As a guitar student, there will come a time when you need to perform in front of an audience. This could be at a school assembly, a class production, a concert, a recital, or even at home in front of parents, friends, relatives, or colleagues (if you are an adult), etc. In general, it shouldn’t matter whether the performance is formal or informal—the concert or performance should be approached in the same way. This is the moment when the piece is presented to listeners, regardless of who they are or how many people are in the audience.

Usually, people tend to feel more nervous, or let’s say more self-conscious, if the performance is formal compared to an informal setting (like at home or for just one friend).

Bringing a Piece to Life

Bringing a piece of music to life is a long process. It starts with choosing the piece, liking it, assessing your technical abilities, learning it (preferably by heart), refining it, and, of course, practicing it enough to feel confident.

This process also involves performing the piece. The more a piece is performed before an audience, the better it becomes. Even well-known professional musicians often have a set number of pieces (a repertoire) that they play for years and become exceptionally skilled at. They perform these pieces on concert tours and in other settings. For you, this means that it’s not necessary to play a new piece at each concert or performance.

Building Your Repertoire

Even if you are a beginner guitar player, it’s a good idea to start building your repertoire from the very beginning. For example, you can start with three pieces that are well-polished and that you know very well. It’s not important how difficult these pieces are—what matters is that you can perform them with confidence.

As time goes on and you learn new pieces, you can add them to your repertoire or replace older pieces with them. The number of pieces you can maintain in your repertoire depends on how much time you can invest in keeping it fresh. At the same time, you’ll need to allocate time to learn new techniques, which will allow you to gradually change the pieces as you progress.

Reducing Performance Anxiety

By working in this way, you will always be ready for a performance because you have a prepared repertoire. This approach will help reduce performance anxiety, as you’ll feel more confident knowing you have pieces that are ready to be performed.

Remember, building a repertoire and performing regularly is key to becoming a better musician and enjoying your journey as a guitar student.