Overcoming Stage Fright
Teaching students in a small group helps them overcome stage fright
Many people learn to play the piano, yet few learn to play comfortably in front of others. Is this just a personality thing? Are shy students just unable to perform while out-going kids do just fine?
Can everyone learn to perform?
Maybe not every single person in the whole world can learn to perform comfortably but after 30 years and 1000’s of student performances, I’ve found that small group classes help eliminate stage fright from the very first lesson.
First lesson
In our small class settings, students come up to play in front of the group their very first lesson. I tell them beforehand that I expect they will feel nervous and feel they have to do a perfect job.
Then I assure them that this isn’t a concert hall, and everyone else is learning along with them so mistakes are going to be made. That’s what our classroom is all about.
Fourth lesson
By the time we’ve hit the 4th class, there’s rarely a student worried about making a mistake and the nerves seem to be relaxed. And something else begins. They start rooting for each other. There are only 4 students per class but this is a great start to eliminating fear.
Case in point
Once a student of about 6 months confessed to her class, “I’m really worried about playing this today for you.” Before I could respond, another student asked quite matter of fact, “did you practice?”
The answer was “not enough.”
I jumped in and rallied on that answer. Not enough. Everyone can feel that way, but some might also feel like they have done enough and it won’t sound like it.
We discussed how to recognize when we’d worked hard enough. The whole group understood how this girl felt. But interestingly enough, the secret to success in small groups, is the students require their classmates to take responsibility. No one wants to look like they didn’t try.
Every single December and June I take students into the community to perform in small groups. Typically, it is with their own group and one or two other classes. The nerves can ramp up just before getting to play, but rather than me being the one to assure them they can do it, they assure each other. They high-five and hug and give thumbs up to one another. You just can’t buy that kind of support and joy anywhere.
Stage fright becomes a non-issue in small group classes. Shy kids, outgoing kids, basically everyone benefits from learning to play in front of others from the very beginning.
