Music & Arts teacher and rising country star Carli Kennedy on how students can turn their nerves and self-doubt into positive performance energy.
Growing up in Canada, the singer-songwriter Carli Kennedy absorbed all kinds of crucial musical information, including rigorous classical training. But one invaluable lesson escaped every one of her esteemed teachers: How to handle the nervousness that comes with live performance. “Taking what we learn in the practice room and then taking it on stage is a whole ’nother piece,” she explains. “You could learn your song perfectly, but if you’ve never done it in front of people it’s going to feel entirely different—as anyone who has stood up in front of people and given a speech for just two minutes knows. So to me there was a huge disconnect.”
Throughout her career, Kennedy developed her own strategies for battling nerves, and clearly they’ve worked. Twin Kennedy, the classically-tinged country duo she formed with her identical twin sister, Julie, are an acclaimed touring and recording act who’ve racked up three nominations in the Canadian Country Music Association Awards.
As an educator, Kennedy has made it her mission to pass on what she’s learned about harnessing performance anxiety. She currently teaches guitar, piano and voice at the Music & Arts in Murfreesboro, Tenn., and offers master classes for school music programs with her sister, who sings and plays violin. Around 2017, Twin Kennedy began developing a program called Perform Like a Pro, which aims to fill in that gap between practice time and showtime. They’ve captured their program on video and hope to release it soon. At its core, Perform Like a Pro teaches students to transform negative, anxious energy into excitement that elevates their on-stage performance far beyond the rehearsal, toward creative heights they never thought they’d reach.
“I had teachers who said, ‘Once you get good enough you won’t be nervous,’ or, ‘Oh, eventually it goes away.’ I think that’s all lies. Everyone is nervous on stage if they care. Like I always tell my students, you’re nervous because you care. This matters to you. That’s a beautiful thing. Let’s talk about that. We’re going to be nervous. So how do we prepare for those feelings that are going to be in our belly?”
Below, Kennedy offers seven must-know tips to students who want to perform with joy and confidence.
Before we dig in, a note to parents: Music & Arts’ industry-leading Lessons program provides a safe, supportive performance environment through regular recitals, open mics and other opportunities. Visit or call your neighborhood store today.
1. Don’t Just Practice the Music. Practice the Performance
Sure, all those hours a student spends practicing their recital piece of the season are essential, and only practice makes perfect. But a public performance includes important elements outside the music itself, and those need dedicated attention too. “We need to practice every aspect of the performance,” Kennedy says. “We start with, ‘OK, what are we doing from the second we walk on the stage?’”
To begin, Kennedy recommends that students outline a chunk of their living room or music room as a kind of virtual stage. (If they can run their rehearsals at the actual venue, even better.) Then, they should recreate their upcoming performance, beginning to end, as closely as possible: If a cellist plans to wear a dress and heels to their recital, they need to wear that same stagewear during the practice performance; even a new pair of pants can affect how a musician plays, Kennedy says. Is the student going to sit down on a chair or stool and read music off a stand? Recreate that setup and have them practice walking in and sitting down from the wings of the stage—“backstage” might be the kitchen—until they feel totally comfortable.
Does the student plan on singing, introducing their pieces or thanking their teacher? Not only should they practice the speech, they also need to get used to adjusting the mic stand and hearing their voice resonate throughout the room. Plug in the guitar and flip the amp off standby; adjust the piano bench from an unfamiliar height; take a post-performance bow—whatever a student will do during their performance they need to master prior, in order to better focus on the music.
Even today as an acclaimed professional musician, Carli continues to rehearse beyond the music. “All that stuff—all the interludes, the talking, the moving around—I spend just as much time practicing that as I do the songs,” she says.
2. Get Used to Feeling Nervous, Even If It Means Running Laps
As anyone who’s been struck by stage fright understands, performance anxiety works on the body in a way that can be impossible to control. Taking long, steady breaths can certainly help calm a student’s nerves—and Kennedy recommends such exercises. But no matter how much a nervous musician tries to calm down, sometimes those sweat glands and shaky hands just won’t quit. In these instances, Kennedy argues, the student needs to get comfortable with feeling uncomfortable.
