As a singer, performing is an important part of your life. It not only helps you develop but also gives you the opportunity to perform for others and use your talent. However, this can cause high levels of stress, anxiety and requires a really good sense of self-esteem. In fact, the thought of performing in front of any number of people can cause increased heart rate, shortness of breath and other symptoms which are known as stage fright. Stage fright is a result of your natural fight or flight response which is triggered when you fear that you are about to be attacked - it's our body's way to keep us safe!

Performing as a singer can cause high levels of stress, anxiety and requires a really good sense of self-esteem.

Being a singer is not always easy. The pressure to perform, the stress of being on stage and the lack of confidence in your abilities can all take their toll on you.

Being able to perform as a singer requires high levels of self-esteem and a great deal of confidence in yourself and your ability to sing. If you have trouble performing or getting up on stage it is often because there is something holding you back from doing so which means that you need to work through some issues before they stop you from performing altogether. You could be helped with hypnosis sessions with an experienced hypnotherapist, who is also a singer who can help get rid of these issues as well as give you hypnotic exercises which may help you to sing better than ever before!

The thought of performing in front of any number of people can cause increased heart rate, shortness of breath and other symptoms which are known as stage fright.

Stage fright can be defined as the fear of performing in front of others.

Stage fright is a common condition that affects many singers at some point in their lives, whether they are professional or recreational singers who have to perform in front of an audience for some reason.

It has been suggested that stage fright is rooted in our evolutionary history as hunters and gatherers. In those days, being able to hunt was critical for survival; if you failed your tribe would starve and die out. If you performed badly on a hunt then it meant that your family would go hungry too!

Performance anxiety or "stage fright" can be crippling and paralysing for performers.

You may be surprised to learn that there are people out there who have never experienced stage fright. These people are few and far between, but they exist. For the rest of us, however, performance anxiety (or "stage fright") can be crippling and paralysing for performers. It's not uncommon for singers to avoid performing altogether because of anxiety issues associated with performing in front of others.

The key to conquering performance anxiety lies in the mind and body connection.

Hypnosis can help you to reprogram your mind so that when you start to feel nervous while singing, your mind will automatically trigger positive feelings instead. You'll find yourself feeling calm and confident on stage, even if this isn't how you felt before the show!

Hypnotherapy encourages musicians to break old habits that may have developed over years and replace them with new ways of thinking and feeling. It has a clear evidence base of success when working with performance anxiety - which is one of the pillars of my work Hypnotherapy For Performance

It's important to note however, that hypnotherapy is not an alternative to learning how to sing well; nor does it fix technical problems. 

My Program was devised to help singers explore all the areas of performance that can be enhanced with hypnotherapy. I am a clinical hypnotherapist with over 30 years experience in the music industry as an opera and oratorio singer, voice teacher and choral conductor. I know first hand how debilitating performance anxiety, imposter syndrome and dealing with unwanted criticism can be and I love helping singers learn these tools, practise and use them in performance and see them blossom!! Here's some more about how I help singers.

We explore performance anxiety and we use hypnosis to learn how to bypass the stress and anxiety which can be caused by the onset of performance. We also look at dealing with criticism and there is a great hypnosis tool which helps singers to arm themselves with the emotional resources they need to thrive in performance.

Then we explore imposter syndrome, dealing with negative self-talk, creating a forcefield for protection and looks at self-belief, self-esteem and of course self -confidence and assertiveness.

This is for those who want to improve their confidence, self-esteem and assertiveness when performing. We explore imposter syndrome, dealing with negative self-talk, creating a forcefield for protection and look at self-belief, self-esteem and of course self -confidence and assertiveness.

It will give you the tools needed in order to take your performance skills up another level!

Every performer is different and we can do a deep dive into the mind to explore how to be our ideal performer. This is a really fun and creative part of our work where we discover the absolute uniqueness of every singer and work in hypnosis to discover our potential. I also include a session on self-hypnosis for audition and performance preparation and, if needed, a session on erasing traumatic performance memories.

This section also includes a session on self-hypnosis for audition and performance preparation, as well as, if needed, a session on erasing traumatic performance memories.

For example:

 You may want to discover your unique niche performance. You’ll learn how to use hypnosis to create that niche in your mind and life so that it becomes real. This is an incredibly fun part of our work together because we really get into exploring what makes each performer unique, from their physical attributes to their personality traits and everything else about them!

Then  finally we look at the performer as a whole, in their lives are there any other issues we can help with. Hypnotherapy is known to be hugely successful in helping sleep issues, pain issues and giving body confidence.

Singers are all different and need different solutions and so in one to one sessions the first session is creating and devising the individual plan as well as tackling what comes first for the singer - it is not necessarily a linear path!!

The sessions are 60 mins long and can be done online or in person and you receive a bespoke audio of the hypnosis session for each session, as well as detailed PDFs and of course the bespoke plan and other exercises and tasks.

 So if you're looking for a way to transform your performance and conquer your fears, then hypnotherapy is definitely worth trying. In a very short time you could be the performer you've always dreamed of being!

 

 

 

Julie Bale is a Clinical Hypnotherapist Dip.Hyp | HPD | MNCH (Reg.) | MUKHC who has worked in the music industry for over 30 years as a singer, voice teacher and choral conductor. She works with singers and conductors helping them to lead better and more comfortable lives with hypnotherapy. For more information on working one to one with Julie book a free 30 minute call to discuss how hypnotherapy can help you. In January 2023 Julie will be beginning an exciting new online group course for a very small group of singers to take a deep dive into performance anxieties, imposter syndrome and learn and discover how to make every performance powerful and free.