Give your voice the best chance to shine by following these tips in the hours before the performance and while performing.

Ahead of time

• The advice in Section 1.5 ‘Prepare your voice for the day’ is even more relevant when the day includes a performance.
• Just as though you were preparing for a sports competition, arrange your eating schedule so that you’ve taken in plenty of energy-giving complex carbs at a suitable time to see you through the performance without feeling uncomfortably full. Tuck a banana and a few biscuits in your bag for emergencies!
• Keep well hydrated and take water with you. If you have any throat problems, add some honey and lemon juice, or sugar, to the water.
• If at all possible wear clothes and shoes that not only give you confidence but are comfortable enough for you to stand and breathe naturally and comfortably in.
• Especially if you’ve had to be busy before a performance, take 10 minutes to relax and re-focus doing abdominal breathing in the resting position (Part One, Section 2.5).
• Warm up with gentle humming. We know of at least one professional opera singer who uses nothing but humming in her pre-performance warm-up.

Pre-performance rehearsal

• Don’t use up any more energy and voice than is absolutely necessary at rehearsal. This may not be easy if you have a musical director encouraging you to give your all. Just know that in the end he’ll be pleased you saved your best for the performance.

Pre-performance nerves

While a bit of adrenaline is usually helpful in creating a good performance, excessive nerves can spoil a performance for both you and your audience. But you can learn to control them:

Re-brand nerves as excitement

Nerves produce very similar physical symptoms to excitement. So take a quiet moment ahead of the performance to repeat aloud to yourself several times ‘I feel excited’. This changes the negative stress of anxiety into a positive challenge you can rise to. In a University of Pennsylvania study, the group who did this performed better in a stressful test than those who either admitted they were anxious or tried to persuade themselves they felt calm – which won’t fool your body as the physical symptoms are so different.

Reduce negative thoughts and emotions by increased body awareness

Nerves usually start with thoughts about things that might go wrong. This generates the emotion of worry or fear, which then generates further negative thoughts, and sets up a vicious circle. You can break that circle by putting your attention in your body as much as possible, because you can’t do that and think at the same time. Do some slow diaphragmatic breaths, really focusing on how the breath feels, or simply become aware of your inner body. If you are unsure what your inner body might feel like, try this:

• Close your eyes and hold your hands out in front of you (not touching). You can’t see them and are not touching them, so what tells you they’re there? There is some kind of feeling, a basic aliveness inside them.

That feeling will grow if you give it positive attention. With practice you may be able to sense it also in your feet, then your legs, arms and possibly torso. The more you can stay aware of it in the background, the calmer and more ‘grounded’ you will feel.

During the performance

• Own the space, don’t let the space own you. Just as confident people feel entitled to occupy as much space as they want, so adopting an expansive posture can help boost your confidence. Take up a posture that allows you to feel well balanced and relaxed. Have your feet at least hip width apart, toes forward or facing slightly outwards, knees relaxed, shoulders dropped and arms slightly away from your sides.
• If you are required to hold a music folder, check periodically that you’re not introducing upper body tension by gripping it tightly or clutching it to your chest.
• Remember the audience is there to have a good time, not to criticise you, and they want you to do well. They also don’t know if you sang better in practice.
• Make eye contact with the audience. Choose people who are clearly enjoying the performance, and sing for them: their positive feedback will give you a boost.
• Go wrong with confidence. It’s amazing what audiences don’t notice if you don’t let a mistake show in your face.
• Finally, enjoy the privilege of sharing your gift of singing with others.

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