Stop Playing Scared: The 90m Performance anxiety reset
Stop Playing Scared is a monthly 90-minute live workshop to unstick the fear that hijacks your playing. Each month you will learn a simple, but powerful, protocol you can use to feel calm and confident for every performance.
Saturday Feb 14th, 2026 12-1:30PM
Early bird price: $47 (until Monday 2/9/26 at noon)
Regular price: $57
"what if I mess up?"
Your hands shake. Your chest tightens. Your mind goes blank. You’ve practiced for hours, you know every note—but the moment you step on stage, something hijacks your body.
You don’t enjoy performing anymore. It feels like survival, not expression. And underneath it all is a terrifying belief: “If I mess this up, I’m not good enough. My worth as a musician is on the line.”
Here’s the real problem: You’ve been taught that your value as a person is tied to what happens on stage. One wrong note doesn’t just mean you made a mistake—it means you are the mistake. This belief gets stuck in your body and subconscious, which is why beta blockers and breathing exercises only mask the symptoms without lasting relief.
But here’s the truth: Music is supposed to be freeing, joyful, and connecting—not a constant test of your worthiness.
The Root Cause Solution
Performance anxiety isn’t about lack of preparation. It’s about old stories and emotions trapped in your body—beliefs about perfectionism, judgment, and self-worth that were formed years ago and now run on autopilot.
This workshop addresses the root cause: We work with the nervous system, the subconscious beliefs, and the body-level patterns that create the freeze response. Not just the symptoms—the source.
Each month features a different practice to help you release what’s stuck and reconnect with the freedom that brought you to music in the first place.
Who This Is For
This workshop is for musicians who:
– Know their music inside out but freeze when it counts
– Have tried beta blockers, breathing exercises, or “just pushing through” with limited lasting result
– Feel like one mistake will prove they’re not good enough
– Are tired of white-knuckling their way through performances
– Want to actually enjoy playing for people again
From One Musician to Another
I’m Joseph Arnold—professional violinist, certified Alexander Technique teacher, and award-winning author of Soulforce.
I used to have crippling stage fright. I tried everything: visualization, therapy, breathing techniques, and just pushing through. What finally worked wasn’t learning to “manage” the anxiety—it was learning to release the deeper beliefs that created it.
I know what it’s like to feel like your entire worth is being judged every time you play. And I know what it takes to break free from that trap.
You’re not broken. You’ve just been carrying beliefs that were never yours to begin with.
Joseph provides a welcome and much needed service, working with musicians’ deepest, sometimes chronic performance anxiety challenges from which traditional music teachers often shy away. He targets the psychological roots of discomfort in an individual and gently work to restore the balance and ease of mind which truly are required for connected and meaningful performance. Joseph is extremely intuitive and generous, with a wide range of techniques to help musicians quickly regain mental and physical freedom—a more authentic form of mastery.
— Alyson C, Violist & Composer
register for stop playing scared
Saturday Feb 14th, 2026 12-1:30PM
Early bird price: $47 (until 2/10/26)
Regular price: $57
Each month features a different mind/body practice. Join once or come every month—whatever serves your journey.
The Stakes
Without a new approach: The cycle continues. Every performance reinforces the fear. You start avoiding opportunities—turning down gigs, skipping auditions, only playing when no one’s watching. The joy that brought you to music fades. You tell yourself “maybe I’m just not cut out for this” and quietly lower your expectations.
With this work: Imagine stepping on stage and feeling your body settle instead of brace. The racing heart becomes excitement, not terror. You make a mistake and keep playing—because one wrong note doesn’t define you. Performance becomes expression again, not survival. You start saying yes to opportunities you would have avoided.
And maybe the best part: you feel at home in your body again—free to play like yourself.
As I’m sure many musicians can relate, performance can bring a lot of stress and anxiety to the body, and I hardly realized how much until I deepened my attention with Joseph’s guidance and lessons. Studying with Joseph brought me a deeper awareness of just how much anxiety shows up in my body as I perform. Using the tools offered I am able to notice and approach performance with less anxiety and more ease. Even simply knowing that there is a way to perform with more ease and flow brings me closer to a more free and engaged relationship with music.
— Timothy B., Guitarist and Music Therapist
Ready to Stop Playing Scared?
Join the Stop Playing Scared workshop Saturday 2/14/24!
Ready to GO Deeper?
Perform Without Pain is a weekly online group program for musicians who are tired of tension & pain taking over. Learn to try easy instead of trying hard – and feel the difference in week one.
Free your mind. Relax your body. Play with soul.
