How will the Stage and Audition Anxiety Course help you?

The Stage and Audition Anxiety course teaches performing musicians to eliminate excessive anxiety and achieve peak flow while performing.   

The Stage and Audition Anxiety course uses scientifically based instruction to reduce performance anxiety.  During this course you will be taught the science behind every technique that is offered.  

Learning the science behind these techniques is the key to you being able to apply the techniques as situations dictate throughout your lifetime.

To increase your chance of success, materials in the course are taught in a very specific order, with each lesson building on the last.  

Through video lectures, homework, and live coaching sessions, the instructors will coach you week by week.

The course is a journey in self-discovery and confidence building.

Watch Intro Video

Is it just me?

Stage and audition anxiety are more common than you may think. Watch this video to hear professional musicians discuss performance anxiety.

Dear Musician,

I know that you have driven yourself harder on your music than you ever believed possible. 

I know that you are passionate about creating music that brings to life the deep emotion within you.

I know that you endlessly drive for perfection when others tell you that perfection is impossible.   

I know that you are grateful for the successes you have had but are never happy with where you are.  You continually push the envelope on your technical skills, not to surpass others but to continue to surpass yourself.  

I know that you wonder if you can get past the heavy feeling of worry prior to performances and auditions that seems to permeate your mood and interactions with others.  

I know that you pore over self-help books and online videos looking for that magic solution, but nothing seems to lead to consistent change.  

I also know that you try to hide your anxiety because it seems that no one else experiences anything that bad…and you wonder when you will be found out.


IN SHORT, YOU DESIRE: 

To feel energized, focused and in control during auditions.

To be that musician that walks onto stage radiating confidence, exuding positive energy and achieving peak flow in your artistic performance.

To know that the music you produced in the privacy of the practice room will be realized in front of an audience.  

To intuitively know that you are capable and in control…and nothing will make you feel like an imposter again.

And most of all to experience the emotional freedom to develop your career to new heights.


THE PROBLEM IS…

Everyone has a different solution, but none of them seem to work.

Teachers just tell you to breathe and get over it.  

Others tell you that you will outgrow it.  

Some people even suggest that you should quit because great performers are naturally more confident.

Self-help books don’t get to the bottom of your specific situation.

Individual coaches in this field are rare and cost a lot of money; most of them expect you to travel to them for several days.

Therapy takes a long time AND most therapists don’t understand the unique circumstances of performers.

You don’t want to take medications and dampen your musical expression.  



Let’s set you up to succeed.  It is time to conquer stage and audition anxiety once and for all!


MOREOVER,

You don’t have to settle for…

  • Racing heart
  • Rapid breathing
  • Shaky hands
  • Knocking knees
  • Nausea
  • Fear of eating on the morning of performances
  • Inconsistent performances due to adrenaline
  • Fear that someone will notice and judge you
  • Loss of sleep the night before performances and
  • Feelings of exhaustion and remorse after auditions...day after day…and week after week…


This course will walk you through a specific process that will make this better.


Every instructor in this course has been in your shoes.

We have all experienced that rush of terror on stage or in an audition.

We won’t judge you for it. 

We understand that it can happen to anyone.

We are here to help you conquer the fear.

You will hear our stories as you work through the course materials.

You will learn from our mistakes in much less time that it took us to learn.


I have been in your shoes as a musician and I have walked through this process countless times as a psychologist with clients.  


I can tell you firsthand that things can change.


Sincerely,

Allison Hanauer, PhD
Clinical Psychologist and Violinist

"There was a time when I was totally paralyzed. It jumped all over me. I was dying."

John Cougar Mellencamp, Interview with Jane Pauley, 2017

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This course may be for you...

  • If you are an instrumental musician dedicated to mastering your instrument who just can’t seem to reach the same height of performance that you achieve in the practice room…

  • If you are a high school or college musician with limited audition and stage experience and you find yourself fearing all those unknown things that could go wrong…

  • If you are a performing musician that has had a “bad audition” or “bad night” that seems to have gotten stuck in your head and repeats over and over…

  • If you are a professional musician that has developed the habit of telling yourself before you go on stage that you are an imposter that will one day be found out…

  • If you a professional musician that has started to dread going on stage, experiencing shakes, nausea, cold sweats and other physical problems in anticipation of performance…

  • If you are struggling with episodes of “freezing” on stage and losing concentration or memory of music that you have played hundreds of times before…

  • If you are a wind or brass player and find that your tone is clear and resonant in practice but “cracks” on stage or in audition...

  • If you are sure that you could just have the performance of your life if only your knees and fingers would stop shaking.

Out of 2,212 members of the International Conference of Symphony and Opera Musicians from 48 Orchestras in the U.S., 24% of musicians said performance anxiety was a problem and 16% said it was a severe problem. Fishbein and Middlestadt (1988).

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What's covered...

In two short months in this course you will

  • Learn about the adrenaline response in the body, what triggers it, what maintains it and how to calm it to a functional level.

  • Learn to work with the neuroscience of the brain to calm the body.

