I’ve spent over 22 years working on scales/picados for both classical and flamenco guitar, and let me tell you – it’s been a journey! I’ve studied with masters, analyzed countless techniques, and spent thousands of hours practicing scales. The good news? I’ve figured out what actually works (and what doesn’t). Whether you’re trying to nail those blazing-fast flamenco picados or execute clean classical scales at 160 BPM, this guide will show you exactly how to get there without the frustration and injuries I dealt with along the way.
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Tips to Crush Stage Fright
Stage fright. It’s that feeling that can turn even the most prepared guitarist into a shaky, forgetful mess the moment they sit down to play in front of someone. 🎸
You’ve practiced for months. You know your piece inside and out. But then you walk out in front of people, and suddenly you get a giant jolt of adrenaline, your hands start shaking, your mind blanks, you feel like sh%t, and all that practice feels like it never happened. 😵💫
Sound familiar? Let’s fix that.
Why Adrenaline Isn't Your Enemy
Here’s what most people do wrong: they spend all their energy trying to get rid of that adrenaline rush feeling. (What?!)
I tried everything – eating specific foods, exercising right before a gig, even visualizing the audience in their underwear (yes, that’s actually a thing some people say works for them 🙄). None of it worked for me because I was fighting the wrong battle.
The secret is that the adrenaline is NOT the problem. In fact, none of the physical feelings are the problem. Not the sweaty palms, not the faster heart rate…none of it!
The problem is that nobody taught us what these physical feelings actually mean or how to work WITH that energy instead of against it.
Think about what you feel, physically, when you’re about to do something really exciting that you’ve never done before. Think, “getting on a roller coaster, playing in a sports game, going on an exciting first date, etc.”
That feeling in your gut just before doing these things is an adrenaline rush! And, combined with everything else you feel physically, it probably feels like a mix of a LOT of excitement and, if you’re going on an exciting first date and have a giant pimple on your face, maybe a tiny bit of worry. Like this:
If you feel that way, you interpret your adrenaline rush and physical response as mostly positive — as excitement.
But when you play in front of people and get the same adrenaline rush feeling in your gut, I bet that for most of you — like it was for me — your level of excitement is WAAAY less than your level of worry. Maybe like this?
If it is, we need to fix that!
And the first step is to understand that, according to LOTS of research, anxiety and excitement share basically the same physical responses!” That includes increased heart rate, increased blood pressure, sweaty palms, faster breathing, and….your adrenaline rush! They’re all the same!
So if there’s no real difference, physically, between excitement and anxiety, where does anxiety come from?
Sounds crazy, but the truth is that it’s all in our heads!
It comes down to two things: 1) Our mindset going INTO a performance, and 2) How we interpret those physical feelings.
Mindset & Interpretation
Anxiety is rooted in fear. If we go into a performance totally worried about messing up, feeling unprepared, and stressing out about what people think, then OF COURSE we’re going to interpret the butterflies in the stomach and the sweaty palms as negative — as anxiety. We’ll be in full panic mode! I’ve been there and it SUCKS!
Excitement, on the other hand, is rooted in enthusiasm. If we go into our performance with enthusiasm, then we’re off to a great start in terms of mindset! That’s going to set the stage for us to be able to interpret the same butterflies in the stomach and our sweaty palms as positive — as excitement.
Now, I know what you’re thinking: “Just because you’re enthusiastic about playing your music for someone doesn’t mean you won’t feel nervous too!”
And, yes, that’s totally true for most people. For the majority of us, it’s a bit of both. And the trick is to get ourselves to feel more excitement and less anxiety, like in the first-date example earlier.
Let me show some tips from the science and expert-performance world that will help get more happy faces and fewer worried faces on your excitement-anxiety meter.
Build Your Foundation Before Performance Day
Performance anxiety doesn’t start on performance day. It starts weeks or months before, depending on how you prepare.
The better prepared you are, the less anxious you’ll feel. But I’m not just talking about practicing more hours. I’m talking about strategic preparation that builds real confidence.
Here's what you need to do:
Get Your Technique Solid
Your technique needs to be reliable enough that you can play expressively without fighting your hands. If you’re playing music at or below your level — which you REALLY should be — and you’re practicing correctly, every technical challenge should be workable. Your hands shouldn’t be what stops you from making music.
The more secure your technique gets, the more you can shift your focus toward expressing the music instead of just executing notes.
