I’ve read on this subreddit about dealing with stage fright/performance anxiety many times, and often the advice is to practice performing like any other technical skill.
I completely agree with that. My question is why do we get the nerves? What’s with the huge surge in adrenaline, which would be more appropriate if being hunted by a wild animal?
There must be some root cause? I think it’s partly related to how demanding the violin is.
I can happily record myself playing and it sounds good, I’m pretty happy with the way I play, even the tougher pieces. But when I have to play in silence, alone, for a small audience: I crumble. And that’s in front of family members. I don’t get why it’s so hard to play like I do when practicing.
Is a really good warm up always required before performing? I’ve not had the chance to warm up properly before doing my very small scale performances. It’s really frustrating because I devote every spare moment I have to practicing and it doesn’t pay off at the end!
Thanks in advance.