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  1. #1

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    Probably something we've all dealt with in any performance situation. Curious how some of you have dealt with it. I know some well known musicians who basically just gave up performing live. I've woken up in the middle of the night before ready to cancel a performance due to a panic attack... but played through it somehow...any thoughts?

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  3. #2

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    I got over this by practicing while imagining there was an audience similar to the place I was going to play. Works so good when performing solo.

    When I got nervous to play with a band, instead panicking (that happened sometimes) I tried to think what I'm gonna do there, step by step. Better to focus on that instead on the things that "may happen perhaps". Kinda like thinking when I was gonna change amps or sounds, when to change from pick to fingers, where to put my spare cord, how to sit to see the most of the band etc. All those little things instead "omg omg what's gonna happen there, maybe they don't like it" - that'd be so useless. It never cures the anxiety but helps to keep the head cool.

  4. #3

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    I found that to stay intensely in the "present" and avoid any thoughts of future and/or past is what helped me the most.

  5. #4

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    What a great topic !!
    Many years ago, I came across a book called something like "Practice like you play" or "Play like you practice". Although I do not remember the title or the author, I do remember many of the concepts discussed.

    Some of the things I do include, sitting in the same stool when I practice and perform, keeping the amp in the same location when I practice and perform, rehearse my song in the same order as my performance, keep my music stand in the same proximity when practicing and performing. When I am standing, I keep the guitar in the same position in relation to my body as it is when I am sitting. I practice with the same guitar I intend on using for my next performance.

    Nervousness is often tied to fear of failure. If you knew that you going to succeed, you would not feel nervous.

    In short, make your practice sessions as similar to a performance as possible. This turns your practice sessions into "dress rehearsals". When it comes to performing you will feel like you have done this many times before. This won't totally eliminate all nervousness but it will greatly reduce a lot of performance anxiety. Your preparation or practice will increase your chances of success and reduce your chances of failing which should greatly reduce your nervousness.

    By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail. Benjamin Franklin


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  6. #5

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  7. #6

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    I got some great advice from Mick Goodrick, second hand from Gary Burton. Long story short, don't try to change how you feel, change how you feel about how you feel. Don't see it as a fear' to be overcome, but embrace it as your body ramping up your energy to later invest in your performance. Best wishes for your music!

    PK

  8. #7

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    With a group, vocal or instrumental, I'm never nervous. The few times I solo on trombone (classical type) I'm barely nervous as I don't take my t-bone that seriously.

    Soloing on guitar or vocal .. now, that's a different thing. VASTLY different. Sometimes I just go through it, sometimes I have a rocky moment or two.

    On the background video snips for Cream's 2005 reunion, just before the first performance, drummer Ginger Baker was asked if he's nervous. It's by far the biggest gig he's been involved in for 40 years. Naw, not at all. Goes on to say everyone there is just out to have a good time *with* you, he doesn't even understand what's to be nervous about.

    Huh. I can intellectually try to mimic that before performing but emotionally? Not hardly ... lol.

    And just the idea of recording something to put up here gives me the heebies! Even knowing it would be a supportive discussion of the ... ahem ... many things I could improve in, and helpful, wouldn't make it any less of a feeling of running out ... naked.

    I can do it and know I'll laugh later, as I did with both classical vocal lessons and performances, but still ... the final prep moments ... oh ... dang ...

    Very much like the last few moments before jumping out of those Cessna 172's all those years ago.

    Stumbling fingers still need love ...
    Last edited by R Neil; 04-01-2017 at 01:16 PM.

  9. #8

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    It used to be a real problem, but thankfully seems to have receded.

    I would be super-sensitive to anyone 'vibing' me on the stand, and even would interpret certain looks wrongly. (Of course, I DID play with some wacky characters fully capable of the above, so it wasn't ALL 'in my head').

