How To Stop Overthinking While Singing (4 Proven Ways to Calm Performance Anxiety)

Calling all my perfectionist, overthinking, and detail-oriented singers!

We’ve all been there: you’re mid-performance, and your brain has a running commentary going. Judging, evaluating, questioning, shaming. “Oh no, I messed that up, shoot, here comes the high note.”

Most singers want their technique to be on autopilot and their artistry front-and-center when they perform. The goal is expressive storytelling, not broadcasting our internal worries to the audience via a furrowed brow or blank gaze.

“Stop overthinking while singing” might be good advice, but what does it mean in practical terms? How can we go from judgment and criticism mid-performance to presence and storytelling? Read on to find out exactly why singers overthink, how to stay present while calming performance anxiety, and how to build confident singing that you can trust!

Why Singers Overthink: Understanding Performance Anxiety

Singers care deeply about their craft and want to perform at their highest skill level. Unfortunately, when performance anxiety inevitably shows up, it can feel like the performance has been hijacked by a racing heart and a voice that can’t stop shaking.

Nerves are normal, but that doesn't mean they feel good!

Nerves are normal and happen to everyone, from amateurs to professionals. The goal isn’t to get rid of them (that’s impossible) but rather to understand our own personal symptoms of performance anxiety and then to find ways to work with the symptoms.

So what’s going on?

When we experience symptoms of performance anxiety–whether physiological (like shallow breathing) or cognitive (like spiraling thoughts)–our bodies are having a biological response to a threat.

In survival terms, this is awesome!

Here’s the catch: our bodies can’t distinguish between real or perceived threats. (A real threat is a lion chasing you, whereas a perceived threat is standing up to sing in front of an audience.) Our nervous systems respond the same way to both. So even if you know there’s nothing dangerous about singing for an audience, your body does not.

Again, this biological response was necessary for survival back in the days of hunter-gatherers. In our modern-day lives, it isn’t quite as useful.

As if that weren’t enough, humans are also wired with a negativity bias–that is, a tendency to remember more clearly and more viscerally a negative outcome. Evolutionarily speaking, this negativity bias was critical for survival. When our cave-person neighbor ate poisonous mushrooms and died, we remembered–vividly–to not eat those same mushrooms.

The negativity bias is why it’s so much easier to remember disastrous performances, embarrassing moments, and cutting comments than it is to remember all the many times we’ve been successful.

It's not all in your head: it really is easier to remember bad stuff more clearly than good. Thank you, Negativity Bias

Overthinking is a cognitive symptom of performance anxiety, rearing its ugly head in times of heightened stress (real or perceived). In survival terms, overthinking keeps us scanning for danger and preparing for any possible negative outcome–literally keeping us alive and protecting us from the most deep-seated human fear: rejection.

Overthinking while singing usually involves our Inner Critic stepping into the spotlight. And when our Inner Critic starts running the show, we’re no longer present in the moment of creating sound anymore. We’re stuck in either the past or the future. 

It’s not possible to be the performer and our own audience member at the same time!

Luckily, we can gently and firmly repattern our thoughts and behaviors to serve us more effectively for the task of vocal performance–keeping us mentally present while singing live and signaling safety to our bodies without overthinking.

How to Stay Present While Singing Live Without Overthinking

We’ll define being “stuck in your head” while performing as a state of mental chatter or commentary while you’re simultaneously trying to do the task or execute the skill. Thanks to evolution and ingrained survival responses, it’s all-too-easy to get trapped in a loop of overthinking and stress.

Luckily, there are many strategies you can adopt before and during a performance to quiet this unhelpful analysis and to calm performance anxiety. Here are my 4 favorites:

1. Find an external focus

When we’re caught up in our mental commentary, we are not “in the body”–and singing is a decidedly body-based endeavor! Finding an external focus shifts us into the physical act of singing.

Your external focus might include: awareness of your specific gestures, movements, or body language; various bodily sensations that are useful to your singing; observation of colors and shapes in the room; or specific visual focal points in the environment.

Using specific gestures is one strategy to help us get out of our heads and into our bodies during live performance.

Incorporate these into your practice routine leading up to the performance, so your mind and body recognize them as familiar touchpoints when the nerves inevitably hit.

You can find additional strategies for getting out of your head and into your body in this short video by Jenevora Williams.

2. Give your mind something more helpful to do

Our minds are going to do something when we perform, and when left to their own devices, they’ll subconsciously scan for danger–defaulting towards judgment and criticism in an effort to keep us safe. 

Instead, intentionally give your mind something else to do that will set you up for success and allow your body to coordinate in the ways you’ve practiced. Let the storytelling come front and center to your singing. Sink into the subtext of your song. Before your performance, set an intention, practicing loving-kindness phrases or mantras, or establish simple cue words to help you rest your attention where you want it to be. 

3. Begin Again

“Begin again” is a phrase often used in meditation practice, and it’s a highly useful strategy for singing performance, as well. If you notice that your mind has wandered into the Land of Critique, notice it without judgment. By noticing the fact that your mind has wandered, you are now present in the moment. Return to your original external focus or mantra–in other words, begin again. Every moment offers us a new opportunity to be present.

The skill (and the expectation) is NOT to maintain focus 100% of the time. The skill is in returning, again and again, to the present moment. With time and practice, you’ll notice that you’re able to return to the present moment much more quickly and deftly than you once were.

4. Set a specific time to objectively evaluate your performance

It is both useful and necessary to be able to objectively evaluate how successful you were in a performance, as this is going to lay the foundation for targeted skill acquisition. Rather than leaving it open-ended (and likely defaulting to criticism mode), set a specific time after the performance to evaluate how it went. I recommend waiting at least 24 hours.

Here are some helpful reflection questions to get you started*:

• How much of the performance went according to my plan? (apply percentages or scale it 1-10)

• How successful was I, and how did I know when I was successful?

• What do I want more of? Where in my singing/songs is it already happening, and where do I want it to happen more? How will I know when I’m successful?

• What do I wish I had more security or choice around?

*These questions come from the fantastic Dr. Shannon Coates

Jenevora Williams has a wonderful 4-minute video unpacking “analysis paralysis” in singers. Enjoy her invitation to trust your voice and your body with the process of singing!

Building Singing Confidence and Trust In Your Voice on Stage

Overthinking while singing is often a sign that the performer cares deeply about what they’re doing. 

If you’re an overthinker, what if, instead of expecting yourself to “snap out of it,” you took all the desire and earnestness behind the overthinking and redirected it towards a more helpful set-up for success? How might you shift from your brain and into your body?

We all possess the ability to re-pattern our thoughts from self-doubt to self-trust.

Our singing success is never marked by how harshly we treat ourselves. We all possess the ability to re-pattern our thoughts and behaviors so that we can show up to situations (not only singing performance) with confidence and alignment. Intentional practice, both in and out of performance spaces, is key.

This is hard to do alone. (Ask me how I know!) All of us need a team to support the vocal, mental, physical, and emotional work that goes into delivering expressive, connective performances. 

If you’re ready to work with a vocal coach who prioritizes sustainability, artistry, and humanity while you step into your most confident singer-self, email susan@susandaviesvoice.com. Summer lesson registration opens in June, and our 4- and 6-lesson packages are a great way to begin your journey! Learn more at https://www.susandaviesvoice.com/online-voice-lessons 

Step into your most confident singer-self at SDVS with training that prioritizes sustainability, artistry, and humanity.