Learn Your Music Without Your Guitar
Can you sing or hum your melody from memory with the right phrasing? The better you know your music away from the guitar, the more solid it’ll be when you’re actually playing. Make it a point to do this before you even pick up the guitar to learn a piece. (Start with one phrase at a time).
Memorize Everything Thoroughly
You should know your music well enough to play almost all of it with your eyes closed. No joke!
You shouldn’t be thinking about where your fingers go – that should be almost completely automatic by performance day. This means you need to practice and play your piece often. Start with 5 days/week. Then 4, then 3, then 2. As you get closer to your performance date, start playing it more often again.
You should be able to play your performance music correctly from memory at least 1-2 months and 10 times in a row before your actual performance.
The more you’ve worked on your music and movements, the less you’ll worry about things going wrong. When you know you’ve put in the work strategically and consistently, your confidence skyrockets.
Do Mock Performances
This is massive! Practice actually performing at least 3 days per week for 2 months before your real performance.
Start really simply: Record yourself on video walking into your practice space (with a smile), bowing to an imaginary audience, and playing ONLY the first few notes of your piece. Do this 5 times daily, starting at least 2 months before your performance.
Then record yourself playing your entire piece from top to bottom. Once you start feeling comfortable with this, start playing for one or two people who are close to you. Then add in more people gradually.
To make it more “real” start adding in people that you don’t know very well into the mix. Think about playing for a family party where someone you don’t know is present.
These mock performances train your brain to handle the stress of performing without the “high” stakes of a real performance. Your body and mind get used to the performance environment gradually.
I know plenty of virtuosic musicians who have prepared themselves for a public performance by voluntarily playing for retirement centers, cultural centers, hospitals, and elementary schools! And they would record every single low-stakes, “mock” performance and watch the recording later to find ways to make their next mock performance even better.
Create Your Performance Day Routine
You need a simple routine that you practice daily for 2-3 months before your performance. This is called a “Pre-Performance Routine,” and it has to become automatic – something your body and mind do without thinking.
Your routine needs these to include at least these 4 elements:
Physical Warm-Up
Get your mind, body, and hands loose, warmed up, and ready to play. Keep it simple, relaxed, and musical. DO NOT SKIP THIS!
Breathing Work
Use breathing techniques that calm your nervous system. Breathing from your diaphragm (belly breathing) or doing cyclic sighs for about 5 minutes can bring down your physical stress response. When you’re nervous, you breathe shallow and fast from your chest, which keeps you in panic mode. Belly breathing and cyclic sighs do the opposite.
Mental Reframing
Stop calling it “nervousness”. Call it excitement instead. And say it out loud.
Remember that your adrenaline feeling is just your body getting ready to perform at a high level. You’re not nervous – you’re excited! Alison Wood Brooks wrote an awesome study on this, which you can read here.
Set Your Intentions
Before you sit down to play in front of someone, state your performance goals out loud or in your head. Mine are: “I’m going to be present and connect to my music, I’m going to be expressive, I’m going to have fun, I’m going to connect with my audience.” This helps keep you focused on what you actually want to do when you get out there and play.
Notice what’s missing? Nothing about being “perfect” — perfect doesn’t exist in music! Nothing about impressing anyone. No negative self-talk like, “I’m so nervous, I don’t think I’m ready for this, I’m not sure I’m good enough,” or “I hope I don’t mess up.” Just genuine, positive stuff about music, expression, and connection.
A Quick Mental Reset Technique
I want to share a protocol I learned indirectly from performance psychologist Don Greene — author of Train Your Own Hero. It helps you get focused and calm right before you perform. This is a skill that requires practice, but once you develop this skill, it totally works!
The idea is to shift your mental state from scattered and anxious to focused and ready. Once you practice this regularly, you can do it in just a few seconds.
Here's the process:
Pick Something to Look At
Choose one spot to focus on. Could be your music stand, a spot on the floor, the back of the venue, or just close your eyes. Having one thing to focus on helps stop your mind from bouncing around to anxious thoughts. I like to look at a spot on the wall in front of me way in the back of the room.
Decide What You’re Going to Do
Remember my note about stating your performance goals? This is the moment!
Be super specific about what you’re about to accomplish when you start. Not “I hope this goes well!” but “I’m going to play this opening phrase with a strong attack and dynamic contrast.”
Frame it as what you’re going to do, not what you’re trying to avoid. Your brain works better when you tell it what TO do instead of what NOT to do.
Focus on Your Breathing
This is where you plug in your belly breathing or cyclis sighs. Your body literally cannot be in full panic mode when you’re breathing this way.
