Conquering Performance Nerves! Five tips:

Everyone gets nervous, even the pros! Practice turning that nervous energy into EXCITEMENT and use it to *focus* on what you love - the music!

1. Once you know your piece inside and out, and are ready for a performance, practice performing it without stopping for mistakes - everyone makes mistakes - focus on the *flow and the feeling* of the piece.

2. Performing is about building confidence. Start by performing pieces that are well within your comfort level.

3. Imagine you have an audience every time you practice performing your piece! Take it a step further and record yourself! Listen back and see how your performance improves as you continue to work at it!

4. Perform regularly! To friends, family, teachers, pets! Like anything else, the more you do it, the easier it becomes!

5. Try to focus purely on the love of the music you are performing; the feeling and the meaning of it. Afterall, that's why you're playing music, and that's what the audience hears!

* ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS be kind to yourself after every performance! There is no such thing as a perfect performance. We become stronger at it and become more focused each time we perform, so trust that you are on the right path and enjoy the ride!

Tips adapted from the wonderful Melanie Spanswick, classical pianist, writer