How Pianists Cope with Stage Fright

4. Keep Your Energy Levels Up

If you want to be at your best when you perform, then you need to be physically alert, too. That means getting plenty of sleep, eating regular meals, and keeping your energy levels up. Three things you should never do before a performance are:

• practice all night long
• stay up too late
• perform on an empty stomach

Any of these things will make it harder for you to concentrate. And that means you won’t be able to give the performance you know you’re capable of.

5. Stay Calm, Cool & Collected

Before you walk out onto the stage, take a few minutes to relax.

Breathe slowly and try to calm yourself down. Close your eyes and think of somewhere peaceful, if that helps. Breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth, cleansing away all the anxiety. And don’t worry if you still have a few butterflies: you need those to keep you on your toes.

6. Show Off Your Skills

During your performance, it’s your chance to show everybody what you can do. So show them! After all, they’ve come to see you. They want you to do well. They’re on your side. So relax and play your piece the way you know you can.

7. Mistakes Don’t Matter

This is difficult for a lot of people to understand, but it’s true.

It doesn’t matter if you make mistakes when you’re performing!

The audience only gets an overall impression of the piece from beginning to end. They’re not all music critics, right? So if you do make a mistake or two, don’t panic. Most people won’t even notice.

8. Enjoy The Experience

Performing in public can be a real buzz. And it’s not something that everybody can do. So try to have fun and enjoy yourself. You’ve got a talent that’s rare and unique.

Be proud of yourself and let people see what you can do. If the audience can see that you’re enjoying yourself, they’ll enjoy it more, too.