    It's weird the forms it can take: Overplaying may be the most common. I have a cassette somewhere of the first 'big-time' gig I was on in NY (Dec., '84, with George Kelly and the Jazz Sultans---playing the great music of Don Redman). My playing on it is truly wince-worthy (setting un-asked for riffs that thankfully everyone else ignored, overplaying, rushing). I should really burn it. I was so keyed up it reminds me of Billy Crystal's rejoinder to Jay Leno on Leno's very first night hosting the Tonight Show: 'Relax. You GOT the job!'. Unfortunately, there's a recording of it somewhere in the archives of WKCR FM, as there was a live broadcast on Friday of the weeklong gig. I take it in stride now, though, b/c I was young, raw and Jewish (LOL). *


    (* Coda: George finally walked over and, in a warm, fatherly way, asked me to play 4/4, b/c the bass player was getting confused between me and the piano. (I already knew to do this, but was so nervous I was beyond thinking even to use skills I had). The very next night a critic from Cash Box reviewed us, and called me the 'sparkplug of the rhythm section' b/c of that 4/4 playing! Go figure, and I was also way pissed that he slighted the REAL sparkplug, Richard Wyands---twenty times the player I was). And, to answer the OP's question, the way I dealt with it was to drink wine. Richard saw me guzzling and said 'Oh, a little old wino, eh?'. 'Well, that's 2/3 true, I'm little and a wino'. (And cue comedy exit music...).

    (And BTW, don't do as I did. Didn't help, made my fingers heavy---and, thankfully, I put that one to rest in a flash).

    Other symptoms that cropped up for me: mis-fingering things, and, as leader, maybe talking too much on the stand.

    Today, I'm mostly over it. I could play with Jesus and be unfazed---only b/c of so much bandstand repetition in so many situations (hope I don't live to eat those words). The reason: to quote the late, great Flo Kennedy

    'I'm too old, too lazy, too crazy to care'...
    Last edited by fasstrack; 04-02-2017 at 02:48 AM.

  10. #9

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    First I admit, even after 3000+ gigs it still can happen sometimes...

    So here my personal little rules to avoid it:

    Rule #1 and rule #2 and rule #3 : Be prepared.

    Oh, you're still nervous? So you didn't practice enough, sit down and practice more.

    Rule #4 Perform only in front of people that are happy to see and hear you*. They want to enjoy your playing, even payed money for it, they're not here to criticize you. So, no reason to be nervous.

    Rule #5 There is no perfection. I'm not perfect, you're not perfect, nobody is. Mistakes happen, so what?



    * Yes, I encountered the opposite here in Spain a couple of times. When I realize it now, I pack my things and leave the gig NOW, no matter what.

    Regarding Rules # 1-3: That includes also things like a proper sound-check, which I regard as part of "preparation", reliable gear, spare picks and that kind of stuff. For example in the hot Spanish summers I have a little water spray bottle (tiny, 4cl) and a piece of cloth in the back of my speaker cabinet, just in case I'm sweating too hard and need to clean my fingertips on stage.
    Last edited by DonEsteban; 04-01-2017 at 02:58 PM.

  11. #10

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    Rule #1 and rule #2 and rule #3 : Be prepared.
    basically this! And also, the whole self thing is overrated. Play the music, put yourself aside, and there 's really no reason to stress out. What you are about will be visible to most of the audience anyways, for better or worse.

  12. #11

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    For me, this topic compliments the 'showmanship' thread; perhaps 'nervousness' can be (literal) 'awe' - because, ideally, players and listeners experience transcendence of their pathological little selves.

  13. #12

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    @destinytot

    I politely disagree. IMHO the best performance is delivered in state of maximum relaxation. Even if, as part of a role for example, I have to pretend tension, I have to be as relaxed as possible to get "my thing" across.

    Ask good actors, they "play" tension but they're not tensed. It changed my performances when I finally understood it.

    It has to be acquired though, mostly if not only through doing the real thing (play on stage). You can't learn "performing in front of people" by "performing in front of a mirror" ..
    Last edited by DonEsteban; 04-01-2017 at 04:17 PM.

  14. #13

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    Interesting article here:

    Stagefright and Relaxation | Hal Galper

    The original article from 1989 was my aha experience about the relationship between relaxation, performance, time, tempo and more factors that come into account when you're up there on stage.
    Last edited by DonEsteban; 04-01-2017 at 04:06 PM.

  15. #14

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    Quote Originally Posted by DonEsteban
    Interesting article here:

    Stagefright and Relaxation | Hal Galper
    All his writing is excellent and helpful. I also, by happenstance, was there when he gave a lecture on his book about life on the road at Local 802 in NY.

    Good stuff...

  16. #15

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    Quote Originally Posted by DonEsteban
    @destinytot

    I politely disagree. IMHO the best performance is delivered in state of maximum relaxation. Even if, as part of a role for example, I have to pretend tension, I have to be as relaxed as possible to get "my thing" across.

