VOCALS
STAGE FRIGHT | Sheri Gould
Do you get nervous before singing in front of people ? Stage fright , or what is now more commonly called “ performance anxiety ”. Stage fright can , at best , be annoying and even frustrating but can also at times be completely debilitating . Can it be helped ? Following are some suggestions to help you work through this common “ imposition ”.
WHY ? There are many reasons behind why we might feel nervous before an audience . Getting in touch with what exactly causes your individual anxiety can be very helpful . If you can pinpoint what you ’ re actually fretting about , then it ’ s a lot easier to try and fix it . The first thing I try to do with my students is to try and get them to talk about what they ’ re truly afraid of . You might not like to think of nervousness as fear , but that ’ s what it really is . If you can identify what you ’ re afraid of , then we can attempt to follow the fear to its logical end and see where that leads .
For example , if my student says , “ Well , I ’ m afraid I ’ ll mess up ” my response would be , “ And then what would happen ?” My student might say , “ Then I would be embarrassed ”. So I would say , “ And then what would happen ?” “ But then people would think I ’ m not a good singer ”. ” Then what would happen ?” And this dialogue can go on until we get to the bottom of the real fear and realize … the worst that can happen is not really that bad at all ! And that ’ s the place to start . Identifying the actual fear .
This doesn ’ t solve the fear , but it can make the fear much smaller and more manageable . It can also help to identify what we might be able to do in order to correct the potential pitfall . In this way we aren ’ t as likely to waste time working toward a solution that doesn ’ t really target our fear .
CORRECT MENTAL IMAGE Most of the time I find that what triggers performance anxiety is based in wrong thinking . The mental picture you create when you envision singing in front of others is what affects your mind . II Corinthians 10:5 reminds us to “ take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ ”. I believe this verse is vital to keeping a Christlike view of our purpose as singers . There is no place for fear when we have right thinking about what our goals are . There is no place for fear when we recognize who our audience is .
When I have been tempted to get nervous over a vocal presentation because the audience was particularly large or new to me , I stop and rethink who the audience is and why they are there . Most of the fears we have are rooted in wrong thinking ! Re-envision your audience . Place them in your home gathered around singing songs casually or perhaps around a campfire … someplace relaxed and comfortable for you where you wouldn ’ t feel nervous . Replace your current view with the relaxed view and step into that mental image . It ’ s more truthful than the “ monster ” you ’ ve created in your mind .