do you ever suffer from nerves / stage fright before /during a show .......

Keira-WitherKay · 2011-03-18T10:01:57+00:00

hi ya all, as i'm sure you know i'm the resident solo jazz guitarist at the Palace hotel at suncity's lost city ........and i performed last night at dinne...

do you ever suffer from nerves / stage fright before /during a show .......

Tonedef

X-rated Bob wrote:
singemonkey wrote: I'm not scared of public speaking, because motor-control isn't a factor.

I just read the latest Malcolm Gladwell and could really relate to his description of the difference between panicking and choking.
You needed to buy a book?!?!?!?!?! just watch SA in the World Cup. Duh!

The answer, of course, is pickled asparagus. It is especially rich in polyoxymetabolites that boost the gamma-6 receptors in the prefrontal retropineal area. Be sure to make sure that it's picked with FRENCH vinegar. The Italian stuff is not as potent because of the high dolomite concentrations in the soil there.

Do you have to eat it anti-clockwise as well?

Bob-Dubery

Tonedef wrote:
X-rated Bob wrote: The answer, of course, is pickled asparagus. It is especially rich in polyoxymetabolites that boost the gamma-6 receptors in the prefrontal retropineal area. Be sure to make sure that it's picked with FRENCH vinegar. The Italian stuff is not as potent because of the high dolomite concentrations in the soil there.
Do you have to eat it anti-clockwise as well?

No. And in case you were wondering, the old wive's tale about how you should be facing north when you eat it really is an old wive's tale.

costafonix

Well done Keira, that says a lot about your professionalism and confidence.
For me, I'm nervous for the first 2 or 3 songs, then the rest of the evening is fine, so we generally choose the easiest songs to start with (that way we can also ensure our balance/mix etc. is as we like it) and leave heaver stuff for much later in the gig.

JoeyBones

I just take my glasses of so the crowd looks a little blurry and I'm fine. A bit of a bummer when I need to read the sheet music in front of me ... :-[

Fingerpicker

Nice one Keira! The regular performing night after night must also be doing wonders for your playing. Almost a continual practice session. (Not that you needed it!)

MIKA-the-better-one

I must say I dont get nervous, although maybe my shows are not big enough, but even then...
If you know what you are doing, and you dont care about the crowd and you are yourself there is not much to go wrong...

I cant stand it when guys try and embrace the crowd with there mindless rambling, trying to create a mood, they are failing to create via music

Keira-WitherKay

Fingerpicker wrote: Nice one Keira! The regular performing night after night must also be doing wonders for your playing. Almost a continual practice session. (Not that you needed it!)

oh you dead right fingerpicker .the constant gigs , i'm doing an unbelievable average of 100 hrs of gigtime a month at the hotel thats about 40 gigs that are either 2 or 3 sets each , often two a day ....... so yes the "game time" is doing wonders to my playing ,

and yes we ALL need to practise all the time, as you know fingerpicker i'm in a style of solo multipart playing that is quite unique in some ways due to me adding in the percussion and not using backtracks but that also means i need to continually find new ways to get more out of what i can do with just my hands and feet ...not to mention developing better co ordination ...

so yes I ALWAYS NEED TO PRACTISE and ALWAYS HAVE ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT ...

i don't ever want to be one of those muso's that get good enough to land gigs then you see em 10 yrs on and they sound the same........

Chad has a saying on his signature on the site

."constantly evolving"

he's said it for me

stevegse

I read a very helpful article recently on how to deal with stage fright/nerves which helped me plenty.
While on stage remind yourself that almost all the people in the audience watching you are envious and would love to be the one standing up there as the center of attention.
When other musicians are in the audience that does increase the nerves but just think of all those people out there wishing it was them playing...makes me feel a whole lot calmer

flatfourfan

damn, I suffer from strage fright during sessions and jamming.lol.

lindsmuse

“Peoples’ number one fear is public speaking. Number two is death. Now this
means that to the average person if you have to go to a funeral, you’re better off
in the casket than doing the eulogy.” Jerry Seinfeld, American comedian, acto

I'm way more scared of public speaking / performing than of death. Way, WAY more! But I think this is just inexperience. Perhaps family dynamics and then your subsequent career make you comfortable or not in front of a crowd. I don't know.

