Need advice from all you experienced giggers please

Ghost93

Morning all

So, got a bit of a cover band going to get out of the bedroom. With this in mind, last night we did our second gig and I guess problem here that i need your help with is theres always a bit of nerves and this causes my hands to get sticky and miss a couple of notes" hahaha.... you guessed it, this is my excuse". Any advise on how to get rid of the stickiness?

My wife suggested something called dry hands that they use in their pole dancing classes (and in case you were wondering.. no she's not a stripper.. hahahaha purely recreational). But I dont want to just gooi goed on my hands that can damage the finish on my guitars.

I look forward to all your input.

Squonk

My wife swears by Rescue Remedy, which I have tried but it didn't work ☹

But now she tells me you need to take them from a couple of hours in advance, so if your are playing at 19:00 start at 10:00 in the morning. ( I just took a couple an hour before the performance, no wonder it didn't work)

This should stop the sweating - let me know if it does

Psean

Play more gigs. I've been on and off with open mics over the last couple of years and whenever I've had a longish break between them, I've been super nervous. Play a couple in short succession and it's not as bad.

PeteM

Psean wrote: Play more gigs.

+1 ?

Psean

Ghost93 wrote:
My wife suggested something called dry hands that they use in their pole dancing classes (and in case you were wondering.. no she's not a stripper.. hahahaha purely recreational). But I dont want to just gooi goed on my hands that can damage the finish on my guitars.

I look forward to all your input.

I've seen Jeff Beck using some kind of powder (talc?), so there must be something that works.

Manfred-Klose

medicine wont help, go out and play more gigs, if you can start playing open mics it would be great to get the nerves to settle

i have played a lot of gigs and still get nervous before going on stage, but as soon as i am on and the music is going i am fine.

Squonk

Manfred Klose wrote: medicine wont help, go out and play more gigs, if you can start playing open mics it would be great to get the nerves to settle

i have played a lot of gigs and still get nervous before going on stage, but as soon as i am on and the music is going i am fine.

Yes you can play more gigs but what do you do until you get over this hurdle. I know because it took me about 8 open mics before I felt slightly comfortable.

Rescue Remedy is not medicine, it's a plant extract. At the school where my wife works, they use it a lot for the kids doing public speaking, theatre, public debating etc.

I only wish she had told me about it ?

But like I said popping one just before the gig is no good, you need to take it for the day.

no side effects or addiction involved

AlanRatcliffe

http://www.guitarforum.co.za/performance/so-i-had-my-first-real-live-performance-last-night/

Medicine can help actually (in extreme cases and under medical supervision). I'm on Beta-blockers for my heart and they also work (and are sometimes prescribed for) performance anxiety (pity I'm way past the point of needing them for that - where were they 30 years ago?).

I also don't find any useful effect from Rescue Remedy (unless it's the liquid, which has 6% alcohol by volume?), but the wife swears by it.

costafonix

A tot of Tequila (or similar medicine) just before you start,,,,only if you're over 18!!! :goodtimes:
Talk to your audience between songs, loosen up, laugh at your mistakes, and just try and have as much fun as possible while you're playing.
Oh and before you even get on that stage, make sure you rehearse your stuff as well as possible leading up to the gig, you want to focus on giving a great performance as opposed to trying to figure out which note is next,,,
Ensure that all your equipment is functioning properly (nothing worse than a dodgy cable messing up your sound), and if you have old rusty strings on the guitar replace them a couple of days before the gig.
So what I'm saying is a lot of stress is caused by the above interfering with your playing which in turn contributes to sticky hands, armpits and a bunch of other things ?
Just for the record, i've been gigging for probably around 35 years (on and off) and I still get nervous, in fact most professional superstars do as well, ?
and as the rest of the dudes say, the more you do it, the easier it gets.

Squonk

+ 1 Costa

arjunmenon

Re the stickiness, Graphtech have the below product...

Ghost93

Thanks to everyone for your posts, I greatly appreciate it.

Arjun Menon wrote: Re the stickiness, Graphtech have the below product...

Will definitely have a look into something like this.

CostaFonix wrote: A tot of Tequila (or similar medicine) just before you start,,,,only if you're over 18!!! :goodtimes:
Talk to your audience between songs, loosen up, laugh at your mistakes, and just try and have as much fun as possible while you're playing.
Oh and before you even get on that stage, make sure you rehearse your stuff as well as possible leading up to the gig, you want to focus on giving a great performance as opposed to trying to figure out which note is next,,,
Ensure that all your equipment is functioning properly (nothing worse than a dodgy cable messing up your sound), and if you have old rusty strings on the guitar replace them a couple of days before the gig.
So what I'm saying is a lot of stress is caused by the above interfering with your playing which in turn contributes to sticky hands, armpits and a bunch of other things ?
Just for the record, i've been gigging for probably around 35 years (on and off) and I still get nervous, in fact most professional superstars do as well, ?
and as the rest of the dudes say, the more you do it, the easier it gets.

hahaha.... thanks, one thing I have realized is that im a complete idiot on a guitar when having a couple of dops, so tequila wont be an option. The songs are rehearsed over and over, so I believe we were very well prepared. I guess like you and everyone says, will have to get out tere more often ?