Check Your Body for Tension
Scan from your head down to your toes while you breathe. Notice where you’re holding tension and let it go on each exhale. Pay extra attention to your hands, arms, and shoulders since those are what you need most!
Feel Your Center
Don Green told me about this in a conversation on the phone, and he repeats this in pretty much all of his books.
Now…this might sound a little out there, but stay with me. Think about having a center point of energy in your body — just below the belly button, midway between your stomach and back is a good spot that Dr. Greene recommends. Getting in touch with that feeling of being centered and grounded helps you feel more stable and calm. Plus, just the act of searching for that feeling quiets your racing thoughts.
Remind Yourself How You Want to Sound
Think of a word or image that captures how you want to play. Maybe it’s “smooth” or “powerful” or “fluid.” Or skip words completely and just imagine yourself playing exactly how you want to sound.
Don’t get caught up in tiny technical details. That’s great for practice but terrible for performance. Think big picture. Think sound, emotion, and connection.
Use That Energy
By now, you’ve calmed down the panicky part of your nerves. But you still have energy, right? Good! Don’t try to get rid of it completely.
Imagine gathering all that energy and directing it outward toward your audience through your playing. Picture it like you’re sending your music and emotion out to them as an exciting and beautiful gift you want to share with them. This is how you use the adrenaline instead of fighting it.
Quick note: Research suggests that most people need some amount of energy to perform at peak. That means the majority of us need to have some butterflies in the stomach, some increased heart rate, etc., to perform our best!
Personally, I need VERY little, but some people I know need a TON.
If you feel like your energy is too low, try a few jumping jacks or burpees before playing. I’ve seen some musicians get totally pumped up by yelling into a pillow — kind of like professional athletes yell before they go into a game! 🤯 Yeah, it sounds crazy, but it works for some people. On the other hand, if your energy is too high, sit or stand still and focus on your breath work.
You have to find what amount of energy works for you, personally. And one of the best ways to experiment is with your mock performances BEFORE your actual performance date.
Practice This Daily
When you first try this, it might take a few minutes. But if you practice it for 2-5 minutes every day, within a week or two, you’ll be able to do it in just 5-10 seconds. According to Don Greene, some people see results in just a few days. You just have to stick with it consistently.
Change How You Think About Performing
I talked to you a little about mindset earlier, but here are some more mindset tips that make a huge difference.
Mistakes Are Going to Happen – And That’s Fine
Accept it right now: you will make mistakes. Everyone does. Expecting perfection is unrealistic and will lower your excitement and increase your anxiety.
If you’ve prepared well, most mistakes will be tiny – things only you notice, not the audience. And here’s the thing: if you’re playing expressively and connecting emotionally to your music, the audience won’t care about small slip-ups anyway!
Let mistakes go and have fun! You’re human, not a robot.
Your Goals Are All Wrong
Your performance should never be about impressing people, landing gigs, or showing off your chops. That’s ego stuff, and it’ll make you nervous as hell.
Your performance is about expression, connection, and service. You’re sharing beautiful music and your love for it with other people. That’s it. You want them to feel the joy that this music gives you.
Shift your focus from “Will they think I’m good?” to “I’m going to share something beautiful with them.”
Instead of trying to avoid mistakes, make your goal to play with emotion and connect to the music. And to the audience! If you do that, celebrate! Forget the little imperfections. Because there is no “perfect” in music!
Remember Who Your Audience Is
The audience is on your side! They’re not sitting there hoping you mess up. They showed up because they want to enjoy music and see you succeed. They’re your guests, and they’re rooting for you.
Stop Negative Thought Spirals
When negative thoughts show up, have a plan to redirect them. Write down common negative thoughts you have and create positive replacements. When the bad thought pops up, immediately replace it with your prepared positive version.
Positive thinking creates a cycle – it affects your future thoughts and actions in a good way!
Picture Yourself in the Venue
During your practice sessions, imagine you’re actually in the performance space. Visualize the room, the audience, everything. This might make you a bit activated during practice, which is perfect – you’re practicing managing that activation so that it doesn’t become total anxiety!
The more familiar the venue feels (even if it’s just in your imagination), the less scary the unknown will be.
Take Care of Your Body
I’m not a health coach, but I do know that it’s very important to stay healthy — especially on performance day. Don’t overdo caffeine and sugar on performance day. Both can amp up or squash your energy levels. Instead, focus on healthy habits: exercise regularly, eat well, and get good sleep leading up to your performance.
