Being anxious about singing can feel so painful and real!
I want to start off by telling you a story about myself.
I have been singing on stage since I could walk so I never get nervous, right? Wrong!
When I was in the 7th grade, I was finally asked to sing at a school chapel service.
I was so excited to finally sing in front of my friends!
I got up on the stage to sing and saw hundreds of my peers staring back at me.
I froze! I became petrified! I started to sweat profusely and
little, anxious me began to hyperventilate.
I was shaking like a car that couldn't start, certain my knees were going to buckle.
My throat closed up and I couldn't breath.
I squeaked my way to the end but I couldn't wait for that song to be over.
Here was my BIG moment and I blew it! It was awful!
I could have just stopped there.
I'm sure some of the people that witnessed that tragedy
would have recommended that I quit.
Now, there are many times I have been nervous on stage since 7th grade, but I've learned a few things over the years to help me calm those nerves.
1) Practice as much as possible. Memorize your songs and know them inside and out. Sometimes, performance anxiety happens because you have not practiced the song enough, and you are still not 100% sure of our lyrics or the song. Practice in front of family and friends, the mirror, or even in front of empty chairs. This allows you to build up confidence in your singing ability so that it becomes less daunting to perform in front of others. Singing alone or with just your voice teacher is one thing, singing in front of an audience is a whole new ball game. You can even video record yourself. Look for areas that need improvement. Keep doing this until you get it right!
2) Change your mindset! Do not worry what people may think about you! What you believe about yourself is far more important. Do not let someone's opinion of you mess you up inside! I remember as a child, I just loved to sing - plain and simple. I didn't really care what people thought of my singing voice. You only start caring when you let someone else get into your head. Knock it off! Sing because you LOVE to sing!
3) Relax! Hum gently to steady your voice. Eat a banana to lower any nauseous feelings. Chew gum to ease tension in your jaw. Stretching is another great way to ease tension in the body. Breathe - Shake your shoulders, jaw and cheeks. Relax your shoulders. They should always stay down when you breathe. Take in a slow, deep breath. Slowly let the breath out with a "shhh" sound. Repeat! Practice this daily and you will have better muscle control!
4) Avoid caffeine the day of a performance. You may think that it will make you perform with more energy, but it will actually make you feel more nervous and jittery.
5) Arrive Early. I always ask my voice students to arrive early to any performance. You feel much more in control if the room is filling up after you arrive instead of showing up to a full house. Showing up early will also ease your nerves and will make you feel less rushed and more at peace.
6) Make the audience your friend. We are most relaxed when in front of our friends and family, so apply this theory to the audience. Interact with them. Talk to people in the room before your perform. You will realize that they are human, JUST LIKE YOU! You will find that this takes a lot of pressure off, and makes it easier for you to leave an impression on them too. You are performing because you want to share your singing and your song with them. Once you are able to keep this sharing attitude in mind, you will find that the anxiety and the stress leaves, and you will feel more relaxed and able to do your best!
6) Visualize success. Before you even step on stage, picture yourself knocking it out of the park! Focus on how singing makes you feel good, how much you enjoy singing, how much you LOVE singing!
Now take these tips and GO SING with confidence!
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