Dealing with Performing and Anxiety as a Musician

Hi, it's Amélie. Some people asked us tips on performing in anxiety. First thing I would say is when you prepare, there's two ways to practice. There's learning the repertoire and then there's practicing to perform without stopping. Practicing performing your piece as if like you're imagining that you're in performance is very important. You should record yourself and don't allow yourself to stop no matter what because when you will be doing the real event, you won't be able to stop. Then listen to yourself and take notes like a judge would do and note the good stuff and the bad stuff. Too often we only note the bad stuff and there's things that are very good and you should write it down for yourself to remember that continue playing it this way. Don't hesitate about that. Then once you know what's going on, you can practice more what really needs to be practiced. You write it down so you can remember it. Practice the transitions. Sometimes we miss a passage and then when we're rehearsing, when we're practicing, we just rehearse that specific passage that we missed and then we're like, oh, but I can play it very easily and then when I play in concert, it doesn't work. It doesn't work because it's not the passage itself that is difficult but the transition with what was before. So I would advise you to always work the transitions when you make a mistake. Always go back a little bit more than what you would do normally. Visualize yourself succeeding. It seems funny but when you're about to do something, you have to see yourself really doing it right. If you're going there saying, oh, I can't do it, you're not in the right mindset to succeed. You have to tell yourself that you can do it. If it's too difficult for you, you can imagine that you're someone else. You can imagine that you're the flutist you admire the most in the world and you tell yourself you're that person. Before a tough passage, relax yourself and bring the energy lower in your body. When we get too excited, too stressed, the energy goes up. Try to put it down. Relax because the more tense you are, the more difficult it will be to play it. So just keep in mind, oh, this thing stresses me out. I'll do the opposite of what my body wants me to do. When you practice, do as if you were performing the real event very often. And you can even put the same clothes on because especially flute, you need to breathe. I remember once practicing before a concert with a dress that was not easy to breathe in. You have to try it on before. Try to do your concert with the clothes you'll be wearing to see if it works because that could be a problem. And just before going on, if you're very stressed, very nervous, you can try a little breathing exercise. That is very easy and doesn't take much time. You breathe in, you hold your breath for at least 20 seconds. It will calm your heart, make it a bit slower. And your breathing will also get slower and it will help you just go and hold for 20 seconds. I hope this helps you. If you have any more questions or comments, just leave them in the comment section below. Thank you.