“What we’ll try is recreating that feeling of nerves,” she says. “So one way you can do that is to get your heart rate up.” Kennedy recommends students run in place or around the room or backyard—any safe environment where they can get their heart pounding. “Then we’re going to see if we can sing our song or play our song in that state,” Kennedy says. “That’s fun and gets a good giggle, but it actually really helps to practice that feeling.”
3. Before the Big Gig, Play Smaller Ones
Just as huge rock bands will play intimate club shows before launching an arena tour, music students can prep for their recital or talent show by organizing some off-the-cuff performances for friends and family. In fact, any friendly face makes for a great addition to the “cheering squad,” as Kennedy calls it. “People who are going to be boosting you up, giving you positive vibes,” she says.
“If we’re in the Lesson Studio at Music & Arts, we go outside and we say to the staff, ‘Hey, we’re going to do a practice performance!’ And it’s less pressure than playing in a hall in front of everyone.” It’s a simple exercise, Kennedy says, but it builds precisely the sort of confidence an aspiring performer needs.
4. No Negativity!
“I really believe in positive energy,” Kennedy says. “If you’re an Olympian, you’re not telling yourself before the race, ‘I might lose it.’ You’re visualizing first place, right?”
Prior to any performance—or practice performance—Kennedy has a hard rule about negative thinking and self-talk: Tolerate none of it. Kennedy reminds her students that the audience wants to see you do well; they want you to triumph, and they’re on your side. No one attends a live performance hoping things go poorly.
After the student performs, Kennedy has another rule: “For 24 hours after the show,” she says, “you’re not allowed to critique your own performance, and you’re not allowed to watch any video. We’re just going to celebrate that we did the performance. This is a huge accomplishment. People will be congratulating us, so just take that in.”
Following that 24-hour period, if the student is generally feeling good, then they can watch mom and dad’s smartphone video and start thinking about constructive criticism.
5. Give Yourself to the Music
When those nerves simply won’t go away, elevate the songs above yourself, Kennedy advises. Musicians need to remember that the performing arts are not about their self-perception or ability to earn accolades; rather, their goal should be to tell a moving story about the human experience and connect emotionally with an audience. Think of it like the songs are the main attraction on stage, and the player or singer is merely a vessel.
For her Twin Kennedy shows, Carli practices her songs in a mirror, to make sure her facial expressions and body language match the music. The same goes for her spoken introductions. “Even if the song is instrumental,” she says, “I talk to my students and say, ‘Well, what if you had a music video behind you? What are you visualizing?’”
Approaching a performance like an actor or a film director refocuses the attention away from the ego and onto the music.
6. Make a Performance-Day Checklist
In the same way that making a travel checklist is important before a big trip, students should compile a checklist of essential items for recital day. “There’s a bunch of things you need to have ready,” Kennedy says. “You’re going to bring your guitar, your tuner, your music. I can’t tell you how many students forget their music for the show. Maybe you need to change your strings. Maybe you need a certain piece for your outfit to feel really confident.” Having a concrete list of all the necessary day-of-show logistics can alleviate a lot of stress, Kennedy says.
7. Arrival Time Is Key
The earlier a student can begin preparing for a recital or show, the better. Full stop. But when it comes to arriving at the venue on the day of the performance, that’s a bit trickier. Obviously, Kennedy says, students should never run late, which only compounds anxiety. She recommends arriving at least an hour prior to the show’s overall start time, to get the lay of the land and make sure everything is working properly in the way of electronics and on-stage sound.
At the same time, students will want to avoid sitting around for hours at the venue prior to playing, which can cause negative thoughts to spiral. If, for some reason, that’s unavoidable, Kennedy encourages students to make “cold performances” part of their practice-performance routine. “When you’re performing on stage, you usually have to wait,” she says. “You usually don’t get to play your song over and over and then immediately perform; that doesn’t happen.” So spending several hours away from the instrument and then running through the program is especially helpful.
In the end, Kennedy believes that more music teachers and band directors need to focus on performance anxiety as a regular part of their curriculum. “There’s so much room for more education about it,” she says, “for more openness, and for performers to talk about their experiences.” After all, she argues, it’s as common to the ritual of performance as tuning one’s instrument.
“Many of my best friends are performers,” she says, “and everyone gets nervous.”
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