Why Do We Get Nervous Before Performing?

Hi, I’m Elena. Why do we get nervous before performing?

Whether it’s public speaking, performing music for an audience, or simply doing something while others’ eyes are fixed on us, we feel different when we are being watched than we would alone, doing the same thing with no one looking. It is not only about the skill itself, playing or speaking, but also about how we feel when we are watched. Everyone’s state and feelings change, but for some people these feelings are positive, and for others negative. Why?

In a study by MacArthur et al. (2025) of seven-year-old cellists, all the children felt strong arousal in front of an audience.¹ What differed was the valence of that arousal: whether it brought positive or negative experiences. The children who felt positive were those who believed in their abilities, felt that the audience accepted them, and whose performance met their expectations. The ones who felt negative were those whose belief in their abilities was unstable.

A study by Roden et al. (2021) of children aged 6–10 found that positive and negative feelings in music lessons are two separate things: a lot of joy does not mean little anxiety, and vice versa.² Perhaps this is why we can feel strong arousal before giving a speech, and at the same time great enthusiasm to give it. Or we feel anxious before stepping on stage to perform a piece, yet really want our friends and family to hear us.

What can people who experience anxiety and stage fright do? First of all, it is important to do the specific task in an informal, non-judgemental setting. In the MacArthur et al. (2025) study, this is exactly how the teacher helped the children who found performing hard.¹ Self-efficacy is a person’s belief in their ability to carry out a specific task in a specific situation.³ According to Bandura, it grows most through mastery experience, that is, through successful performances. So it matters not only to play or speak in front of others as often as possible, but also that those performances are supportive.

At Eleny Piano Studio we organise Performance Practice precisely so that children can play for each other, with teachers and parents listening, but without evaluation or criticism. Our aim is not for students to have learned a piece perfectly, but for them to feel free on stage while being watched, and to enjoy the process.