Solid piece on handling nerves prior to a performance (not just for music). Doesn't mention my own weird technique, which involves mentally picturing the most absurd and vivid worst case scenarios possible (spectators dying during a card trick, etc.). Imagining the worst that could happen makes the far more likely bad scenarios seem much more trivial.
Why practice doesn’t prepare musicians for performance
Violinist and educator Maggie Watson explores why performance feels so different from the practice room, revealing how perception, the nervous system and psychological skills shape what really happens under pressure - and how musicians can train for the stage as deliberately as they train their technique
thestrad.com