Enrichment · Arts and Creativity

Learn from every time
you walk on stage.

A performance is over in minutes, and how it felt is not always how it sounded. After each concert, audition or recital, rate your nerves and how it went, count the slips, tick the routine you used and listen back to the recording if there is one. Over a season the journal shows which routine steps go with your calmer, better performances, and what to try before the next one.

Add a performanceWhat you get
$5one-time · every device you sign in on
Buy · $5

Included with the Caveat Academy pass and Whole-school licenses. Or get it in the Arts & Creativity collection, $69 for 38 items.

Performances

The worked example is made up: four performances on violin in one fall. Saved on this device only.

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What you get

Enrichment · Arts & Creativity$5

What you finish with
An entry per performance: date, event, kind, pieces, practice minutes in the week before, nerves before and rating after (1 to 5), memory slips or stops, the routine used, whether you listened back, what went well, one thing to work on and a next step. Shows average nerves and rating, total slips, the routine step used most and nerves to rating for each performance; flags no listen-back, high nerves with no breathing, repeated slips with no practice performance and no next step.
Who it is for
Middle school, high school and college instrumentalists and singers in lessons, ensembles, auditions and festivals; music teachers and directors.
Format
Browser journal with a saved entry per performance. Prints one entry, the season in a table or a blank reflection sheet; downloads a spreadsheet (.csv); exports and imports a file.
Access
$5 one-time, yours on every device you sign in on; the tool opens once you are signed in with it. Included with the Caveat Academy pass and Whole-school licenses. Also in the Arts & Creativity collection ($69) and the Enrichment Suite pass ($119), and 1 more bundle. Everything you type stays in this browser; nothing is sent to Caveat.
Where it lives
The Arts & Creativity space in Caveat Enrichment.
Support
Questions about access, an order or a correction: team@caveatacademic.com.

How to use it

  1. Rate your nerves just before you go on, honestly.
  2. Afterwards, rate how it went and count the slips or stops.
  3. Listen to the recording if there is one, then write what went well and one thing to work on.
  4. Tick the routine steps you used.
  5. Read back over the season before your next big performance.

Add a performance

Why nerves and practice go together

A routine that makes performing feel familiar1Perform earlyPlay it start to finish forsomeone, twice, days before.2Same warm-upUse the warm-up you will useon the day.3Breathe slowlyA longer out-breath slows aracing heart.4Keep goingAfter a slip, rejoin at thenext phrase or downbeat.5Listen backHear the recording, then writeone fix.A routine that makes performing feel familiar1Perform earlyPlay it start to finish for someone,twice, days before.2Same warm-upUse the warm-up you will use on the day.3Breathe slowlyA longer out-breath slows a racingheart.4Keep goingAfter a slip, rejoin at the next phraseor downbeat.5Listen backHear the recording, then write one fix.
Performance nerves are normal and shrink with practice performing, not only practice playing. Most audiences never notice a slip that the player recovers from.

Nerves are normal

Most musicians, including professionals, feel performance anxiety: a fast heart, shaky hands, a dry mouth. It usually eases with experience, especially experience performing for others before the real thing.

Why slow breathing helps

Slow breathing with a longer out-breath engages the body’s calming response and can steady a racing heart within a minute or two. It is a skill: practice it at home before you need it on stage.

When to ask for more help

If nerves stop you performing, or worry spills into school and sleep, talk with your music teacher, a parent, your school counselor or a doctor. Performance anxiety is common and treatable.

Sources

  1. Kenny, D. T. (2011). The Psychology of Music Performance Anxiety. Oxford University Press.
  2. Osborne, M. S., Kenny, D. T., and Cooksey, J. (2007). Impact of a cognitive-behavioural treatment program on music performance anxiety in secondary school music students. Psychology of Music, 35(2), 243 to 261.
  3. Zaccaro, A., et al. (2018). How breath-control can change your life: a systematic review on psycho-physiological correlates of slow breathing. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 12, 353.
  4. National Association for Music Education: resources on solo and ensemble performance (nafme.org).

The worked example is made up. This journal is for reflection; it is not a treatment for anxiety. Nothing you type is sent to Caveat. Support: team@caveatacademic.com.