out of a test live stream with her and she's definitely got some interesting things to say.

You'll have the opportunity to ask questions during the live interview, so if you happen to be online at the time please come and join in

“Tackling Performance Fears”
December 6th 2pm Berlin/ 8am New York/ 7.12 12am Melbourne

http://www.sarah-willis.com" target="_blank

(You can also see archives of interviews with Gail Williams, James Morrison, Steven Mead, Radovan Vlatkovic and more on the site)

[Roger Lewis]

I've been fortunate to have never experienced stage fright. When I was doing my psych degree I did a 2 1/2 year study on stage fright and published a 175 page paper on the research. I only did it because so many of my friends left the performance business due to performance apprehension and I wanted to know why.

It is a fascinating area of study and as you come to understand it you see how it occurs. Basically it is a phobic response - one trial learning. Then you deal with the flashbacks and memories every time you set foot on a stage.

Should be a good topic of discussion.

Roger

[tubalux]

Oh, sorry. I thought this was a question and not a commercial. Different title, maybe?

It is (and was) a question, so thanks for your response

Apologies if you found it to be a commercial... there's no money or commercial enterprise going around in any of this though, so I do hope it's not against the rules of the forum to be posting it here. If it is, someone let me know.

Stage fright is fascinating topic. I've heard Roger Webster (top UK cornet player, pyschologist and teacher/lecturer at RNCM...and I think he also sells brass stuff these days) give a presentation about it about 10 years ago as well as looked into some of the 'Fearless' performance stuff that Jeff Nelsen (the horn player) advocates. I find it really interesting the way there are so many methodologies out there for dealing with performance anxiety..

I guess it really is a case of finding what works for you...hopefully finding what works for others in the first instance can help with that! (bloke's link 'worked' fairly well for me...)

[b.williams]

In high school and college I did because of so few performance opportunities. But every since I joined the Navy and performed so much, stage fright is a thing of the past.

[Steve Marcus]

The blog by Dr. Noa Kageyama, The Bulletproof Musician, presents some interesting viewpoints, suggestions, and comments about musicians dealing with stage fright. Google it, read some back issues, and determine if it's useful for you.

[bort]

No, not really. For better or worse, I'm pretty good at ignoring the audience from the back row.

[tbn.al]

As a matter-of-fact, I do.

http://strage.co.za

As a matter of fact, I do too. After the first 3 chords I was frightened enough to turn it off!

[Raul I. Rodriguez]

As a matter-of-fact, I do.

http://strage.co.za

Thanks for the link, bloke.
Great tracks to work on improvisation.

[XtremeEuph]

In a solo or quartet setting, I suffer to the extreme from anxiety. I will take a look at this. I have gotten past butterflies and most shakes, however I have crazy cotton mouth, and a lack of feeling in my face.

No matter how much water I drink, it evaporates.
I go on stage happy, excited to perform, with minimal nerves! I have gone through convincing myself that the audience is supporting me, and mistakes will happen , but I am there to make music.

No matter what, soon as that horn touches my face, my mouth goes chalk dry and i have zero range/flexibility.

Really, really, really sucks

Kev

[tubalux]

Hi Everyone

Just a heads up that this live interview will be starting in about 30 minutes at http://www.sarah-willis.com/live" target="_blank

If you happen to be online and interested, come along and join in.

Cheers

Tim

[joebob]

In my experience many professional musicians use doctor prescribed beta blockers to help with occasional stage fright and find that they help a lot. Please discuss.

[TUBAD83]

In high school and college I did because of so few performance opportunities. But every since I joined the Navy and performed so much, stage fright is a thing of the past.

8 years in the Army playing in small groups, conducting (actually, waving my hands in tempo to make it look like I was conducting), and addressing audiences from the stage took care of the stage fright thing.

JJ

[MaryAnn]

I'm the only one I know of who fixed it the way I fixed it.

I had HORRIBLE stage fright, to the point where I shook so much that I had trouble keeping the mouthpiece on my face. I was ok sitting in the back in the horn section as long as it wasn't something like Brandenburg.

I don't actually remember why I tried this; but for many years I've taken 1000mg of the amino acid L-tyrosine in the morning because it straightens out some of my neurotransmitters (dopamine, I think.)

Anyhow, because it seemed to straighten me out so much in general, I decided to try it before a concert. For the first time in memory I did not have stage fright; zero. None. Nada. I had to warm up on stage ahead of time because I was playing two instruments. Instead of cowering backstage and tentatively blowing a few notes, I actually went out and calmly warmed up.

A friend of mine who also tends to be low in dopamine tried it, and even 100mg made her extremely uncomfortable. So if you want to try this, start low, in a situation where it doesn't matter, and see how you react.

I doubt if anybody is assigning a biochemical basis for stage fright, but think of it this way: If the biochemical basis exists, it will still appear to be a "psychological" problem. With me, all those years and lost career options could have come out differently if I had known about this way back when. Of course, my life would have gone differently and I wouldn't have ended up as an engineer, but stuff is what it is.

MA

[Subtone]

I used to get stage fright really bad - solos and exposed playing were especially horrifying. The problems I would experience included dry mouth and elevated heart rate, like through the roof. I tried beta blockers and found that they calmed my nerves completely but made my mouth dry as cotton (which made playing brass nearly impossible for me).

Then I came up with an idea: since the feeling of being nervous seemed more physical than psychological, I tried to simulate that feeling in my practice routine in the days before a concert. I would run around the building a few times to get my heart really pumping, then run into my practice room and try to play the excerpt/solo/nervous part (if snowing, I'd do jumping jacks+pushups). It was quite difficult at first but then, after repeated attempts, I got to where I could play with pulse pounding and out of breath. When I went on stage, it wasn't nearly as bad as my preparation and I got through the nervous parts fine. I only had to do the whole process like two or three times until I didn't even bother getting nervous.

The other thing I would advise for people with stage nerves is to completely master and memorize the music that gives you the shakes. Then don't even bother trying to read it on the page - just play it. For me it was never the whole piece or concert, but specific parts, especially towards the beginning of the night.

[Bob Kolada]

In high school and college I did because of so few performance opportunities. But every since I joined the Navy and performed so much, stage fright is a thing of the past.

8 years in the Army playing in small groups, conducting (actually, waving my hands in tempo to make it look like I was conducting), and addressing audiences from the stage took care of the stage fright thing.

JJ

Sounds like what I hear people do in ANCOC/ALC!

[Tubaryan12]

Only on full blown solos or public speaking in front of large audiences. On the back row, quintet, or a few measures of an exposed part: never.