Strategies to conquer performance anxiety

Noa Kageyama, Ph.D., a performance psychologist, Juilliard alumnus and faculty member, defined performance anxiety as ‘a negative emotional state with feelings of nervousness, worry, and apprehension associated with activation or arousal of the body.’ Dr. Kageyama stated in his BulletProof Musician blog that there are three parts of anxiety: physical effects, mental effects and emotional effects.

Dr. Kageyama continued to state that the components of performance anxiety are: somatic anxiety, cognitive anxiety and affective anxiety. Two types of anxiety are state anxiety and trait anxiety. In the blog, he went into detail regarding these components and types. Plus, he explained how they relate to the musician and how obstacles can be overcome. 

In What Is Performance Anxiety, Really? Dr. Kageyama concluded with a three-pronged strategy. He advocated that instead of giving attention to being nervous about the performance, concentrate on ‘developing a more effective response to the inevitable nerves’. Rather than spending all preparation time practicing ‘practicing’, spend time practicing ‘performing’. One example he gave was while going for a run, once the artist is partly out-of-breath toward the end of the run, ask the question ‘Can I still nail the opening?’ To read more of his details and approaches to overcome performance anxiety, click here.