Dealing With Nerves On Stage

Performance anxiety is a big problem among performers of all kinds and at all levels of experience. To overcome performance anxiety you have to acknowledge where it comes from and find ways to turn your nerves and adrenaline into positive forces. It's important to identify the source of fear, in order to deal with it successfully.

Some common fears you may deal with as a performer are: your voice cracking during a performance, not being able to reach certain notes, feeling or looking stupid in front of friends, forgetting the lyrics of a song, wondering if you will fail or succeed, or even rejection - just to name a few. Once you can name your fear you can take steps to overcome it. When you understand the problem, take the time to deal with the source of your fear as opposed to just the symptoms.

You will notice that with adrenaline comes a racing heart. Running in place until you're out of breath is one way to duplicate the effect of an adrenaline rush - then practice singing while your heart races. Being out of breath while you practice helps you get used to singing phrases where you desperately want to just exhale and not sing. The feeling you get when you're out of breath is very similar to the way you feel when performance anxiety takes over. Your breaths will feel like they are falling into your body. It is important to understand that even when the heart is pounding, you can sing. It's just not easy.

It might help to know that you're not alone and that thousands of singers deal with anxiety before performing as well. The symptoms include butterflies in your stomach, shaky knees, dry mouth (sometimes called cottonmouth), a sudden urge to cry or run away, trembling hands, a racing heart rate, nausea, runny nose, cold hands but sweaty underarms, and the urge to pee no matter how many times you visit the bathroom.

For singing performance tips and great ideas on how to build singing confidence, check out these helpful online singing lessons .

Most singers assume they should be calm and collective before a performance, but for most people it's just not the case and believing they should be only increases the anxiety.If you expect the nervous feelings, you'll be in a much better position to sing through them. Once you learn to take control of your nerves you can use that adrenaline to actually enhance your performance. Just by reframing the thought process and acknowledging your nerves, will allow you to seize the opportunity and improve your performance.