BluJu

I'd like to echo the play more gigs thing.

Also try warming up 15 mins before your slot. Find a quite place and get those fingers moving.

PeteM

BluJu wrote: Also try warming up 15 mins before your slot. Find a quite place and get those fingers moving.

Right on BluJu. I often forget to warm up before playing and it can take up to two songs before I'm up to speed.
I always carry a little hand towel with me to wipe the sweaty brow and hands (like the cricketers do)... a handkerchief just doesn't cut it.

Warren

I get exactly the same sense of "stickiness" in my hands, especially at the start of a gig. ?

My tips (which echo some of the others already made):

- Be as prepared as you can be: know your material, practice as often as you can, and when the gig arrives try to be "at peace" with your level of preparation (you will always feel like you could have done more) and go out and have fun.

- Leave trickier material for later in the set: keep your first songs simple and catchy (the kind of stuff you feel you can bang out with your eyes closed), try and avoid any kind of fast or complex solo bits until later during the gig when you're warmed up and confident.

- Know your gear: swapping out pedals, amps etc. a few days or even a few weeks before a gig can be massively distracting unless you're a very seasoned player. Having a strong, established sense of what makes up your own tones, a keen familiarity with your amp and guitar - all of these things serve to allow you to enjoy what you're doing and just play, rather than focus on peripheral technical stuff that takes you away from your playing.

- Gig more: as others have said, the sure-fire way to learning to control nerves is simply to play out as often as you can.

- Pick your venues: the audience makes a big difference to your state-of-mind when on-stage. An enthusiastic, fun-loving crowd that gets up and dances is a tremendous boost to your energy and confidence, and entertaining people is the whole reason you're up there in the first place! Once you've found venues you enjoy and that enjoy your band, use those venues to build up confidence before you get up in front of a more critical audience.

- Have fun: you should enjoy performing, it should feel like a bit of a rush. Honestly, I never really understood what people were talking about in this regard - I found most of my performances with my old band ended up with me frustrated with myself and my playing, and I didn't really experience the "joy" of performing. More recently, as I've grown as a player and becoming a bit more comfortable with where I'm at, I'm able to let loose and really get into the songs for their own sake. Beginners to gigging often fuss over bum notes and tone and timing etc. without realising that what truly separates a good performance from a great (and therefore, fun) performance, from an audience's point of view, is the musician's ability to "sell the song"; to play with confidence, energy and fun.

Squonk

ShreddySmurf wrote: I get exactly the same sense of "stickiness" in my hands, especially at the start of a gig. ?

My tips (which echo some of the others already made):

- Be as prepared as you can be: know your material, practice as often as you can, and when the gig arrives try to be "at peace" with your level of preparation (you will always feel like you could have done more) and go out and have fun.

- Leave trickier material for later in the set: keep your first songs simple and catchy (the kind of stuff you feel you can bang out with your eyes closed), try and avoid any kind of fast or complex solo bits until later during the gig when you're warmed up and confident.

- Know your gear: swapping out pedals, amps etc. a few days or even a few weeks before a gig can be massively distracting unless you're a very seasoned player. Having a strong, established sense of what makes up your own tones, a keen familiarity with your amp and guitar - all of these things serve to allow you to enjoy what you're doing and just play, rather than focus on peripheral technical stuff that takes you away from your playing.

- Gig more: as others have said, the sure-fire way to learning to control nerves is simply to play out as often as you can.

- Pick your venues: the audience makes a big difference to your state-of-mind when on-stage. An enthusiastic, fun-loving crowd that gets up and dances is a tremendous boost to your energy and confidence, and entertaining people is the whole reason you're up there in the first place! Once you've found venues you enjoy and that enjoy your band, use those venues to build up confidence before you get up in front of a more critical audience.

- Have fun: you should enjoy performing, it should feel like a bit of a rush. Honestly, I never really understood what people were talking about in this regard - I found most of my performances with my old band ended up with me frustrated with myself and my playing, and I didn't really experience the "joy" of performing. More recently, as I've grown as a player and becoming a bit more comfortable with where I'm at, I'm able to let loose and really get into the songs for their own sake. Beginners to gigging often fuss over bum notes and tone and timing etc. without realising that what truly separates a good performance from a great (and therefore, fun) performance, from an audience's point of view, is the musician's ability to "sell the song"; to play with confidence, energy and fun.

Not bad for a poor boy from the East Rand.... ?
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