What do artists do before going on stage?

This piece is not an interview but a compilation. We at WyvOne did not speak with these artists; every name and quote below is taken from interviews and roundups previously published elsewhere. Sources are at the end of the piece.

Small habits

In Limelight magazine, Tim Munro compiled the pre-show habits of a number of classical musicians in 2016. The habits are usually small and personal. Adam Sliwinski of So Percussion says he joins the group's fist-bump chain before a concert. Flautist Lisa Wienhold calls her mother, who was her first music teacher. Flautist Jara Kern eats a banana, then sits in a dark room and calms herself by breathing. Violinist Erica Dicker says a swear word, borrowed from the routine of a famous soloist, out loud several times in the dressing room.

Some habits are tied to objects. Oboist Alexander Miller kisses his grandfather's cufflinks before going on stage. Clarinettist Gregory Oakes also wears his grandfather's cufflinks, to keep his connection with him. Oboist Shefali Pryor and bassoonist Brock Imison give their instruments' reeds a talking-to before a concert; according to the piece, Imison even threatens them with death. Violist Doyle Armbrust sometimes checks his trouser zip seven times before going on stage.

Not all of it is ceremonial. In the same piece, harpist Ellena Papas describes her preparation as tuning her harp before rehearsal, before the show and in between.

Some build a bond with someone off stage. In the Limelight piece, singer Benjamin Teague used to call his grandfather, a musician, before high-pressure performances; his grandfather is no longer alive. Composer Jennifer Higdon leaves the television on in her hotel room; according to the piece, this reminds her that life goes on. Orchestra librarians Carole Keller and Eliza Bangert do not step on the top step of the conductor's podium, because the podium belongs to the conductor. Some are amusing: tenor Kanen Breen does not go to the toilet before going on stage, while bassoonist Hugh Ponnuthurai says holding it in keeps his attention off the performance.

Breath, pouch, shoes

The Mediatheque section of the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg, in a piece by Laura Etspüler (last updated 12 May 2020), describes organist Iveta Apkalna's pre-show routine. For Apkalna the last step before a concert is taking a deep breath. She carries a small, dark red embroidered pouch holding three things given to her by people close to her; she has taken it to every concert for years and it makes her feel at home. She describes her most important ritual as putting on the matt gold organ shoes made for her by her shoemaker in Riga. The moment she puts them on means it is time to begin.

Pop is similar. In a Guardian Weekend feature dated 21 June 2014, as reported by Refinery29, Lorde, then 17, says she sleeps in the dressing room before a show under a blanket she takes everywhere. She eats blueberries or dried nori instead of dinner, because her stomach is upset a few hours before the show. Wearing her signature outfit makes her feel she can do anything; she also does plenty of stretching. (We could not access the original Guardian piece, so we are citing this information from Refinery29.)

How common is anxiety?

These rituals respond to something: stage fright, called music performance anxiety in scientific language, is described in research as a common condition. The review by Fernholz and colleagues, published in Psychological Medicine in 2019, examined 43 studies with professional musicians. In these studies the prevalence of performance anxiety ranges from 16.5 percent to 60 percent. Women were affected more often, and musicians over 45-50 reported less anxiety. Among treatments, cognitive behavioural therapy gave promising results; but the authors also note that the studies were methodologically weak.

There is a reason the figures span such a wide range. According to the review by Rebecca Herman and Terry Clark, published in Frontiers in Psychology in 2023, the rate varies from 24 percent to 96 percent across studies; the authors attribute this to inconsistent definitions, terms and measurement tools. The same authors suggest treating anxiety not as an illness but as a normal and adaptive response to the pressure of performing.

This compilation is not medical advice. We also did not come across any study showing that pre-show habits reduce anxiety; the names above only describe what they do.

Sources

• Limelight (Tim Munro): Very Superstitious: The quirks and foibles of the musical pros (9 September 2016)
• Elbphilharmonie Mediatheque (Laura Etspüler): Superstitious? (Iveta Apkalna) (last updated 12 May 2020)
• Refinery29 (Erin Donnelly): Lorde concert prep (reported from Guardian Weekend) (21 June 2014)
• Fernholz et al.: Performance anxiety in professional musicians, Psychological Medicine 49(14) (October 2019)
• Herman and Clark: It's not a virus! Reconceptualizing and de-pathologizing music performance anxiety, Frontiers in Psychology (10 November 2023)