“If you have stage fright, it never goes away. But then I wonder: is the key to that magical performance because of that fear?” – Stevie Nicks
When I was younger, getting up to sing on stage was a terrifying experience, especially because it was just you under the spotlight with a sound system blasting a background track. No other musicians. Just you. That overwhelming feeling of sweaty palms, butterflies in your stomach, wanting to get the show over with, yet never start at the same time. . . As time passes and you gain experience, some tend to lose that familiar feeling of apprehension.
I, myself, never lost that feeling of stage fright; the feeling isn’t as strong anymore, but it still creeps up when I step onstage and look at the audience. I’ve always believed that it’s good to be a little bit nervous because it means you care about your performance, and that you want it to go well. In the case of creativity, fear is a good indicator that you’re on the right path. Doing something that scares you–even performing–helps you to grow. It is also a reminder for musicians, and other artists, to continuously stay on their toes, pushing themselves beyond the boundary of their comfort zone.
One could even argue that this feeling of stage fright can be invigorating for some, and many musicians strive to attain this feeling over and over again, whether performing, practicing,, writing, or arranging music. This need pushes some to try new things and experiment, creating great musical experiments for them and anyone around who may be watching or listening. Performances become more interesting when you see the instrumentalist or vocalist putting it all on the line and completely making themselves vulnerable. This feeling of apprehension, then, is essential to creating memorable and meaningful musical situations for both performer and listener, alike.
So the next time you see someone who is going to perform appearing to be nervous, there should be no need to say “don’t be nervous,” because maybe that feeling of nervousness or apprehension is just what they need to do an amazing show.