Performance Anxiety

In addition to my everyday work as proprietor of Blackburn Guitar Studio I have also taught guitar for over 30yrs.  During this time there is one topic that has always come up for discussion on a regular basis. How to cope with nerves and anxiety when playing in public or taking a grade exam. It is completely natural to have some nerves in this sort of situation. The problem arises when the nerves get the better of the performance, the memory seems to fail us, the hands become hot and sweaty etc. and the whole thing falls apart. Musicians are not the only people to suffer from this type of problem. Many sports people, golfers, snooker players, and athletes, to name a few, employ sports psychologists to help alleviate this problem. Methods used include Neuro Linguistic Programming (N.L.P), Visualisation techniques and hypnosis. So, how do these techniques work and can you use any of these techniques yourself. All of the techniques mentioned have one thing in common, focusing the mind on a positive performance. Obviously you can’t say to someone, “Just think you’re going to pass your exam or win a game of tennis” and it will happen. Why not? Before we can answer this question we need to know a little about how the mind works.

It’s generally agreed that we have a conscious mind and a subconscious mind. The subconscious mind is multi – tasking and as well as storing all our past life experiences it also controls a great number of our bodily functions automatically. The conscious mind however, is basically single tasking (try making a cup of tea or coffee whilst thinking of something else and you may suddenly realise that you have forgotten to put tea or coffee into the cup and ended up with a cup of hot water). The conscious mind also acts as a gate keeper or security guard and performs a reality check on everything before it is accepted or rejected. Let’s now look at what happens to us when we have to undertake a task that puts us into a stressful situation. Whenever we find ourselves in a stress inducing situation the body goes into what is called the “Fight or Flight Response” in other words fear (real or imaginary) brings into play a survival technique that goes back to the days when we survived by hunting wild animals or avoiding them. This includes a release of chemical called adrenalin that in turn helps to sharpen our reflexes, increases our heartbeat, and diverts blood to the muscles, in case we need to run away from the perceived threat. In other words we are on full alert to take the necessary steps for survival. All this preparation for fight and flight is just what we need when fighting off a wild animal, not, however, when taking a guitar exam. Unfortunately our defence mechanism has no way of differentiating between a threat to our life and the challenge of a guitar exam. As far as it is concerned any fear or apprehension will engage our fight or flight response. How we respond to stressful situations depends on our temperament and personality. Some people get very stressed whilst others take it all in their stride. If you are one of those people who respond to stress in a negative way, i.e. anxiety and apprehension, it is important that you find some way to calm things down to help you with the situation. One of the best ways to do this is to seek professional help from a qualified hypnotherapist. Many practitioners advertise in yellow pages under the listing of a Practitioners Association which should indicate that they have the recognised qualifications to carry out the necessary treatment. If you decide however to do the self help approach then there are some basic techniques that can help. The first thing is to practise some type of relaxation exercises on a daily basis for a number of weeks prior to your exam. The reason for this is that when we are relaxed it helps us to focus our thoughts and think more calmly. You only need to observe people in a heated argument to see the opposite of this. Whenever we get into an aroused state of mind our brain thinks emotionally and not rationally. How many times have you said something in the heat of the moment and then regretted it once you have calmed down. Something similar happens when we get anxious whilst taking a guitar exam. The fight or flight response occurs and we begin to think negative thoughts- “Will I remember my scales?”  “Will I cope with the aural tests?” These are irrational thoughts and emotional thinking. The more these thoughts occur the worse things seem to go, a type of self perpetuating vicious circle. Relaxation exercises have the opposite effect by releasing chemicals that help the body to calm down and focus the mind.

First of all, find somewhere quite where you can have some time to yourself for around 50 minutes or so without interruption Soothing music playing quietly in the background can be of help to set the mood. Relaxing in a comfortable chair or lying down is ideal. Start by closing your eyes and taking two or three slow breaths exhaling slowly and thinking of your body beginning to relax. The next step is to relax all the muscle groups of your body in turn. Do not rush this process; the aim is to get you as relaxed as possible. Start by focusing your attention on your toes and feet. Just imagine all the muscles beginning to relax and let go. Then, imagine that relaxation moving upwards into your ankles and your calves. Carry on with this routine until you have relaxed all the muscles in your body. Pay special attention to the muscles in the shoulders and neck as this is one area where guitarists tend to accumulate tension. The whole routine should take around 20 to 30 minutes and by this time your breathing should be slower and you should be feeling quite relaxed. The next step is to incorporate some positive visualisation of the day of the exam. Visualise yourself arriving at the exam centre feeling calm and relaxed and as you settle yourself to begin your exam you take two or three slow breaths and feel yourself becoming relaxed and calm. Now see yourself playing through each of your pieces in a confident relaxed manner. Next do the same thing with the scales and so on. When you have done all of this you can then give yourself some positive thoughts and suggestions e.g., “Something you thought was going to be difficult will turn out to be ridiculously easy.” Repeat this process of visualisation as many times as you like, repetition is the key word, for your subconscious will then accept this information as for real and act on it.

You may be wondering why you just can’t tell yourself these sorts of things without having to go through this relaxation routine. The answer is that we need to get these positive thoughts and suggestions into the subconscious and to do this we need to bypass or close down the gate keeper or guard i.e. the conscious mind. Going through the relaxation routine distracts the conscious mind and eventually it loses interest and in a way switches off. If practised on a regular basis this type of technique can be quite effective in building more confidence and positivety. It is even more successful if you record your relaxation routine and suggestions as it then gives you the opportunity to lie back and follow the instructions and suggestions in a way that you would by going to a hypnotherapist. Whilst all this might sound a strange way to prepare for a guitar exam I can vouch for its success having used the technique with a number of students over the years. Just remember “What the mind can perceive, you can achieve”.