When you’re feeling nervous before you play, imagine your show being over. Picture how well the show went. Imagine the people in the crowd telling you how great your performance was as they buy your CD. Not only will this make you feel good, but it’ll give you a visualization to subconsciously work towards while you’re performing.
Also, every time you’re courageous in life by doing something you fear, you build more confidence in that area of your life. So, the more you perform, the less you will fear performing. If it helps, you can start small by playing at practically empty open mics until you build your way up to full blown gigs. But it’s important to keep doing it. Each time you perform, you will have more confidence as a performer. The scarier the situation seems before you do it, the more confidence you will build by going through with it.
That applies as long as you take on a “I did it!” attitude when you’re done, and NOT an “Oh, I can’t believe I got through that - It was awful” attitude. Doing the latter will not help you improve your confidence. You need to own each performance and realize it’s a stepping stone to making you a more complete performer, for better or for worse.
Hope that helps...
There are a lot more ways to shed stage fright here: http://successforyoursongs.com/freeoffer/stagefright/
see ya on stage!
