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 The Joyful Musician Blog

Your hands are shaking. Your heart hammers so hard you're convinced the first row can hear it. You've practiced for months, but standing in the wings, your mind goes blank. Performance anxiety affects up to 60% of professional musicians, and often gets worse as stakes increase. This post covers what it actually is, why musicians are particularly vulnerable, what doesn't work, and evidence-based solutions that address root causes rather than just suppressing symptoms.

After years of sidelining his voice, a classically trained tenor facing burnout, shame, and crippling performance anxiety did something quietly radical: He showed up to his first audition. Not to impress, but to reclaim. This is the story of the audition he didn’t cancel — and the slow, brave return to a life shaped by presence, not perfection.

A 35-year-old opera singer was at a crossroads. Having taken a break from her career due to intense stage anxiety and crushing perfectionism, she was questioning everything: Was opera still right for her? Should she shift to another path entirely? All she knew was that singing had once been her lifelong dream — but now, even that felt uncertain.

Despite her experience and undeniable talent, she often felt disconnected from her voice. Some days, her anxiety showed up physically — tightness in the throat, sweaty palms, racing heart… Other times, it felt like her voice belonged to someone else entirely, creating a disorienting, almost out-of-body sensation. Her inner critic was relentless, especially during live performances. And even when things seemed to be improving, the sense of insecurity lingered.

A French horn player in her 30s performing with a major orchestra, delivering over 200 concerts a year. But even from that place of achievement, something vital had gone quiet: She no longer enjoyed music. Despite her outward success, she felt disconnected from the very thing that had once lit her up. And she was preparing for two important auditions: One for a prestigious commercial TV orchestra, and another for an even larger city’s top ensemble.

A classically trained opera singer with both a BA and MA in vocal performance, they had been performing professionally for over a decade. Their voice had a shimmering coloratura and an expressive depth that made it easy to imagine them on any of the great opera stages. They were already performing regularly in a beloved opera choir. But they hadn’t trained for years just to stay in the chorus — they wanted to sing arias under the lights, solo, centre stage.

This amazing client was a seasoned singer and singing teacher in his 50s — deeply experienced, full of musical wisdom, and running a very full studio. Between teaching and performing, he’d still managed to carve out time to create something deeply personal: His debut album. After months of work, the release concert was on the horizon. But instead of excitement, he was feeling uneasy. He came to me for a single coaching session not to improve his singing, but to figure out how

A gifted flautist in her early 30s had built a dream career: First chair in a major orchestra, well-respected by her peers, and known for her dedication and precision. On paper, everything looked perfect. But under the surface, she was carrying a weight that made performing feel like a burden rather than a joy. Years earlier, a careless, cutting comment from a conductor during a recording session had planted seeds of self-doubt.

You've been visualizing your performances all wrong. Lying in bed imagining the perfect show — nailing every note, crowd applauding. It's the advice everyone gives. But then you step on stage and panic. Your hands shake. The fantasy crumbles. Here's what no one tells you: the problem isn't that you're visualizing success. It's that you're visualizing the wrong thing entirely. What if there was a different approach that actually reduces anxiety instead of fueling it?

Feeling lost after music school? Your worth isn’t tied to grades or applause. You’re more than your music — it’s time to believe it.