What is a string player’s deepest, murkiest fear? Many would answer, “Bow shakes”. These seem painfully obvious to the performer. That they are less so to much of the audience is small comfort to musicians.

Most performers agree that the more we try to control shaking, the worse it gets. The expectation of shaky fingers or voice usually precipitates their reality. A quick fix is drugs like beta-blockers, administered under medical supervision, but their side effects often negate their usefulness.

Beta-blockers are drugs that may be prescribed by a doctor or psychiatrist to block the adrenalin reaction and anxiety symptoms. They slow the heart rate, reduce sweating and tremors, alleviate a dry mouth or the jitters that is, they do not stop nerves, but they lessen their symptoms.

Beta-blockers are not addictive, although their use may become a habit if the sufferer comes to rely on them. They should only be taken on medical advice, adhering to the exact prescription as, if abused, they can be dangerous for people prone to diabetes, certain heart conditions, bronchitis, depression, hay fever and asthma.

There is some indication that they may trigger asthma. Some have noted side effects, including: dizziness, light-headedness, nightmares, hallucinations, lethargy, insomnia, visual disturbances, diarrhoea, drowsiness, loss of appetite, cold hands and feet, and loss of hair.

Try out their suitability well before a performance. It would be shattering to discover a previously unsuspected cardiac or asthma condition while onstage.

Pianist Carson Dron’s experience with beta-blockers backs this advice:

I had a terrible problem with the shakes while at university, so a doctor recommended that I try beta-blockers. They did stop the shaking and gave me confidence to face performance again. They took me over my barrier and, after three or four months, I thought, ‘I don’t need to worry about my nerves – I don’t need the beta blockers any more.’ So I stopped taking them.

But I do know a lot of performers who rely on them and I would advise people to be very careful. I did find it more unpleasant playing when taking beta-blockers, as they made me feel cold, detached from the audience. My mind wandered and I had concentration lapses. But, yes, it was a positive experience in that I overcame my fear of shaking.

Violist and composer Brett Dean says:

I hear of students who take beta-blockers before relatively minor stresses such as a music lesson. Our society tends to offer a pill for every problem. Thus, they tell the problem to be quiet rather than find a solution.

At one stage, I let the nerves grow too much, but what I learned will stand me in good stead. Now, I might still shake, but that doesn’t matter. If I stop being nervous before a performance, then it is time to stop playing.

Swedish flautist Jan Westerlund makes a valid point:

When I used beta-blockers, I played quite well technically, but my feelings were lost. Why should we play music without feelings?

Violinist/conductor Antoni Bonetti says:

At one stage I tried beta-blockers. Physically, they improved my muscular control of the violin bow, though I also experienced cold sweats. I didn’t feel particularly confident as my anxious thoughts were still with me. Eventually, I realised that on some of these occasions I had flu symptoms, which weakened my strength of mind. This caused me to dwell on negative past concert issues. The sickness exacerbated insecurities. I found that by maintaining good health, I was able to deal with the issues without the use of beta-blockers.

So, let’s look for some positive, natural ways to combat the shakes. A paradoxical approach often works here. Rather than fight against shaking, allow yourself to do so. Give yourself permission to shake. Even, play with reverse psychology: try to increase the shaking by thinking: “So, you want to shake, fingers. Well, go on – shake! Lets get it over with.’”

Singer, Rhonda Bruce, utilized this approach:

At my first appearance at Covent Garden I was so nervous that my knees were literally shaking. I conquered my fear by telling my knees: “You go right ahead and shake all you like – you can’t stop me knowing I can sing.” And in fact as soon as I started to sing, I was fine.

Jittery fingers may be a product of tense muscles or of too much energy as a result of the adrenalin rush. Before going on-stage, vigorously shake your fingers and jump or run on the spot to ease wobbly legs. Rub your hands together briskly. Similarly, squeeze your fingers into a tight fist then release.

