I have been a lurker on CC for a while now, my D is only a freshman in HS at this point, but perhaps someone here has advice in overcoming audition anxiety. My D is perusing MT, has no problems with dance or acting auditions/performing, but when it comes to voice she gets totally anxious, just for auditions. Performing in ensembles and performing solos in front of an audience is not a problem. She just auditioned for her HS musical and texted me that she just bombed it again. She practiced a ton, practiced in front of various people, never touches caffeine, reminded herself the auditors are on her side, and tried to avoid “what if I bomb?” thoughts and focused on being positive. She started having this problem in 6th grade when she was having all kinds of dental work done, plus the usual angst of puberty changes in controlling her voice. I am at a loss for how to help her overcome this problem. MT is her passion. Anyone else get a kid past this kind of problem? Obviously, she has to be able to audition if she plans to continue on to college and a professional career.
Seems like classic performance anxiety which gets heightened by evaluative situations. Concerns about the impact of the outcome are realistic but interfere with her performing. She might benefit from working with a psychologist who specializes in this type of anxiety. It’s common among performers and also sports kids and there are many professionals who specialize in helping performers (stage or sport) overcome it.
Thank you, lostaccount. We may go that route since it seems to be getting worse, not better, with doing auditions more, and since it is only singing, not dance or acting, nor high stakes verbal school presentations.
I developed severe performance anxiety years ago (during puberty, which is very common) and my advice is deal with it now! It will only get worse. A combo of therapy and meds really helped me! Look for therapists with a CBT focus and who works with artists. Using the meds temporarily can retrain the brain to not have a freak out response. I gave up performing due to my anxiety and it just found its way into other aspects of my life.
I have two recommendations: Performance Success by Don Greene. My daughter is now a successful pro musician, having finished her BM and MM at a major conservatory. She writes that this book “changed my life, esp the sections on mental practice, “centering”, and the 30 day countdown to an important concert or audition.” You can get it on Amazon, and it looks like there’s also a Kindle edition.
The second is to check out the website of Noa Kageyama, a psychologist and violinist who specializes in this area. He is terrific. You can buy his course, but he also has a weekly newsletter that he puts out for free every Sunday morning that has a lot of great information. My daughter was fortunate to take a class with him when she was at her conservatory.
Thank you @glassharmonica . Immediately ordered Performance Success. Seems like he has another book called Audition Success and my library has that so will check that out too. Appreciate your valuable insights on this front.
@glassharmonica : That is a very useful link. Thanks for posting.
Thank you @glassharmonica and @astute12. I will ask around locally for recommendations for a therapist. Also going to order Performance Success. We will keep trying to get this back under control, because yes, I worry it will spread to other areas eventually.
Tai Chi and Reiki training can help. Many young men practice Tai Chi, since it is partly martial. Reiki would be a tougher cell. Learning self-hypnosis would be similar. Also look up EFT and “tapping.”
Can we please not post any medical/pharmacological advice in the forum? If someone has a problem, they should consult a medical practioner.
Thank you all for your advice. Here’s an update: D has read several of the recommended books and now uses some of the techniques suggested. She also attended several Summer intensive school that boosted her confidence considerably. She has made a lot of progress, auditions every chance she gets (sometimes it goes very well, others the anxiety kicks in but that is happening less and less). She is even going to do both NATS and Classical Singer this season. So again, thank you all.