Performance Anxiety: Friend or Foe?

By David Dawson

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Are your palms sweaty? Knees weak? Arms are heavy? Well it sounds like you are suffering from performance anxiety! Anxiety of this kind is something that most people will likely experience at some point in their life, whether it is the pressure to deliver an impactful speech, or to write a good article! For most musicians anxiety becomes part of the job description, showing up for every audition, performance or exam. The real question is how much does this anxiety actually affect us? We have all been comforted with the classic “its good to be nervous”, but is that true?

First of all, let’s discuss some of the influencers of our anxieties as a performer. One of the main reasons for me is the context of the performance and the pressure levels of the situation, for example I may feel more at ease performing or speaking to 1000 people than to one or two people who will be scrutinising me for an assessment or audition. There is often something riding on performances in this situation therefore it is completely natural for a performer to feel the extra pressures that come with this as the potential of failure feels particularly daunting.

Another factor may be whether the performance is solo or not, I find that I feel much more comfortable playing in an ensemble than on my own as it feels like the eyes are not always on you. The feeling of vulnerability in a solo performance can be overwhelming. Also, whilst obviously preferable to not make mistakes an ensemble gives a safety net feel in which the whole performance is not reliant on you therefore one or two small mistakes are unlikely to derail the whole thing (and if you work on your poker face can often go unnoticed!).

Another factor is that of the Yerkes-Dodson law, this stipulates that simple tasks are best performed with high arousal whereas more difficult tasks are best performed with low arousal, or simply put, when doing easy stuff it is best to be fully engaged and attentive whereas when doing harder stuff it is often better to be more relaxed. The idea here is that a well prepared performance should actually be a relatively simple task and therefore a high level of arousal (being stressed or anxious) is actually the best approach, and that all the hard work of perfecting the performance was actually done under more relaxed rehearsal circumstances and would be completed with a lower arousal. Therefore, and many musicians would agree, the best scenario for rehearsal is to be much more relaxed, avoiding any pressures and stresses that may ruin your progress, whilst during the performance it is best to be on a higher alert to keep you on your toes and to get the best results.

So, can anxiety be treated?
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Well there are a few methods. Lehrer split anxiety into three main categories; psychological, cognitive and behavioural. Psychological anxiety has more physical effects on the body during performance such as sweating, muscle tension or tightening and increased mental alertness, this is often best cured with methods of relaxation or meditation.

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Cognitive anxiety is more about the mindset of the performer and causes negative thoughts, catastrophizing (picturing that small errors will lead to terrible outcomes) and intrusive thoughts and can be treated by facing the fears head on. The best way to do this is by replacing catastrophized thoughts with more realistic ones as well as simply preparing to the best of your ability for a performance so that when doubt does creep in you can feel confident of your own ability.

Behavioural anxiety can cause us to simply talk ourselves out of doing things, refusing to take part or shying away from pressure situations because we are scared of the outcome perhaps, and can only really be resolved by doing the exact thing that you fear. The more frequently you perform the more confident and comfortable you will feel but the longer you avoid it the more scary it will ultimately become. The other important thing for behavioural anxiety is to always get right back on the horse, use mistakes as an excuse to learn and grow, do not dwell on them and let you put you off your future endeavours.
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So, is anxiety a friend or foe?
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Anxiety definitely feels like a foe to most of us. Casting my memory back to a sweaty version of myself clutching at my saxophone and staring at a piece of music I have played 65846352 times that just no longer seems to make sense to me, it is difficult to imagine it any other way. However, is all my suffering for a worthy cause?

When thinking about Lehrer’s psychological anxiety there are actually positives and negatives, for example a common symptom is to have an increased mental alertness and a greater muscle agility which are both highly beneficial to a performer especially in music allowing for quicker and more even finger movements. Although, this does come with its downsides as this type of anxiety causes an increased muscle tension which can stiffen a performer up.

Furthermore, when considering Lehrer’s cognitive anxiety the negative self-thoughts and catastrophizing would be enough to put most people off performing and can result in serious damage to a performer's mental health. On top of that this could lead to behavioural anxiety as these negative thoughts and fears being associated with performance so often could easily discourage someone from performing altogether.

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This can lead to a downward spiral in confidence as the more someone gets these negative feelings and the less they want to perform the less confident they will feel about performing altogether.

On the other side of this, a little anxiety and negative self-thought can actually be a useful motivator when handled in the right way. For some people the thoughts of failure or pressure may actually push them into the practice room and encourage them to prepare much more thoroughly for a performance. This has obvious advantages as it means the performance is more prepared and polished and therefore is more likely to demonstrate skill and confidence on the stage, minimizing any other anxieties or the potentially damaging side effects that may come with them.

To be honest I cannot really conclude that anxiety is beneficial or not, but fear not, I do have some helpful finishing words. Performance anxiety means a lot of different things to a lot of different people. Whereas one performer may suffer from symptoms of performance anxiety that have a lot of positive side-effects, another may find only negatives to come from their performance induced panic. One thing is for certain, I don’t think anyone likes the feeling, the knot in your stomach the day of or self-doubt for weeks before.

What I can conclude however is that there are sure fire ways to deal with your anxiety; you may find these by considering your symptoms or just trying different methods whether that is meditation, extra practice or just tackling your doubts head on. The one thing I do implore however is that you keep getting back on the horse, even if you suffer set-backs or struggle to find your method the only way to learn and improve is to keep performing, keep practicing and keep putting yourself out there. Who knows whether anxiety is friend or foe, just don’t let it be the boss.

David Dawson