Do you have an audition coming up?

How are you feeling as you get close to the date? Is there any anxiety, fear or doubt starting to mount up?

OK, let’s face it, one of the NASTIEST things about this profession is having to take auditions!

Even if you’re generally a relaxed, calm, confident performer without a sign of nerves, chances are, when it comes to auditions you get triggered in ALL kinds of ways.

Because an audition is, of course, an opportunity.

To show what you can do, and a chance to gain your own position… and the stability, recognition and status that it will bring.

But it’s also really scary and stressful.

There’s so much riding on this, and it requires a huge investment of time, money and effort… not to mention keeping your confidence high and your mind on the job!

And for performers it is such an un-natural situation.

Instead of using our skills to connect and engage with an audience, people who are (usually) there to be entertained and/or inspired and moved, we are there to prove ourselves – prove that we have the skills, the talent, that we’ve done the work, that we are good enough.

Add to that the fact that in an audition we have to jump from one style and genre to another, from one technical challenge to the next… all under pressure, all knowing that we are being judged and compared, feeling we are required to be perfect.

Eek, no wonder it’s hard to stay calm, let alone connect with the music.

And we get little or no help when it comes to dealing with the fear and anxiety which auditions produce.

So we make all kinds of mistakes when it comes to audition fears.

Teachers tell us that nerves are necessary - if you're not nervous you don't care enough.
So we walk out there, shaking and fearful, because of course we care. Or vaguely guilty if we manage to feel good about ourselves.

Our colleagues tell us to take beta-blockers.
But they leave us to decide the dosage and deal with the side effects - have you ever realized you overdid them and you're about ready to collapse in a heap?

The world tells us to ignore the physical symptoms. Just breathe, calm down, stay still.
And we discover that if anything we're feeling worse, not better.

Our loved ones tell us we don't have to put ourselves through this horror; just look for a proper job and have this as a wonderful hobby.
But this is what we live to do, and quitting is not an option.

We tell ourselves to focus, concentrate, quit thinking all those destructive thoughts... just, stop it!
So not only do we have the fear to deal with, we also add on the shame of not being able to control ourselves.

And we are left feeling misunderstood, sad and resentful.

What you're really looking for is something to bring down the fear and give you the competitive edge.

Something that's already helping many high-performance sports-people, actors, even CEOs. Anyone who needs to perform at their peak even under stress.

This is where EFT Tapping is at its most powerful. It takes an opposite approach to the ones we've been shown before.

First it invites you to really acknowledge all the fears and doubts, and feel into, and even temporarily allow, the physical symptoms…

Secondly, by doing all of this, speaking your thoughts and feelings out loud, you're tapping round acupressure points. This send a signal to your mind-body-nervous system to calm down and re-center.

So let's give it a try right now!

There are LOTS of things we could focus on to do with Auditions – believe you me, I’ve tapped on countless aspects as I personally faced auditions.

And I've also worked with lots of other musicians to help them to bring down the fear and dread, and heal past memories of disastrous events, or mean, damaging things that were said or implied.

But in the short demo below we’ll focus on what is perhaps the most obvious fear as we face an audition:

The fear of failing and not doing your best.

Here are some of the things we’ll be using in this tapping round – see which ones resonate with you.

And don’t worry if it’s not all your stuff, you won’t take on anything which is not yours and your brain will do a great job of adapting to make it all about you!

Do any of these sound familiar?

Physical symptoms – nervousness, jitters, ball or knot of fear in your stomach or throat, shaky hands or legs, tension, stiff fingers, shallow breathing, feeling of disconnect or brain fog.

Negative thoughts – They’re judging me, I still have technical difficulties, I’m going to mess up, other people sound so good, I don’t deserve this position, this is so hard, why does it have to be this way?

Emotions – anxiety, fear, doubt, dread, sadness, resentment, despair.

I know, I know, EFT Tapping might look kind of strange at first - but hang in with me and give it a try in the privacy of your own practice room!

You've got nothing to lose, and potentially everything (including that coveted position) to gain!

So tap along with me – don’t forget to rate your feelings on a scale of 1 to 10 before and after to see how things shift.