Last month, the Queen Elisabeth Competition took place once again. Cellists from around the world traveled to Brussels to participate in this prestigious competition. For these young musicians, receiving an invitation based on recordings submitted in December is a tremendous honor.
What the audience gets to see is the result of months of hard work. That phrase sounds so clichéd, but what does "months of hard work" really mean? Of course, it refers to the study process focused on musical aspects, but at the same time, the mental component cannot be ignored. Many of these young musicians experience immense pressure that results in stressful performances. Statistics show us that 80 to 90% of professional musicians take medication just before auditioning. Greats like Maria Callas, Pablo Casals, and Vladimir Horowitz struggled greatly in the moments before stepping on stage.[1].
When comparing the classical music world to elite sports, one can observe a major difference in how musicians receive psychological support. In elite sports, people understand what it means to be in the spotlight and what effects (positive and/or negative) that can have on performance. That's why very few top athletes don't surround themselves with coaches, trainers, psychologists, etc. Despite musicians realizing that their work has strong similarities to elite sports, in practice, discussing stress and anxiety remains a taboo. (This was addressed in the book 'Making Music is Elite Sport' by Bert De Cuyper, Griet Baert, and Linde Verjans, as well as in the book 'The Paradox of Stage Fright' by Mieke Wouters)
Stage fright manifests in many forms, such as trauma-induced stage fright, panic-induced stage fright, obsessive stage fright, and so on. The type of stage fright that occurs most frequently is social stage fright. What's typical about this kind of stage fright is that people worry a lot about what others think of them. That 'other' is expressed in the form of the audience, colleagues, the conductor, the director, and not least in oneself. But how is it that people attach so much importance to this as human beings? How can one feel so insecure about others?
According to Dr. Steve Peters, humans have both a 'Chimp' and a 'Human' in their brain.
A wild chimpanzee needs a group. Without a group, a solitary chimpanzee has much less chance of survival because it becomes easier for predators to catch it. However, if the chimpanzee is part of a group, there are many more eyes and ears watchful to protect it. Hence the strong instinct to gather as a group; being cast out from the group essentially means death. The drive to belong is equally strong in the inner 'Chimp' in the human brain. It's a need so powerful that humans are willing to sacrifice a lot for it, sometimes at the expense of themselves. People want so badly to be accepted and approved by the group because the inner Chimp tells them that danger lurks everywhere and they had better be part of a group. This results in a herd mentality where people think they need to impress others, make no mistakes, and constantly try to 'please' everyone.
The fact that people need others around them is completely normal and also beneficial for happiness. What one must not lose sight of, however, is that you cannot be friends with everyone and that there's no need to be. It's advisable to surround yourself with a few people you know you can trust completely and whom you genuinely enjoy. Invest in these friendships/loves and that's enough. You'll never be able to please everyone, no matter how much the Chimp in you would like to.
Soprano Charlotte Wajnberg, laureate and audience prize winner of the KEW in 2018, also recognizes the emotions that come with social stage fright. She tackles this with an inner pep talk in which she reminds herself that she is 500% prepared, that she has done and will continue to do her absolute best, and that the audience isn't there to tear her down.
Beyond technical and musical preparation, mental preparation is equally important. Through visualization, she imagines the smallest details: how she walks onto the stage, how she will move, and how she will leave the stage after the performance with a smile and a feeling of gratitude. Precisely because of this intense and accurate preparation, she is also able to leave room for spontaneity during the actual performance. By creating elementary habits through daily routines, Wajnberg can always fall back on these in moments of great stress. These routines are both technical, such as warming up the voice, and structural, such as planning the day. On a performance day, if possible, she will stick to her set pattern. For her, this is nothing more or less than taking on her professional responsibility.
It's fascinating to know that musicians at her level also experience the same stress symptoms: an elevated heart rate, rapid breathing, sudden hot flushes, etc. These symptoms are far from pleasant and beneficial for performing, but actually, this is the body's way of protecting itself. The 'Chimp' thinks that during moments of stress it's better to run away, fight, or freeze, and to achieve this, a physical mechanism kicks in (the famous Fight, Flight, or Freeze response). High heart rate, rapid breathing, dry mouth, etc. are manifestations of this. Counterintuitive as it may seem, the best response is gratitude rather than combativeness. Thanking your body for doing its job is more useful than cursing it for its age-old mechanisms.
As humans, we rarely escape limiting emotions and their side effects. Each person can seek their own way of dealing with them. Often, deep breathing (however simple it sounds) is already a tremendous help. Also, knowing what you need in such a moment, in the form of self-recognition or affirmation, will resolve a large part of the panic. Major human drives are the desire to be seen and the need to belong somewhere. If you manage to fulfill these fundamental basic needs, you can make great strides forward. It's a continuous process that allows plenty of room for development. The good news is that stage fright can be tackled; you don't have to keep struggling with it!
Text submitted by Tille Van Gastel,
Professional flutist and performance coach specializing in stage fright and performance anxiety
[1]Stage Fright. Pim Wippoo and Liesbeth Citroen
References:
- The Chimp Paradox. Dr. Steve Peters
- The Tiger Awakens. Peter A. Levine
- Pim Wippoo and Liesbeth Citroen
- Rob Faltin
- The Paradox of Stage Fright. Mieke Wouters
- Making Music Is a Professional Sport. Bert De Cuyper, Griet Baert and Linde Verjans
