As a punter at a gig the other night, I was reminded of just how debilitating nerves can be. This guy was a really good singer and a great songwriter, but, his complete lack of responsiveness to the audience and his consequent nervousness, killed my enjoyment.
So, here are a few tips on how to wrestle with, conquer and transform those nasty noives from ‘possum in the headlights’ paralysis to an excited focused form of energy!
Firstly, we’ve got to be honest about how nerves manifest for us. If we know what we’re dealing with, then we know how to deal with it. Just like the levies in response to hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. We have to have prepared workable solutions to counteract these little natural disasters.
Make a list of how nerves manifest for you and then list the solutions to each symptom. For example, if breathing gets shallow and out of control, then use a long slow exhale breathing exercise for a few minutes before you sing and remind yourself to breath as deep down on the body as possible.
We seem to experience nerves in pretty much the same ways (though some of us more highly strung individuals also get such charming symptoms as chronic diarrhoea if it’s a particularly high profile gig!!)
If you get a: Dry Mouth? – Drink plenty of water or relaxing teas at least 20 minutes before you perform (it takes this long to metabolize liquid). Shaky ends of notes? – Stabilize the sound by focusing it in (and projecting from) the forehead. Sing through a constant buzzing hum. Can’t move your face or open your mouth? – Use the face as a storytelling device and express with it. There are over 5,000 facial muscles – use them! (facial stretches help wake them up). See yourself as one gigantic mouth. Shape the vowels fully with your mouth (use a real pucker for the oo’s, a very wide mouth sideways for ee’s and a dropped/hung jaw for ay’s) Have a fear of forgetting the words? – Practice! Practice! Practice! If you don’t have the words memorized to your songs, don’t perform them! Tight throat? – silently giggle.
It really helps to go into performance feeling in control. Remind yourself of good singing techniques and powerful tools (like twang, open-ness and ‘the ng’) that you can employ during the problem sections of songs This gives you something positive to focus on in order to express what you want. Ultimately, our only focus should be on entering the landscape of the song. Taking ourselves to that place and taking the audience there with us.
It helps to remind your self of how the voice works. Aligning posture and releasing tension in hotspots like brow, shoulders, neck, belly, chest, mouth and jaw will then open these areas to resonate the sound in them. The more space we open to the sound – the bigger the sound. There is NEVER any need to push. Not even if you can’t hear yourself or the band is too loud.
The knowledge and application of remedial devices and responses to nerves, gives us more confidence. (And in turn, the audience has more confidence in us).
Essentially, nerves stem from a momentary lapse of reason and memory: we forget what we’re there for. Our goal in performance or in the studio is not to get through a song without forgetting the words or making any mistakes. Our goal should be to communicate the song to the best of our abilities. Do you listen to a CD and think “Wow! That person got all the words and notes right!†Hopefully, music is about more than this.
It helps to view the performance of a song as a ‘conversation’ with the audience. Recall the tension and nervousness you experience in the ‘lead up’ to meeting someone you fancy at a party. Most of the nervousness is in ‘the build’ – plucking up the courage, Should you talk to them? what are you going to say? Once you start and maintain communication, the nerves dissipate. So too in performance.
It helps to ‘break the ice’ by thinking of the audience as a singular person you are in conversation with. No one likes in be in conversation with someone who: can’t meet their gaze, talks endlessly about themselves, doesn’t listen or register your responses, tries too hard, fakes an accent, isn’t sincere or is too loud or pushy. You particularly don’t want someone to be nervous in conversation, because it makes YOU feel nervous contagiously.
What we must be, is ourselves. There is no-one exactly like you – thank God! This is our point of power and marketability. The more authentic, full of character and natural you can be (without becoming sloppy, lazy and uncaring!), the more likely people will engage with you. This awareness takes the nerves off being ‘perfect’ or striving too hard to be ‘liked’. Not everyone may relate to you or love what you do, but if you can be genuine and hold onto your integrity when you sing from the heart, at least you have attempted to achieve your goal – communication.