That's why I stick to teaching. But I don't want my pupils to be shrinking violets. I now teach in more of an open area where there is a bit of human and dog traffic. I am conscious of trying to subtlely coax them into singing. Just slowly making them aware that because they're learning songs, maybe they'd also like to sing them? They forget. But I'm aware that they'll probly get to do that with friends - some day. But why not now I think. I just want to put the possibility there. Slowly and gently!

I really admire performing artists and love watching live shows. You get a double whammy - the skill of the performance and the gift the performer gives you, the memory.

For myself I am edging myself more and more into situations where I am being forced to stand up in front of a few strangers. And also to try and remember to not die while I'm doing it. ?

MIKA-the-better-one

stevegse wrote: I read a very helpful article recently on how to deal with stage fright/nerves which helped me plenty.
While on stage remind yourself that almost all the people in the audience watching you are envious and would love to be the one standing up there as the center of attention.
When other musicians are in the audience that does increase the nerves but just think of all those people out there wishing it was them playing...makes me feel a whole lot calmer

Remove the photographers, online magazine writers, booking agents, small time record company people, self proclaimed producers, DJ's, athletes, guys with hot girlfriends, guys from other bands, venue staff, drunk people who dont care.............

And that leaves you maybe 10 people that may envy you onstage, these types generally suffer from depression and envy just about anyone with anything worth going for in their life (including the guys with hot girlfriends, actually they envy them more)

I know this as I am often in a crowd watching a band, and the band themself often think they are more bad ass than the crowd does.... However if the band are goood, people are usually impressed....

So I say the way to calm the nerves is be a good band, worht someones time, otherwise nerves are good ad overconfident types usally are not to great

DonovanB

MIKA the better one wrote: So I say the way to calm the nerves is be a good band, worht someones time, otherwise nerves are good ad overconfident types usally are not to great

to quote Jacques ~~Choker~~ Kallis,

It's like writing an exam. If you've studied well enough you know what you need to do so you shouldn't be nervous.

Might be a bad example but it's the truth. The better rehearsed you are, the better you should feel.

And if you practice before the gig, like on the day it will ALWAYS be terrible. It's just gremlins working out. I'm always stoked when the practice before is a shocker, it means the gig will be great.

singemonkey

I've raised this before, but am I the only one who takes a good 45 mins of playing to warm up, loosen up, to be able to play even close to my best?

This lasts for about 2 hours after I put the guitar down again (so I think it's more psychological than physical). It can be difficult before shows. But even pulling the guitar out and playing some scales and doing some exercises for 15 mins makes an appreciable difference to how the guitar feels in my hands when I get up on stage.

Anyone else have a warm-up routine? I actually first came across the concept from that guy who played with megadeth, (Marty Friedman?), saying how he never tries to play anything too fast at first, just works steadily to loosen up. Only begins putting on the speed after about 15 minutes or so.

But I've actually heard very little about warming up, and a lot of guitar players I know go on cold or after 5 minutes of random widdling. It can be difficult when virtually no venues have dressing rooms. There's the pressure to not look like you're showing off by sitting by the bar playing your guitar, you know? But it makes such a huge difference.

Malkav

singemonkey wrote: Anyone else have a warm-up routine? I actually first came across the concept from that guy who played with megadeth, (Marty Friedman?), saying how he never tries to play anything too fast at first, just works steadily to loosen up. Only begins putting on the speed after about 15 minutes or so.

Yeah warming up is integral, I personally try and get at least 30 - 45 minutes in before a gig whenever I can ? If you can ever get your hands on it the John Petrucci DVD Rock Discipline has a really good section on warm up exercises that help you get your hands synchronised and ready, he also begins the warm up section by showing you a bunch of stretches that can help promote blood flow to the areas that will require more of it once you start playing. It's like a little ritual but I guarantee it works wonderfully, I highly recommend it even if you aren't a fan of his at all.

I'm pretty sure the warm-up routine should be in these 3 ?

Squonk

I think there are two dynamics here

The first being in a band setup, a lot advice in this thread seems to cover this scenario.

It's the second one which is a bit more scary, The Solo performer, this is a different monster: Like I have mentioned earlier, playing 3 songs in front of a small crowd, how difficult can that be?

