Validity and Efficiency of Breath Exercises to reduce stage fright at the music classroom

This paper reviews the most relevant literature in the field of stage fright associated with musical performance, both in adulthood as in childhood. It also presents the findings of studies that have analyzed this feature of personality at schools and highlights the reasons causing stage fright, such as: pressure in presence of parents and other students, perfectionism, and low resistance to stress. On the other hand, this paper relates the development of stage fright with the loss of self-esteem, which affects child's education at large. Potential therapies that could be implemented in the classroom are discussed in order to cope with this anxiety. Breath techniques are the most important strategies because of their efficiency and ease of application. Finally, a Decalogue is established as a guide for action to combat performance anxiety which generalist and music teachers could take into account ahead of a first play at schools.