After performing in her native town of Leipzig, Clara Schumann wrote in her journal "I had been shaking all over with anxiety." Arthur Rubinstein, Glenn Gould, Vladmir Horowitz, Glenda Jackson and Barbara Streisand have all complained about suffering from stage fright before an appearance. There's a tale told that famed pianist and pedagogue Josef Lhevinne was so intimidated by public performance that his wife Rosina, had to push him out onto the stage. Anyone, from an amateur to a professional, can fall prey to nervous symptoms like shaking, clammy hands and quivering voice when coming before the public eye.

When I first started my own career as a concert pianist, I would get very tense and irritable weeks before a performance. Just before walking on stage, I would feel faint. It was not until part way through the recital that I could get hold of myself and feel calm enough to express all the feeling that was in my heart. I decided that if I was going to continue as a public performer, I would have to find ways to control my stage fright. I read, researched and explored various strategies to overcome my fears.

It was heartening to know that I was not alone in facing this problem. Over 50% of performers suffer from severe stage fright. I also discovered many other facts about performance anxiety. It is not a permanent condition. It is not related to talent. It is possible to reduce it. When I learned that my nervous energy could be converted into an excitement that would work for me, I began seeking ways to build my confidence. Confidence is a feeling of trust in yourself based on multiple experiences of success. I discovered that to build confidence, I needed to take steps all along the way, from the preparation stage to the actual performance. The following are ten strategies which I found helpful in minimizing anxiety and re-enforcing self-trust.

1. Cultivate a Positive Attitude
As we prepare to play in public, it is important to review why we want to do so in the first place. In other words, we need to look at our attitude. Performance anxiety is a form of stress. Stress, psychologists tell us, is triggered not so much by an event but by our attitude or belief about the event. If our aim in performing is to get through a piece without mistakes, we will be focusing our energy on avoiding errors and worrying about what others think rather than enjoying the experience and letting our joy flow outwards. Most of us started to play the piano because we wanted to bring more beauty into our lives and the lives of those we touch. Once we drop the idea of playing perfectly and move towards the goal of offering a pleasurable and imaginative performance, we might find ourselves more relaxed.

2. Choose the Correct Repertoire
Confidence is a feeling of "I can," a sense of competence. To play confidently, it is important to find the correct repertoire. If a piece is too difficult, we will struggle with the music too much and this could create a feeling of being less competent. Choose a piece that is within range of your technical ability. Make sure you budget enough time to allow plenty of lee-way for learning the music way ahead of the scheduled performance, otherwise, your anxiety about learning the piece in time may be quite realistic.

3. Master the Material
How we learn a piece has a great deal to do with how comfortable we feel at the actual performance. We need to establish a solid foundation from the beginning. A solid foundation means thorough learning of the material and good practice habits. Try not to rush the process of learning by interpreting the music too soon. As you begin to learn the music, allow yourself time to take in all the details. Most pieces are visually complex and make great demands on our physical coordination and dexterity. We need to bite, chew, digest and absorb every part of the score. I find it helpful to learn the music in bite-size portions - two or three bars at a time and notice everything the composer has written in those bars.

4. Establish Good Practice Habits
A colleague of mine is fond of saying, "Practice makes permanent." He is right. The object of practice is to establish good habits, which can carry us through a performance. Haphazard practice leads to unsuccessful performances, which in turn lower self-confidence. Here are three practice strategies I have found indispensable as I work towards a stable performance:


• Practice the music from slow to fast. I usually begin at 30% of the performing tempo and gradually work my way up to 150% of the performance tempo. The slow tempo allows me time to experience details in the music and to feel every slight change of mood. The added speed gives me the extra power I will need under pressure.
  
• Take time to plan the fingering you will use. Find the choreography that will make the movement fluid. Correct motions will always hold under stress. The most economical, rational and comfortable fingering will work best.
  
• Make sure to resolve all technical difficulties during practice periods. Isolate the problem passage. Diagnose why the problem is happening. Solid technical preparation liberates us to immerse ourselves in the music.

5. Work on Memory
Author and musician Seymour Bernstein writes, "Fear of memory lapses is the single most powerful cause of nervousness." Few of us were taught effective memory techniques outside of repeating passages until we knew them by heart. Memory is more than storage and recall. It is the integration of what we have learned. Making as many links and associations as we can, physically and musically, will produce a more secure performance. Mapping the general structure of the piece and the overall tonal fields will imprint the general design of the music in our minds. Finding as many patterns as we can - harmonic patterns, scale patterns and other recurring motifs helps us in the linking process. More often then not, the left-hand part carries the harmonic patterns. Memorizing this part independently will give us a great sense of security. Kinesthetic memory is probably the surest form of memory. To increase kinesthetic awareness, I like to practice the entire piece staccato, without pedal. Pauses and breaks in the music can also interrupt our choreographic memory. While practicing, I make up for this by physically connecting the music across rests, intervals, and phrases. I slide my fingers over the intervening space on the keyboard so that I as memorizing the distances as well.

