ADVICE?? Any advice on performing a solo in front of a big crowd???

Question

I am singing a song, (partilly solo), for my 8th grade graduation and I have bad nerves! My principle came in to hear us, and there was 12 other kids with her, so when my solo came up, I WAS LITERALLY SHAKING! My performace is in 4 days! I need advice to calm my nerves...and i hope someone can help me. We are singing Hero by Mariah Carey, (hard song to sing, mind you), so I really wanna do the best I can. I had done a solo in elemntry school, but this is totally diffrent! Im rambling on.....so any ADVICE?????

Answer 1

!~ yay !! go Christy don't worry !! just think abt how gr8 your voice is ~! (^_^) *good luck* !!

Answer 2

Take a long line of nice deep breaths and talk yourself through it. Remind yourself that you will do great. You've worked hard and everyone is going to love it.

Isometric exercises: go up to a wall and press against it hard with your hands. You will use up some excess energy and it may help you calm down. Actor Yule Brenner used to swear by this exercise.

Try to remember when you first experienced stagefright. Somewhere in your past there was one time that set the fear and anxiety into motion. It could have been a simple teasing from a family member when you made a mistake. If you are able to pinpoint the incident, it will help you to get past your stagefright.


Practice a technique called Future Shaping. Close your eyes and remember a time when you felt the most intense stagefright experience ever. See it, feel it, or imagine it in your mind. Next, imagine yourself feeling the way you want to feel in that situation. Imagine you're replacing one feeling for another. Practice this technique often, and you'll notice a big difference the next time you get in front of an audience.

Check out these sites for more tips on beating stagefright:

http://pbcers.org/speaktips.htm

http://www.anxietycoach.com/social1.htm

Best of luck to you and I hope you knock em for a loop!

Answer 3

Well, I kind of had the same feeling when I was going to improvise a solo in my school jazz band on trombone and I was so scared, I thought I wouldn't be able to get any notes out. What I did was just take a deep breath and told myself that I am confident about my performance. It totally relaxed me and I even had an easy time thinking up what rhythem to play and everything. I hope this advise helped, and good luck at the performance.

Answer 4

Find a spot at the back of the room and just focus on it. If you look around at the audience sometimes...that's cool, but just always find that spot again. Or...if it helps just close your eyes and sing!!! Remember to breathe. Don't let your mind wonder or think about what THEY are thinking. Just stay very focused on the song. You can even envision the words in your head as you sing them to help you keep focused on the song. And most importantly....HAVE FUN!!!

Answer 5

ive had many performances before, and had some nerves. but you know what? just smile. i tell everyone 'minoaka' (its smile in hawaiian). but youre singing a beautiful song, and if you can sing that, you probably have a beautiful voice. (way better than what i can sing! ;] ) just try your best. and hey, if you make a mistake, just keep on going. if you smile, they'll have no clue. and probably your friends will be cheering you in the crowd! good luck!

Answer 6

I prefer performing in front of a large crowd like this because, with the lights on you, you can't really see anyone in the audience, so you can't see their reactions to your song. So sing away, not worrying about having to see anyone's face!

Answer 7

I've found that the more nervous you are before something, performance, test or whatever, this means the more you have to lose. It means your body and mind are very prepared for the task; you need to feed off this nervous energy, go with it and let what you are already prepared for, just happen.

Answer 8

Pick ONE person in the crowd, and sing to them. Focus on that one person, whether it's a friend, a classmate, family. Don't trouble yourself with the hundreds of other people there - just remember, you're singing to that one person!

Answer 9

dont screw up

lol just kidding.... seriously..... take deep breaths... look into the mic... pick one person in the front row and sing to them.... focux on them and nobody else. practice every minute you get and feed off your nervousness... i dont no how much it applies to singing but if i get nervous before a big race [just a little bit] i do so much better cuz i have an adrenaline rush going and i feed off it. but if i get too nervous i suck. dont think too much about what your doing because if you think you start to worry. like what if the cd doesnt work, what if my voice cracks, what if i make a huge fool out of myself... if you think about it too much it will happen so go out there and just have fun....

Answer 10

you must feel nervous...but just think about it...

you would look more foolish if u got up there and looked nervous than if u got up there and looked confident and smiled.

as for not feeling nervous...that might be unavoidable. even famous people get nervous before performing, but its all about the performance you give. just think about how it will be over soon. think of the party after the graduation, and how nobody will even remember it (if it was bad) later on. just have fun with it

Answer 11

don't worry, i know how it feels to sing a huge solo in front of everyone. just practice a lot, smile when you sing, and make sure your eyes r sparkled, oh and good luck! cheers!