  • Learn to recognize and manage your specific triggers to anxiety during performance.

  • Learn to identify and refute your self-sabotaging thoughts.

  • Develop tools to prepare the mind and body to reach peak flow during performance.

  • Develop scientifically based coping techniques you can do yourself such as progressive muscle relaxation, meditation and emotional freedom technique (EFT) tapping exercises.

  • Better understand the roles of nutrition, exercise and sleep in preventing excessive anxiety during performance.

  • Learn specific techniques taught by wind, brass, string and piano teachers to maintain fine muscle control in difficult performance situations.

  • Learn how to practice for peak performance.

  • Walk yourself through a hierarchy of situations using the new tools you have learned; the hierarchy is designed specifically to increase your confidence that excessive anxiety will NOT return in the future.

And last but not least...

  • Develop a support network of peers that are also mastering their stage anxiety and who can support you through your career.

Instructors

  • Allison Hanauer, PhD

    Clinical Psychologist, Lead Instructor

    Allison Hanauer, PhD

    Dr Allison Hanauer majored in Music and Psychology at Furman University before completing her doctorate in Clinical Psychology at Virginia Tech in 1999. As a young violinist, Allison studied at the Governor's School for the Arts and Sewanee International Music Festival and placed in All-East and All State competitions annually. Allison was concertmaster of the Chattanooga Youth Symphony and Concertmaster of the Furman University Symphony. Allison performed throughout the southeast United States for four years as a member of the endowed Hartness String Quartet. As a psychologist, Allison has specialized in a career treating anxiety. Allison served as an United States Air Force psychologist for seven years and was one of the first USAF females deployed on the ground in Baghdad for Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003. Allison worked as a civilian psychologist on an United States Navy base for an additional six years. Allison underwent extensive leadership training and served as consultant to many Department of Defense leaders. Allison later completed a M.S. in Management Administrative Sciences with a specialization in Organizational Behavior and Executive Coaching from UT Dallas. Allison is a curriculum consultant to the Memphis Symphony Orchestra "Leading From Every Chair" corporate leadership program. Allison remains passionate about classical music and has helped many adolescent and adult musicians cope with stage and audition anxiety in the past 20 years. In addition, Allison has taught at Virginia Tech, and is currently on the graduate school faculty for New York University.
  • Joseph Salvalaggio

    Principal Oboist, Memphis Symphony Orchestra

    Joseph Salvalaggio

    Joseph "Joey" Salvalaggio is the Principal Oboist with the Memphis Symphony and is the Oboe and Outreach Mentor for the Hot Springs Music Festival. Previously he has held positions with the Windsor and Thunder Bay Symphonies as well as the Britt Classical Festival and has appeared with the National Ballet of Canada, the Canadian Opera Company and the National Arts Center Orchestra. Joey has performed numerous recital broadcasts for CBC Radio and has appeared as soloist at the Conventions of the International Double Reed Society in Banff, Greensboro, Austin, and Muncie. His work with living composers has resulted in premieres of works by Lothar Klein and Beverly Lewis as well as concerti by Christos Hatzis, Erik Ross and Elizabeth Raum. As an educator, Joey has held faculty positions at the University of Windsor, the Interprovincial Music Camp, and the Sewanee Summer Music Festival. In 2013, Joey launched Babu Press, a design firm that builds educational concerts for young audiences with a strong focus on literacy. Joey's commitment to work with children and learning through the arts has resulted in commissions from the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, the National Endowment for the Arts Big Read Initiative with the Germantown Performing Arts Center, the Memphis Symphony, and the Florida Orchestra.
  • Jennifer Jackson

    Adjunct Instructor

    Jennifer Jackson

    Jennifer Jackson, a pianist and vocalist, completed her Bachelor's in Music and Master's Degree in Music History, Literature and Theory at Yale University. She experienced significant performance anxiety in her high school and college years and moved her focus from performance to teaching. She completed her Teaching Certificate at Rudolf Steiner College and went on to teach elementary aged students. In addition, she has worked as both theatre vocal director and a choir director. Jennifer completed a certification in hypnosis and completed her certification as an Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) Matrix Reimprinting Practitioner to be able to help others who suffer from anxiety, specifically related to performance, divorce pressures and secondary insomnia. As an accomplished musician and anxiety reduction practitioner, Jennifer brings insight and experience to the Stage and Audition Anxiety Course.

Bonus Material

Check out these bonus materials that come with the course!

  • Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) Anxiety Reduction Exercise

    An instructional video by Jennifer Jackson, Yale Alumnus, EFT Practitioner and pianist, will guide you through the use of EFT to reduce performance anxiety.

  • Progressive Muscle Relaxation (PMR) Exercise

    An instructional video by Dr Allison Hanauer, clinical psychologist and violinist, will guide you through 8 step PMR designed to increase awareness of muscle tension, reduce anxiety and facilitate a quick relaxation response.

  • Guided Meditation and Imagery Instructional Video

    Dr Hanauer will walk you through a meditation and visioning exercise designed to increase your confidence during performance.

