People say i have a good voice, but I have stage fright. How can I overcome it?

Question:

People say i have a good voice, but I have stage fright. How can I overcome it?

I can also stand up in front of audiences and do a play or something, or act ridiculous. But I can't even sing in front of my Bio class. Why is this? I just want to be able to sing my favorite songs (Coldplay) and not be embarrassed. Or be able to maybe one day sing on stage. =]

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: The best way to get over a fear is to face it... in smaller, less threatening ways working up to the actual real deal.

I sing in front of people, speak, act, and dance but I was absolutely petrified of playing my flute in front of people. I realized that it was because with all the other things, I could "smooth over" a mistake, whereas with the flute I figured a bad note would be sooooo obvious (by the way, not so much it turns out.)

What I did, was arrange to play in front of an audience that wasn't judgmental and would appreciate what I did, even if it wasn't all that good. In my case, it was nursing home residents with Alzheimer's.

For you it might be family (grandparents are great at loving whatever you do) or, as suggested, some friends who know what's up.

I can tell you that I am occasionally a bit nervous playing the flute in front of an audience, but more often I'm not. I'm much more confident. I still play at the nursing home but now they have me play for a much larger group in a central location where staff often find excuses to come listen.