• About
    • Contact
  • Shop
  • Disclosures
  • Therapy
  • Become an Affiliate
  • Nav Social Menu

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
About Social Anxiety

About Social Anxiety

Stop Worrying. Start Living.

  • Social Anxiety
  • Performance Anxiety
  • Social Skills
  • Self-Help
  • Recommendations

How to Karaoke When You Have Singing Anxiety

August 16, 2018 by Arlin Cuncic, M.A.

41 shares
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
*This post may contain affiliate links, which means I receive a commission if you choose to purchase through links I provide (at no extra cost to you). Please see my disclosure policy. If you need help finding a mental health professional, call 1-800-662-HELP (4357) or visit BetterHelp to chat with a licensed therapist for an affordable price.

Four Tips to Karaoke When You Have Singing Anxiety

Is singing anxiety a problem for you? Singing anxiety can be especially problematic if you’re called upon to sing unexpectedly. What’s one situation where this is bound to happen? When you’re out with friends and everyone decides to head to the Karaoke bar. You might even face a Karaoke machine at a home-based party.

I’ve done Karaoke only once. It was the summer of about 1987 and my friend and I were pre-teens on a summer vacation at a resort reminiscent of the set of Dirty Dancing. I don’t even remember the name of the song we sang in the final show—and I’m sure it wasn’t that memorable for the audience either!

Whether you want to become a Karaoke star or just want to try it once, it’s important to follow a few simple rules that will help you to perform a bit better (but not that well—it’s Karaoke, after all, remember) and manage your singing anxiety.

(*Note: We all know social anxiety can be hard to manage. This book on Amazon is the best I have found to deal directly with the problem. Listen for free with your 30-day trial of Audible.)

The most important point to remember is that nobody cares if you are a star. Most people aren’t, and the ones who are usually spend way too much time on the Karaoke circuit (and that’s not really your life goal, is it)?

Don’t Drink Too Much

Some people would rather leave the bar before the action starts than be part of it due to performance anxiety. To others, it’s the only reason why they’d ever set foot in a bar. A lot of people will only sing if they’re in a group setting, or if they’ve had a lot of alcohol and their inhibitions are totally thrown by the wayside. First of all, contrary to what a lot of people might feel, you’ll always sing much better when you haven’t had too much to drink.

Learn to Relax

This follows on the heels of not drinking too much. If you find yourself in a panic at the thought of singing in front of people, learning to generate a relaxation response in your body will be helpful.

You can do this by practicing a strategy known as progressive muscle relaxation. Do this at home on your own, and gradually you will be able to call your body into a relaxed state on cue.

Breathe the Right Way

When you get anxious, chances are you start to breathe shallowly from your chest instead of deeply from your abdomen. Alone with progressive muscle relaxation, learn how to do diaphragmatic breathing. Vocal training also often involves a breathing component, so practicing breathing will probably benefit your singing voice as well. Double whammy!

Choose the Right Song

Song choice is very important in having a successful karaoke performance. Make sure that you know the song inside and out! It’s many a singer who takes the stage, only to find out that the lyrics are impossible to remember.

If you find yourself in this predicament, just mumble your way through, and really blast that chorus! Similarly, even a little invitation to the crowd to sing along is a good way to mask not knowing a song. The person running karaoke might even help you along with the song if you ask. Chances are, no one will remember by the end of the night.

Try to Make it Fun

Finally, relax and try not to take it so seriously. Everyone there is waiting for their name to be called, and, therefore, probably isn’t paying attention to you anyway. Karaoke can be a good icebreaker, a fun night out with friends, and a unique way to express yourself. The most important thing though is to have fun. If you aren’t having fun while singing karaoke, you aren’t getting the most out of the experience.

Get Help for Anxiety

Singing anxiety extends beyond normal nerves about getting up in front of others. If you find yourself in a panic at the thought of doing Karaoke, it could be that you are living with a severe type of performance anxiety known as social anxiety disorder.

Fortunately, there are many effective treatments for this disorder including medication and cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT). If singing anxiety or performance anxiety extends beyond Karaoke to other aspects of your life, you may benefit from an assessment and plan for treatment, so be sure to visit your doctor or a mental health care professional.

Related Posts about Performance Anxiety

  • 8 Signs of Muscial Performance Anxiety
  • Using Flow State to Manage Performance Anxiety
  • 12 Helpful Public Speaking Books

WANT TO REMEMBER THIS? SAVE HOW TO KARAOKE WITH SINGING ANXIETY TO YOUR FAVORITE PINTEREST BOARD!

Restaurant scene with text overlay - How to Karaoke with Singing Anxiety

How to Karaoke When You Have Singing Anxiety



Here are some of my favorite social anxiety tools

Thanks for reading! I hope you found some helpful tips. Since this site is about social anxiety, I wanted to also share some tools I use that I hope you’ll find helpful. Some of these are affiliate links, so if you decide to try them, I’ll earn a commission. However, I only recommend things I have used myself and would recommend to a friend or family member.

How to Double Your Social Confidence in 5 Minutes"

Check out this free training offered by the experts at Social Self!

  • How to use "Conversational Threading" to avoid awkward silence
  • The proven way to get past boring small talk
  • Instantly beat self-consciousness with the "OFC-method"
  • Busting the myth that you have to get a "more interesting life" to be more interesting"

Start my free training


Online Therapy: For online therapy, I have personally used and like the service offered by Betterhelp. It's easy to get started from the comfort of your home. You'll even get a discount on your first month of therapy when you use my link.

Doctor Visits: For doctor visits, Web Doctors offers convenient online appointments.

Audible Subscription: I recommend a lot of self-help books on this site, but I actually prefer an audiobook subscription over print books! My favorite subscription service is Audible because it has all the best-sellers and they stay in your digital library forever (even if you end your subscription). You can sign up for a free trial and listen to your first two books for free.

Social Anxiety Masterclass: The Social Anxiety Masterclass is my signature course where I walk you through everything I know about how to manage social anxiety. If you're not ready to enroll in the course, be sure to subscribe to my email newsletter to hear about special deals!

Filed Under: Performance Anxiety Tagged With: afraid to karaoke, anxiety while singing, how to karaoke, performance anxiety, singing in public

Previous Post: « How to Overcome Stage Fright
Next Post: 10 Fascinating Celebrities with Social Anxiety »

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Hi there, my name is Arlin. I help you stop worrying what people think so you can live the life you want. You can learn more about me here.

Looking for Something?

Footer

Amazon Associates Disclosure

About Social Anxiety is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliate sites. Click here to read the full disclosure policy.

Browse by Category

Browse by Date

Join 250,000+ followers!

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

Copyright © 2023 · anchored theme by Restored 316

41 shares