Why choose an online Stage and Anxiety Course?

Is this really something that can be learned online?

In an international study of 1,639 musicians in 56 orchestras around the world, 70% of the musicians reported intense anxiety with performance impairment, with 16% experiencing impairment weekly (Steptoe, 2001).

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More Bonus Material!

You will also get these additional videos!

  • Yoga for Anxiety Reduction and Injury Prevention Video

    Nicolette Edwards, PTSquared Certified Yoga Instructor will guide you through gentle exercises to warm up and stretch muscles as well as develop centered focus. These exercises are designed to use just prior to practice to prevent injuries and enhance practice OR just prior to performance to warm up and create a mindset of calm focus.

  • Nutrition for Anxiety Reduction Video

    Our nutritional coach will guide you through optimal nutrition for focus and anxiety reduction. The video instruction covers nutritional strategies to use on a daily basis as well as specific foods to eat or avoid in the 24 hours prior to performance.

  • Improve Your Sleep Video

    Dr Hanauer will teach you how to achieve a shorter sleep onset and greater quality of sleep. Sleep architecture and sleep hygiene principles are reviewed in detail as they apply to anxiety reduction and focus.

The course begins in....

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FAQ

  • How long is the course?

    The course is 8 weeks long. Modules are released one week at a time.

  • If I am in school, can I receive course credit?

    That is entirely up to your educational institution. After completing the course, you will receive a certificate of completion. We are happy to provide a letter outlining the curriculum upon request.

  • Does this course contain psychotherapy of any kind?

    No. You will NOT receive any type of psychotherapy and you are NOT entering into a clinical relationship with any of the experts in this course. This course is educational and contains educational coaching. This is explained further in your course contract.

  • I am still in high school. May I enroll?

    Yes. If you are under 18 years of age, we request parental involvement. We also place you in a coaching call and online student group that is comprised of others who are under 18 years of age. We do not recommend the course to anyone under the age of 14 years old.

  • I am a professional musician. Will I be placed with young students?

    All musicians 18 years of age and older will be placed together. Minors will not engage in coaching calls or online support with those of majority age.

  • What forms of payment do you take?

    We take payment through credit card via merchant processing or Paypal transfer.

  • Are there any refunds?

    No. Once you purchase the course, the valuable materials are available to you. As this is "intellectual property," there is no way to return the property; therefore, there are no refunds.

  • How much time will I need to put into this course?

    This course is intensive. Homework varies by week, but includes quizzes to test knowledge, writing assigments to increase awareness and identify anxiety triggers, and behavioral assignments to implement new skills and overcome anxiety. There are also coaching calls that greatly facilitate learning of the material. Expect to spend at least four hours per week on the course materials.

  • How do I contact you with further questions?

    You may email the helpdesk at

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Additional Instructors

  • Karen London

    Director of Operations

    Karen London

    After graduating in 1995 from Virginia Tech with a Bachelor of Science in Family and Child Development, with a concentration in Early Childhood Education, Karen London taught First Grade for 3 years. After meeting her husband, a recent graduate of the USAF Academy, she became a devoted military spouse and stay at home mom to their 3 children for the next 18 years across 6 states. During “their” military career, Karen served as a Key Spouse and mentor to families during multiple deployments and volunteered her time in the Officer’s Spouses Club where she worked on fundraising committees to raise money for college scholarships and then had the pleasure of awarding them to deserving spouses and dependents. Beginning in 2011, Karen successfully started and ran her own merchandising business for 4 years. Since 2015 Karen has been working with Allison Hanauer as her Director of Operations.
  • Nicolette Edwards

    Yoga Instructor

    Nicolette Edwards

    Nicolette Edwards began her yoga journey in 2005, with a practice in traditional, Hatha-style yoga. Over the years, she has studied and been an avid practitioner of Vinyasa, Ashtanga, Yin, and Kundalini yoga, in addition to meditation, breath-work and mindfulness. Nicolette obtained her 200-Hour Yoga Teacher Certification through LifePower Yoga in 2017. It is her honor to instruct and share the transformative power of yoga, helping others realize their potential through breath and movement, mind and body.
  • Krista Robinson

    Fitness Instructor

    Krista Robinson

    Krista Robinson is a Physical Therapy Assistant, Certified Personal Trainer, and owner of PT Squared Fitness and Wellness in Collierville, Tennessee. Krista always knew she wanted to be a physical therapist and personal trainer, but a nearly fatal cheerleading fall emphasized her mission even more. She focuses on functional movement to aid in recovery and optimize performance and health. Her goal is to help people lose weight and get healthy even if they have pain, injuries, or surgeries.

Course Completion

  • All students who successfully complete the course will receive a frameworthy certificate of completion.

    We know this is not why you are taking the course, but we figure it's icing on the cake. You have earned it!

Course Price

The low price offered here includes all 8 weeks of instructional videos, printable workbook, feedback on homework, live group coaching and access to social media peer support. In addition, each course purchase donates $15 towards replenishment of much needed musical instruments at a local public school.