Josef Mazan

Stage fright is a phenomenon that most artists encounter sooner or later. For some, it can be paralyzing. But it isn’t only bad—it also brings many good things. It shapes the artist and can push them to a much higher level. Stage fright is panic, but also a splitting. It usually arises before performing in public. Why a splitting? It is a conflict between two parts of the mind. One part, the rational one, accumulates reasons why it is necessary to play well. But in doing so, it obstructs the natural flow of the music, which is precisely the condition for a quality performance. The other part is the subconscious. Here the piece is stored, thanks to long-term practice. But the subconscious is weak, weaker than the rational mind. It is easily drowned out, and then problems can occur.

So how should one properly approach a public performance? Our task during a concert is to be „merely“ an observer. In the esoteric tradition, such a state of mind is depicted as a knight who can step out into the void with a heart full of faith. Exactly as we can see in one scene from the film Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. This state must be learned in order to advance a significant step forward on both the musical and spiritual path.

Playing a musical instrument is one of the complex, highly intricate activities. A single piece can contain tens of thousands of movements of the hand, fingers, and muscle groups, many of which moreover occur simultaneously. None of this can be controlled by rational thinking during a live performance. But that is precisely what tries to take control before an important event. It cannot succeed, however, because most of the information is stored in the subconscious. And by trying to control, we only disrupt the natural flow.

How stage fright manifests:

The manifestations of stage fright are highly individual, and at the same time immensely interesting. Stage fright often manifests as an exaggeration of a normal state: chills, pressure in various parts of the body, back pain, nausea. An interesting phenomenon that sometimes actually occurs is subconscious sabotage of the performance. Shortly before a concert, fingernails often break, or various minor injuries occur in ordinary everyday situations, such as pinching a hand in a door, in the kitchen, or while closing a window. The subconscious sometimes behaves completely irrationally, like a small child.

How to prevent stage fright:

1. Through proper practice. A description of how to rehearse a piece, however, goes beyond the scope of this article. So just briefly: it is necessary to avoid mistakes. A month before the concert, the piece should already be finished. I practice it by playing it through from beginning to end. Then I focus on the places where a mistake occurred. If nowhere, I no longer work on the piece that day. For I follow an important rule: what sounds without a mistake, I must not play again that day. The closer the concert gets, the more we are beside ourselves. If we repeat a well-played passage again and again, a mistake may appear in it. In this heightened state of mind, we can then fixate on it, learn it. And that must be avoided.
2. Stage fright is often caused by problems with memory. Sometimes it can be solved by playing from sheet music. Even just the thought of the possibility of playing from sheet music at a concert is calming.
3. It is necessary to take into account that the first public performance of a new piece can hardly turn out one hundred percent. Therefore, it is a common habit of many performers to „break in“ their repertoire, so to speak: before an important performance, to include others where it doesn’t matter so much. Moreover, a new piece must pass through the „fire“ of a public performance, after which it matures.
4. By building self-confidence. I know that at a future concert I will have stage fright, but I also have a defense prepared against it: I have already played well so many times that it will probably work out again. Such thoughts help greatly and are calming.
5. Recording one’s concerts. It is very common that during a concert and immediately after it, when we are still „beside ourselves,“ we have the feeling that we did not play well, that there were many mistakes. But that is mostly not true. A few hours after the concert, we can play back the recording, and we are often pleasantly surprised: the places that seemed bad to us are actually quite all right. This significantly calms us and helps build the self-confidence that we will need again at the next concert.
6. Through proper rituals. This includes, for example, recording the repertoire one day before the concert. The recording is proof for me that I know the pieces for the concert. That is greatly calming.
7. Immediately before the concert, it is necessary to bring oneself into a state of maximum concentration, a trance. It helps me to walk very slowly in a circle, or in a lying figure eight. While doing so, to concentrate on the breath.

How to work with stage fright:

1. The first point is to admit to ourselves that we have stage fright.
2. It is not only I who have stage fright; all artists have it.
3. Gradually reducing stage fright. Thanks to self-confidence based on everything that has already succeeded in the past and everything I have managed despite stage fright.

The benefits of stage fright:

1. Thanks to stage fright, we rehearse a piece better. Stage fright is one of the main reasons why we practice. We don’t want to make mistakes at the concert. Therefore it is necessary to prevent them, and to have the piece rehearsed all the more. So that even in tense moments everything is in order. If the piece is well rehearsed, then even if a situation arises where we wouldn’t know how to continue, we can with relief watch our own fingers as they play by themselves and bridge the problematic passage. Then we recover again, and everything is calm and under control once more.
2. Thanks to stage fright, we play a piece better in front of an audience than at home. Stage fright gives the piece the right depth, human emotion. Today even a robot can play the piano or another musical instrument. But it plays the same way every time, mechanically, without emotion. For listeners, such a performance is uninteresting; it lacks human depth, expression. To what extent is expression possible entirely without stage fright?
3. Thanks to the fact that we overcame stage fright and the concert went well, we then have a beautiful feeling of happiness. That is, at least for me, one of the reasons to keep devoting myself to music with enthusiasm. The states before and after a concert are rare and exceptional. And successfully overcoming stage fright plays a significant role in that.