Missouri Classical Music News and Notes : Missouri Music Teachers Association

A New York Times article reports that many orchestral musicians are turning to low doses of beta blockers to help calm nerves during performance:

However much [flutist Ruth Ann McClain] tried to relax before a concert, the nerves always stayed with her. But in 1995, her doctor provided a cure, a prescription medication called propranolol. "After the first time I tried it," she said, "I never looked back. It's fabulous to feel normal for a performance."

McClain, who was then teaching flute at Rhodes College in Memphis, started recommending beta-blocking drugs like propranolol to adult students afflicted with performance anxiety. And last year she lost her job for doing so.

Beta blockers are prescription drugs in the U.S. Most physicians believe that the use of low dose beta blockers is an appropriate treatment for stage fright and has no side effects.

However, some question the ethics and even the safety of using these drugs to assist performance:

One concern is that many musicians use beta-blockers without proper medical supervision. The 1987 survey of orchestra musicians revealed that 70 percent of musicians taking beta-blockers got them from friends, not physicians.

A committee of musicians created a FAQ dealing with this topic: Beta Blockers and Performance Anxiety in Musicians.

posted by Brent Hugh at 10/20/2004
permanent link to article: Many performing musicians use beta blockers to calm nerves

Missouri Classical Music News and Notes

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