Only three songs, I rehearse them to pieces, At home I have the confidence of Daniel going into the lion's den. On stage there is a degree of confidence, but the nerves hamper my fine motor skills and dampen my performance.

But at least it is getting better, so for me the key is more than just rehearsing to death, but to play in front of people as much as you can as well.

DaFiz

Of course. :-[ It's OK for professional players who appear on stage so regularly it's 'old hat' already,
but for some of us it's rare and pretty scary... ?

AlanRatcliffe

Squonk wrote: for me the key is more than just rehearsing to death, but to play in front of people as much as you can as well.

This is so true. I've been playing in front of people again the last six months and it's been getting steadily better each time I play. Saturday night for the first time in a long time I didn't have any nerves at all, just got up, played and had fun doing it. The odd mistake was made (both mine and my bandmates), equipment was acting up (aux section of my new mixer died completely, so no effects and I had to jury rig a monitor setup from a group/sub), but was able to relax and get into the zone and (mostly) manoeuvre gracefully around the occasional mistakes.

Bob-Dubery

DaFiz wrote: Of course. :-[ It's OK for professional players who appear on stage so regularly it's 'old hat' already,
but for some of us it's rare and pretty scary... ?

It may not ever go away - not for all performers. I recently listened to a BBC documentary about the life of the late Sandy Denny. One of the interviewees was Maddy Prior of Steeleye Span. She was saying that it's a scary thing being a performer, still, after all these years. She said something like "You get caught between those two states: Wanting the audience to love you but fearing that they will not." She also said that after 40 odd years of live performance she still talks to her mother about the highs and lows and fears and hopes and her mother still says "I don't know why you keep on putting yourself through that."

I think that at the least most performers don't let themselves get complacent about the audience.

Keira-WitherKay

for live shows............ my belief and philosophy in my career is to ... "entertain the audience, but play for yourself"

by that i mean yes you need to find ways to keep your audience interested and not get bored or lose focus with your show ..... but the music you perform must be music that makes your heart soar ...... since when you enjoy what you doing .....the audience pick up on it and join in enjoying it .....

i have a practise of changing styles or quiting bands if i stop enjoying the music i'm playing ...... thats why i could never play for a cover band anymore ( which i did for many years but no more) , as one needs to play songs that are popular but you don't like..... it affects your performance.....then the show becomes a job ...... i been pro for 20 odd years and at the moment averaging about 30 - 40 shows a month for the last 5 months at sun city but it's never "another day at the office" every show is exciting for me and that allows me play better and not get nervous cos i'm playing for myself first , and by doing that i'm entertaining the audience.

as i said "entertain the audience, but play for yourself"

oh and on the subject of rehearsals....... i prefer just learning the basic form as in finding the chart and letting the song happen live , that keeps the shows thrilling cos to me over rehearsing kills your music.... audiences will rather see a passionate show with a few 'outside " notes than watch a passionless show thats rehearsed to the point that the muso's are bored with it ...... anyway thats just me........whatever works , works

[deleted]

Keira WitherKay wrote: however they are classical pianists so i guess these guests were more idols in their eyes .......

Easy now... you'd be surprised how many classical musos want to stab Andre Rieu in the ear with his bow... lol! ?

I find the ultimate physical antidote to nerves is a physical warm up. Think I've said this before somewhere else on the forum, but doing some stretches and getting your big muscle groups moving before a gig (or a practise session) will do wonders for your fine motor control, and for your head! Once that's done, warming up fingers (and your instrument, of course) like singemonkey suggests, is easier too, and you can focus more on getting into the 'zone' than getting your muscles moving, because they're warming up already.

I recently played in a long run of a theatre production at the Baxter in CT. Apart from our own personal warm up routines (and sometimes joining the actors in their extremely vigorous dance warm-up routine! *pant pant*) we also did a group 'focus' every evening right before the show. Think us musos found it a bit weird to begin with (walking, singing, clapping etc in a group... hmmm...) but it soon became a crucial part of the process for each of us. That was an interesting experience... Theatre folk may seem a bit peculiar to rest of us, but they sure do know their stuff! (The pianist asked the musical director one night if he was 'just making this sh*t up?' Turns out all the odd things we were doing were standard theatre techniques. Wow?!)