Top Tips on Performing Well Under Pressure

End of the semester recitals are upon us and with the preparations come nerves. Meet pianist Siqian Li who has some well timed advice for students and teachers to help work through the nerves and achieve their best performances. Thank you Siqian.

Solid skills and practice are the keys to confidence.

Whether you are a beginner or an advanced pianist, practising solidly and mastering every detail of the music you perform, are always the keys to building up your confidence on the stage, especially under huge pressure. Before looking for any other method to relieve nervousness and anxiety, practice as detailed as possible and perform for family and friends as much as you can, imagine you are performing in a formal situation. If you make sure that you are prepared to 120% and can play in any situation, then you will definitely be able to deal with the pressure on stage. Based on my experience over more than 20 years of performing, running through the pieces for others and recording yourself would greatly improve the confidence in the actual concerts, exams, and competitions.

Find the actual reason that causes you to feel nervous.

Everyone has different personalities and experiences, and the reasons that cause nervousness and performance anxiety vary. Some people are nervous because of psychological fear (such as fear of making mistakes, fear of performing in front of an audience, etc.); some are nervous because of physical reasons (for example sweaty hands, which is really challenging for piano players); there are also some who feel unconfident simply because they are underprepared. Only by analyzing your true inner feelings through each performance, and finding the root, you would be able to find an effective way to deal with the performance anxiety. Normally, I find kids deal with pressure much easier than adults, as they worry much less and are much more fearless! Yet if the young beginners ever feel nervous to perform in public, the encouragement and support from their parents and close friends would be the key.

Try to avoid the mentality of being perfect.

From the psychological perspective, most stage anxiety is caused by the mentality of being perfect. What we must understand is that no performance is absolutely perfect. Musicians cannot be replaced by artificial intelligence, because we are human beings, we have emotions, and we make mistakes. Each performance has its own voice and meaning, being perfect would mean similarity. Try to get as close to the ‘perfection’ as you can during the practice, but avoid chasing after it during the performance. The performer often over-amplifies the effects of those mistakes that the listener may not notice at all, so I’d suggest that you don’t focus on the mistakes you made on stage or be afraid of making mistakes, simply enjoy the music and follow the flow, you will find yourself much less nervous, and that’s the moment you make magic happen in your performance.

Distract yourself from the pressure with some relaxing and fun activities before the stage.

In my years of experience in international competitions, I have seen various ways that pianists relieve their anxiety before going on stage, such as playing games, listening to pop songs, or eating specific foods, however, there are also quite unexpected ones, for instance doing handstands! For myself, I simply need enough sleep, as a fresh mind makes me chill. In general, stop constantly amplifying the anxious mood and find your own way to stay away from it. Don’t you find some of the activities above lots of fun?

Remember it is YOUR stage and you call the shots!

Musicians would never feel they have practised enough. However, when you are on stage, always tell yourself that you worked hard, a normal level of nervousness is alright, and you are the boss now. Self-confidence is the best weapon to fight against pressure and anxiety – How to establish confidence? Please refer to Tip 1. At last, every performance is a valuable opportunity to grow, to share love and music. As a performer, one should always appreciate the opportunities to share music and believe that the audience will always connect and appreciate a genuine and sincere performance.

Siqian Li will next be performing a duo recital with violinist Laure Chan at St James’s Church Sussex Gardens at 7.30pm on 15 July 2022. Find out more here.