Surround Yourself With Support
Build a support system of people who’ll cheer you on even when a performance doesn’t go the way you hoped. Also, get comfortable with feedback. Learn to hear honest & constructive criticism and use it as fuel to keep improving instead of letting it crush you.
Keep Setting New Goals
Record every performance and, after each one, watch the video. Set new goals or focus areas that need improvement for the next one. You’ll keep getting better with each performance!
Get Comfortable With Being Uncomfortable
Here’s my best advice: perform as often as you possibly can.
The more you perform, the more comfortable you’ll get with the whole process. Practice builds confidence, but performing is what really cements that confidence.
Each time you perform, the scary unknown becomes familiar. The uncertainty turns into confidence. You’ll learn what strategies work for you and which ones don’t.
Think of every performance as a learning experience, not a test. You’re gathering data about what works for your particular brain and body.
The unfamiliar becomes familiar. The unknown becomes known. And eventually, performing becomes something you actually look forward to instead of dreading.
More Ways to Calm Your Nerves
Stop Negative Thought Spirals
When negative thoughts show up, have a plan to redirect them. Write down common negative thoughts you have and create positive replacements. When the bad thought pops up, immediately replace it with your prepared positive version.
Positive thinking creates a cycle – it affects your future thoughts and actions in a good way!
Picture Yourself in the Venue
During your practice sessions, imagine you’re actually in the performance space. Visualize the room, the audience, everything. This might make you a bit activated during practice, which is perfect – you’re practicing managing that activation so that it doesn’t become total anxiety!
The more familiar the venue feels (even if it’s just in your imagination), the less scary the unknown will be.
Take Care of Your Body
I’m not a health coach, but I do know that it’s very important to stay healthy — especially on performance day. Don’t overdo caffeine and sugar on performance day. Both can amp up or squash your energy levels. Instead, focus on healthy habits: exercise regularly, eat well, and get good sleep leading up to your performance.
Surround Yourself With Support
Build a support system of people who’ll cheer you on even when a performance doesn’t go the way you hoped. Also, get comfortable with feedback. Learn to hear honest & constructive criticism and use it as fuel to keep improving instead of letting it crush you.
Keep Setting New Goals
Record every performance and, after each one, watch the video. Set new goals or focus areas that need improvement for the next one. You’ll keep getting better with each performance!
Get Comfortable With Being Uncomfortable
Here’s my best advice: perform as often as you possibly can. The more you perform, the more comfortable you’ll get with the whole process. Practice builds confidence, but performing is what really cements that confidence. Each time you perform, the scary unknown becomes familiar. The uncertainty turns into confidence. You’ll learn what strategies work for you and which ones don’t. Think of every performance as a learning experience, not a test. You’re gathering data about what works for your particular brain and body. The unfamiliar becomes familiar. The unknown becomes known. And eventually, performing becomes something you actually look forward to instead of dreading.
Your Challenge This Week
Pick one thing from this post and start doing it this week:
If you have a performance coming up: Start your pre-performance routine today. Practice it every single day, even if your performance is months away. Include warm-up, breathing work, mental reframing, and setting your intentions.
If you don’t have a performance scheduled: Start doing mock performances at home this week. Record yourself walking into your space and playing the first few notes of a piece. Do it 5 times/day this week and notice how it feels each time.
Remember: The goal isn’t to eliminate nervousness. The goal is to turn it into something positive that helps you perform beautifully, connect with your audience, and have fun!
Want Personal Help Conquering Performance Anxiety?
Look, reading about these strategies is great, but actually implementing them and troubleshooting what works for YOUR specific situation? That’s where having a coach makes all the difference.
Maybe you’re struggling with a specific aspect of performance anxiety that we didn’t cover here. Maybe you need someone to hold you accountable to actually practicing these techniques. Or maybe you just need personalized feedback on your performance preparation process.
That’s exactly what I help students with inside Spanish Guitar Mastery. We work on not just technique and musicality, but also the mental game – building confidence, developing pre-performance routines, and transforming anxiety into excitement.
If you’re serious about performing confidently (even if it’s just for fun) and want expert guidance tailored to your needs, click here to book a Free Consultation with me. We’ll talk about your specific performance challenges and I’ll show you exactly how we can work together to help you perform at your best.
Don’t let stage fright keep you from sharing your music with the world.
Happy practicing (and performing)! 🎸
— Diego Alonso
P.S. Remember: Your audience wants you to succeed. They’re on your side. So go out there and have fun! And share your love of music with them!