    Ask good actors, they "play" tension but they're not tensed. It changed my performances when I understood it.

    It has to be acquired though, mostly if not only through doing the real thing (play on stage). You can't learn "performing in front of people" by "performing in front of a mirror" ..
    I'm wondering which part do you disagree with - perhaps the reference to the 'showmanship' thread (because I don't think what your calling 'relaxation' is incompatible with what I'm calling 'transcendence of self').

    Actually, as a former National Youth Theatre member, I happen to have some insight into stagecraft. But I'm also a long-time student of the Alexander Technique and a Tai Chi player - and I've posted my teacher's motto: "Relax Harder!"

  17. #16

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    Quote Originally Posted by destinytot
    I'm wondering which part do you disagree with - perhaps the reference to the 'showmanship' thread

    I most probably misunderstood you. (Haven't read the thread you're referring to).

    I understood you like "Maybe nervousness is a <good> part of the performance and enhances it somehow."

    After reading your reply I see that you did not mean it that way.

    Sorry!

  18. #17

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    Quote Originally Posted by destinytot
    ....Relax Harder!"
    A car service dispatcher (and horrible man) I once
    worked with coined a musician-quotable phrase (he was talking about drivers paying attention when calls came from him over the 'radio':

    'Listen louder'...

  19. #18

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    The book "Effortless Mastery" has had a tremendous impact on me as far as nervousness on stage goes, as well as the commentary section in Mick Goodrick's "Advancing Guitarist".

    Music should be a joyous sport. A few wrong notes ain't gonna kill nobody.. it also helps to be honest with yourself and take a inventory of what you know as a musician.. do you really have the material down? What do I need to work on? Etc...

    Have fun with it... life is too short for anxieties

    Feel the fear and do it anyway... that's a book too.

    I wish you all the best.


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  20. #19

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    Nervousness, stage fright, performance anxiety, etc. are all tied to the self. I have never been nervous in my 10,000+ hours of stage playing because of a peculiar perspective I unconsciously developed about the relationship between me and my guitar long before I hit the stage... I don't really feel like I play the guitar; I feel like it plays itself and I'm just there holding it. Performance is not about me, it's about the guitar.

    When I'm performing, I'm wanting the audience to hear the guitar and think to themselves that it is the best sounding guitar they ever heard. When they look at the guitar I want them to think that it is the best looking guitar they have ever seen. I prepare my guitar for every performance so it will sound and look as good as possible when expressing itself on stage. I place my amp carefully to sound best. I get in the light to make the guitar look best.

    Now, to be clear, my guitar did not know so much about how to play when I got it 30 years ago, but we have worked hard together to get it up to a high level of playing by spending countless hours going over music, note by note, chord by chord, phrase by phrase. My guitar has learned a lot and continues to learn every time it plays, including on stage. It recognizes progressions, chord types, and phrase lines before I do, knows just when to make the right dynamic changes, has an uncanny sense of time and rhythm... just a wonderful guitar.

    When people approach me and compliment me I just smile and tell them, "Thank you; yes, it is a very nice and special guitar". If they press, I tell them that my guitar feels like it plays itself and I'm just hanging on for dear life.

    The bottom line is that I have complete faith and confidence in my guitar, how wonderful it sounds, how quick it is to picking up on everything going on. I can't really explain it, and I can't even recommend trying to mimic this because I think it only works if it is "for real", but for me it is absolutely for real, always has been, it has always been all about the guitar, not me. People do not come to see or hear me, they come to see and hear my guitar... I'm really just my guitar's assistant, providing maintenance, exposure to music, travel, and all the opportunities to express itself.

    Now you may laugh, but this is exactly how it feels, and I'm sure this is why I never feel nervous.

  21. #20

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    [QUOTE=pauln;757851
    Now you may laugh, but this is exactly how it feels, and I'm sure this is why I never feel nervous.
    [/QUOTE]
    I won't laugh at that - because I believe that something bigger than reality shows up at gigs (which, for me, can be 'quasi-religious').

  22. #21

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    [QUOTE=Toddep;757819]The book "Effortless Mastery"

    By Kenny Werner, just in case someone doesn't know it. Very good read.