Another solution is to direct your thoughts onto another aspect of your performance. Our minds just cannot think of two things at once. We can deliberately choose to focus on our strengths instead of our weaknesses. Conversely, some performers consciously make their hands tremble, their knees shake or their palms sweat as a way of trying to produce the symptom rather than conceal it.

Another tactic is to focus your attention elsewhere, away from the shaky fingers or arm. A student at an American summer music program, John Allegar, a talented organist and clarinetist, proved this. In our coaching session he admitted to suffering every symptom possible when performing. Soon after his session, he performed creditably. I congratulated him on his poise and calm; if he experienced any jitters they certainly were not obvious to the audience. “Oh,” he said, “I did have shaky hands in the beginning, then I remembered what you said and focused on my toes. But then they started to shake a little. So I brought my attention back onto my hands, and by then the piece was over.”

If your bow arm shakes, it may help to draw the bow faster. Bow shakes usually occur on the downward stroke rather than the upward, where the sense of lifting is an active thrust rather than falling momentum. With the upward swing, one uses the third finger to push into the eye of the bow. If the same feeling can be captured on the down-bow, it can alleviate the shakiness.

Apply more weight into the string with a relaxed arm. German violist Ulrike Reutlinger advises: “I find it helps to begin a solo recital with a piece which opens with a strong forte movement. As the right hand must execute heavy actions, this overrides any quivering or shaking.”

My husband Antoni says: “It helps to raise the right elbow more and try to apply weight on the bow using the right hand ring finger. Rather than projecting the sound down into the instrument, think of lifting it out of the instrument with the bow. This principle is similar with both violins and celli.”

The eminent violin pedagogue Carl Flesch advises to press down the stick with an increased outward turning of the lower arm in the elbow-joint, “whereby the sources of strength are transferred from hand and fingers to the upper and lower arm. Though usually rejected as a waste of strength, many violinists prevent trembling of the hand by means of a wave-like vertical or horizontal movement of the arm.”

^{Yehudi Menuhin summed up the problems:}

A major fault in young violinists is the conviction that they and their violins must be riveted together. Their left hands, firmly grasping the instrument, cannot move to play it. Their stiff necks and rigid heads, braced arms and shoulders are so many fences between them and freedom. I have sympathy for them because I remember what it was like. My own mistake as a beginner was to tuck away the fourth finger of my left hand, like a guest not wanted at this particular party. To release young muscles from bondage, it is my practice whenever I go to the school (the Yehudi Menuhin School) to invent a thousand curious exercises. I make a child roll the neck of a violin between thumb and fingers to loosen that desperate clutch.

Cellist Gary Williams found relief for a shaky bow arm within a few months. A hypnotist helped him stabilise his arm through learning autosuggestion and breathing exercises.

And don’t forget that wonderful cure for all forms of nerves; BREATHE!

© Ruth Bonetti

^{(Adapted from Confident Music Performance, © 2003 and 2007, Words and Music, available at http://www.ruthbonetti.com)}

About the Author

Ruth Bonetti’s recent books Confident Music Performance; Fix the fear of facing an audience and Practice is a Dirty Word; How to clean up your act (Words and Music) are available on-line at http://www.RuthBonetti.com and in leading music stores. She is author of the method Enjoy Playing the Clarinet (Oxford University Press) and was Editorial Consultant for the Australian Music Examinations Board Clarinet Grade Books published by Allans Publishing.

Ruth is in demand as a seminar and keynote presenter, helping musicians and speakers to prepare for confident performances and to present to their best ability. Her musical and speaking career has taken her around Europe, Australia and the USA, where her seminars were repeated by popular demand and she was invited to return next year.

Ruth writes a complimentary fortnightly E-Zine for teachers: Music Educators’ Energiser and the weekly (nominal charge) MusoMotivator. Those interested can sign up at http://www.RuthBonetti.com or by emailing ruth@ruthbonetti.com

Ruth Bonetti PO Box 422 The Gap Queensland 4061 Australia