6. Relax
A performance flows more easily and joyfully when we are physically relaxed and alert. Most of us think that relaxation comes naturally but this is not the case. In a very clock conscious culture, we need to teach ourselves to relax. A good relaxation technique, practiced on a daily basis, can trigger an immediate realization response and reverse the rising tide of anxiety, which can overwhelm us backstage and even during the performance itself. Both muscle relaxation and breathing exercises are effective techniques. For progressive muscle relaxation, take each part of the body from the feet up and relax it. Imagine each part getting heavy as lead. Follow this by a cue word such as "drop" or "calm" until you sense a peaceful feeling flowing through all the body. Inhale deeply and slowly as you count from 1 to 4. Hold your breath for four counts, and then exhale unhurriedly counting 1 - 4, letting all tension flow out. You will soon feel a pleasurable and relaxed feeling in your body.

7. Use Visualization and Imagery
We can also use proactive imagery to build feelings of confidence. See yourself walking on stage with assurance. Visualize all aspects of the performance turning out successfully. Mentally hear the music you will play and feel what you want to communicate to the audience with each piece. Every composition has its own character, mood and feeling. While learning the music, awaken your imagination. Find or imagine pictures, images, and scenarios that might relate to that specific mood. What time of year does the music represent? What orchestral instruments could play the melody? In the actual performance, all these images will help focus your mind and guide your hands into shaping a beautiful and enjoyable performance.

8. Practice Concentration
Concentration forms the main part of a performance, even during practice periods. For me, concentration is not so much a matter of will power as it is the ability to let ourselves be fascinated by the music. For example, during practice sessions, I like to focus on one single element at a time. As I play, I might focus on creating a steady tempo or beautiful tone. I mentally delete everything else except what I am focusing on. During the actual performance, when negative thoughts interfere with my concentration ("I am going to blow this," "What if I forget"), I can more easily turn my attention to the musical task at hand if I made a habit of it during rehearsal sessions.

9. Find Support Groups
Fear can prevent us from seeking opportunities to share our music with others. We can reduce our fears by finding a support group - a community of musicians or some non-threatening kindred spirits with whom we can discuss our feelings of anxiety and share common problems. Discussing our fears with others not only provides emotional support but can also help divest the performance of the over importance we sometimes attach to it.

10. Schedule Multiple Try-outs
Inexperience can also make us fearful. One way to reduce anxiety is to schedule as many dress rehearsals as we can. There are many safe, non-critical environments such as retirement homes, local schools, and private homes. Try-outs give us a chance to encounter and resolve distracting details ahead of time such as dress, lighting and acoustics. They also help us learn how to adjust to unfamiliar pianos. Tape recording the pre-recital performance all the way through is another way to test-run our pieces. We can discover our weak points as well as re-enforce good qualities.

Postlude
After twenty-five years experience on the concert stage, I have not entirely rid myself of performance anxiety. Nor would I want to. What I have learned in the process of working with my anxiety is how to manage my nervous energy and channel it into exciting performances. While some of my colleagues choose to use calming medications such as Inderol or beta-blockers, I have decided not to take that route. While taking medication may eliminate symptoms, it does not address the causes of performance anxiety. In my estimation, this would not promote growth or learning. I also have concerns that using medication might create a dependence, dull the senses or have other unwanted side effects. It takes tremendous courage to get up and perform in public. Public performance is a high-risk activity. But we know from experience that happiness comes from taking risks. As we take risks, we build confidence. As we build confidence, we can step out to live life more fully, to its edges.

Dr. Nancy Fierro Bio
Dr. Nancy Fierro is a concert pianist, recording artist, lecturer and teacher. She holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Piano from the University of Southern California and a Certificate in Piano, Theory and Analysis for postgraduate work at the American Conservatory of Fine Arts in France. Legendary musician, Nadia Boulanger praised Nancy as "a real pianist talent with deep musical understanding" and invited her to give a concert at the Jeu de Paume salon in Fontainebleau, France. Other international appearances include performances in Mexico, Canada and Germany. Her recitals throughout the United States have been aired on National Public Radio.

Nancy has recorded four commercial albums and has been guest artist for the Music Teachers National Association State convention and the Music Teachers Association of California. The Third International Congress of Women in Music awarded her a Certificate of Honor in recognition of her outstanding contributions to musical life. She also received the Sigma Alpha Iota Radio-Television Award for her radio production of "Nine Centuries of Women in Music." Currently, Dr. Fierro regularly gives pre-concert lectures for the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, maintains a private piano studio and is also on the piano faculty at Mount St. Mary's College in Los Angeles.

Learning from the knowledge and experience of seasoned professionals like Dr. Nancy Fierro is one of the many benefits Piano Forte News has to offer. The Professional Perspective column offers insights from experienced professionals that will guide the amateur on his or her journey toward mastery.

If you wish to subscribe, click the Subscribe key for details.
If you have questions, click the E-mail key and we will be happy to answer them.

We look forward to hearing from you.