- - Please visit: Legacy Horn Experience - -
Nerves can be a big problem! Sometimes it is something you can’t work yourself past no matter what you try with a good mindset and careful preparation for the performance situation you face, which can be a serious problem especially for players looking to take auditions. When is it time to try something like beta blockers?
While I have never used them myself, there is a place for beta blockers and I have had several students who did make use of these. I remember the first time I knew someone who used these and we had an interesting conversation. She was a very anxious player, to the point of not being able to function on her instrument. She tried, with a prescription (!), beta blockers. In her first performance using them she was thinking to herself things like “I should be nervous, but I don’t feel nervous,” and the performance went much better than normal. They work to lower the natural “fight-or-flight” response we all have to stressful situations. In too high a dose they will take too much edge off things but the right dose can make a big difference.
This article, “Beta Blockers and Performance Anxiety in Musicians,” has quite a bit of useful information on the topic, and I like how they also cover the topic of “natural beta blockers” to an extent as well. One of my colleagues in one of my prior positions was a big fan of bananas as a natural alternate. There is something to it beyond the power of suggestion. In the article they note:
You can also try eating dairy products and turkey, which are rich in substances that are known to enhance relaxation. Some flutists recommend bananas. Nicotine and caffeine can contribute to shakiness and anxiety in some people.
I have eaten banana before a few big performances and I have also avoided caffeine before them as well. In fact I avoided caffeine for several weeks (!) before recording my second CD to be sure I could control the tone well. So laying off the caffeine and a meal of turkey, ice cream, and bananas before a performance is worth a try before trying beta blockers. But, again, these are of use to many players and can be a final key for performance success.
UPDATE: This related meme is from a 2012 post by Bruce Hembd:
