Stage fright? Nerves? Are they getting in the way of your performance or completely putting it on halt? Are you forever kicking yourself or letting yourself down? Well here are a few tips that may make you feel more confident before you perform and aid your fear. How much you get over this fear really depends on the individual and the level of your fear, although it mainly depends on how much effort you put into ‘getting over it’. Some of the tips mentioned may appear ‘obvious’ for those with a little more experience, but – do we remind ourselves of them when we are about to perform and feeling the nerves?

Today Globe Music Gazette have a chat with Leeroy Woodjets, recent graduate of Blackpool and Fylde College who can tell us all about this!

Leeroy Woodjets Studied Musical Thearte and Digital Studies. This degree covers areas of live performance that use vocal and instrumental music in conjunction with theatrical performance as a principal part of their expressive language. Leeroy expressed his desire to bring Musical Thearte to his home town Gibraltar. He explains: “I would love to create shows, and touch upon culture as this is very important in a place like Gibraltar”.

We thought Leeroy would be the best person to turn to for a little advice on getting over stage fright, having studied the ins and outs of the stage life, and spending time on stage for himself. He reveals: “The last show I featured in, in Gibraltar was Les Miserables in concert back in 2012. I had the privilege to play the role of Marius. This was a big role, and it was nerve wracking, mainly because Les Miserables is so well known in the UK/USA and also in, Gibraltar”. He continues: “My last 2 shows in Blackpool were Urine town and Grease The Musical. Grease was particularity exciting as I had the chance to practice both singing, acting and dancing!”

Getting back to business, Leeroy offers his sound and professional advice. Here are 6 very simple steps to take before performing, that literally ANYONE can do.

#1 – Revise what you need to do.

• Revise what you need to do and know 100 percent what you need to do on stage, this will increase your confidence.

#2 – Distract yourself

• “I sometimes tend to just relax by myself in a quiet corner, read or even chat to the people around me”. This for sure helps take your mind off things!

#3 – Everyone is in the same boat (just enjoy it!)

• Remind yourself this: “Everyone is in the same boat. Enjoy it, embrace it. Whilst rehearsing for Grease, I learnt not to focus on the things that get into my head, the voices that tell you, you are not good enough, or can’t dance. It’s about enjoying something you love doing, if your nerves are making you suffer, you will stop enjoying it!”.

#4 – Vocal Warm Ups

• Nerves can indeed affect your voice, and the more relaxed you are, the better your voice and in general performance will flow. Here Leeroy tells us a little bit about vocal warm ups! “Before any show vocal warm ups are essential. Depending on the style you are going to sing, you need to set up certain warms ups. Traditional warm ups we tend to practice are lip trills, tongue trills and up and down the scales”. (to learn what this is, we would recommend you turn to YouTube) If your voice is warmed up enough, you will have the confidence to hit those higher notes that sometimes feel out of reach!

#5 – Substances you can use

• “If my voice feels a little tired, I would not over use my voice. Plenty of honey and lemon helps to soothe and relax the throat. Gargling salt water works wonders. Leeroy continues: “If you feel as if you’re coming down with a cold and your voice is affected as a result, steaming is a great remedy! I must stress to avoid doing this before a show, however, as this will relax the muscles in your throat a little more than what you would like, and you could potentially do more harm vocally”.

#6 – Avoid Cold Drinks & Smoking before you sing.

• “I personally also avoid cold drinks. Since I had my tonsils removed at the age of 6, I noticed cold drinks tend to numb my throat, and anything that numbs your throat can cause you to strain your voice more and cause further damage. I cannot even apply as much vocally after cold drinks, so I avoid it completely.
• Avoid smoking for obvious reasons!

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