It’s normal to feel nerves when you know you will have an exam or an audition soon. However, there are ways to reduce the panic. Do you want to know more?
I could not count on how many piano exams I’ve gone through!
I can still feel the nerves, the sweaty hands, my arms shaking… During the days before the exam, I would be playing for hours and hours like mad.
But after all those years I found a method!!
Are you ready?
I sit on the piano chair feeling confident, thinking: I can play it, it’s not about faith because I have played it well previously! I’ve just gotta beat the nerves. I CAN!
Believe in yourself! There’s nothing worse than before playing you keep thinking you won’t do it.
Another tip: concentrate! Take 1, 2, 3 minutes to concentrate before you even touch the instrument. Concentrate, calm yourself down, say nice things to yourself and…
Look at the audience! They trust in you, they want to enjoy what you will be playing and most important thing, they want you to do well! Look at them with confidence and when you are ready it’s time for the show to start. Don’t start to play if you do not feel you are ready.
First of all, while you are playing there are two things you need to do: ENJOY and be CONCENTRATED.
I remember I would smile when I did well on a difficult passage of the piece. Maybe smiling was not the best choice, but I remember how confident that made me feel and how it gave me the energy to go through the whole piece.
Something else that would happen to me is that I would go too fast when playing. NO! Listen to what you’re doing, it’s beautiful! Enjoy it, try to carry out those emotions! Remember there is someone there listening to you. Besides from your teacher writing god-knows-what on their notepad, maybe your parents took time off work to hear you play. Make that effort worth it! Music is magical, let it go through you so you will be able to reach others.
If you do that, your previous nerves will be gone with the wind.
There are two basic things people will remember: the beginning and the end. No matter if you are not doing as good as you wish you were, try a good ending.
When you have played the last notes, don’t rush back to your seat. Let the music fade away, look at the audience, take a bow and go calmly back to your place. If you did well, perfect! Keep on going.
If you did not do well, do not worry and do not give up!! You will do better next time 