    I absorbed the "Effortless Approach" entirely and integrated it into my way of playing. I found it just when I had problems with my left hand joints and it made me revise my playing technique radically.

    Huge change to the better!

    Couldn't bond that much with the meditation parts, but everybody picks what one needs.

  23. #22

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    Quote Originally Posted by R Neil

    On the background video snips for Cream's 2005 reunion, just before the first performance, drummer Ginger Baker was asked if he's nervous. It's by far the biggest gig he's been involved in for 40 years. Naw, not at all. Goes on to say everyone there is just out to have a good time *with* you, he doesn't even understand what's to be nervous about.
    Off topic I know but at the the 1968 farewell RAH concert Jack Bruce asked (I think) Pete Brown along in case things got 'interesting' with the famously volatile Mr Baker - they'd had numerous onstage fights, gear had been mysteriously damaged, knives waved around etc. Ginger Baker sat in the dressing room stony faced and ate a bucket of ice before downing the champagne...If he wasn't nervous others may have been.

    Beware of Mr. Baker (2012) - IMDb

    Also...I was in a hotel lobby a long time ago when GB walked by...'Ginger Baker!' came out of my mouth... he came over, put his face 6" from mine & hissed 'Yes, who the f*** are you ?'

    He used the toilets in the lobby & patted me on the shoulder on the way back out...'only joking son'

  24. #23

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    Know thy material is the first commandment here. Knowing that I've got my stuff wired helps me get past the jitters.

    I learnt to make my peace with the idea that mistakes will happen. As a rock player, I still invested much time in practicing improvisation, because when -- not if -- the mistake happens, I need to be able to play through it and normalize it.

    Sometimes I do an exercise I learnt in high-school drama: sit in a secluded spot. Starting at your toes and working upwards, relax your muscles. Don't move on to the next muscle grouping until you've got the current one relaxed. Keep going until you get to your neck. By this time, the muscle between your ears should feel a little calmer too.

  25. #24

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    Quote Originally Posted by pauln
    Nervousness, stage fright, performance anxiety, etc. are all tied to the self. I have never been nervous in my 10,000+ hours of stage playing because of a peculiar perspective I unconsciously developed about the relationship between me and my guitar long before I hit the stage... I don't really feel like I play the guitar; I feel like it plays itself and I'm just there holding it. Performance is not about me, it's about the guitar.

    When I'm performing, I'm wanting the audience to hear the guitar and think to themselves that it is the best sounding guitar they ever heard. When they look at the guitar I want them to think that it is the best looking guitar they have ever seen. I prepare my guitar for every performance so it will sound and look as good as possible when expressing itself on stage. I place my amp carefully to sound best. I get in the light to make the guitar look best.

    Now, to be clear, my guitar did not know so much about how to play when I got it 30 years ago, but we have worked hard together to get it up to a high level of playing by spending countless hours going over music, note by note, chord by chord, phrase by phrase. My guitar has learned a lot and continues to learn every time it plays, including on stage. It recognizes progressions, chord types, and phrase lines before I do, knows just when to make the right dynamic changes, has an uncanny sense of time and rhythm... just a wonderful guitar.

    When people approach me and compliment me I just smile and tell them, "Thank you; yes, it is a very nice and special guitar". If they press, I tell them that my guitar feels like it plays itself and I'm just hanging on for dear life.

    The bottom line is that I have complete faith and confidence in my guitar, how wonderful it sounds, how quick it is to picking up on everything going on. I can't really explain it, and I can't even recommend trying to mimic this because I think it only works if it is "for real", but for me it is absolutely for real, always has been, it has always been all about the guitar, not me. People do not come to see or hear me, they come to see and hear my guitar... I'm really just my guitar's assistant, providing maintenance, exposure to music, travel, and all the opportunities to express itself.

    Now you may laugh, but this is exactly how it feels, and I'm sure this is why I never feel nervous.
    If that works for you, wonderful---seriously. But the Buddhists might call that a form of 'attachment'. Or not.

    I've been thinking more and more about life (music is but a part of it) as a spiritual undertaking and/or process. The idea of 'the music playing you' is definitely the thing to strive for IMO. But it ties in with so many OTHER parts of life---and they ought to be thought of as one thing if we're doing it right:

    Nervousness is only feeling. If we attach to or obsess over our immediate personal feelings, yes good and honest music can come from that---all grist for the mill. But to get to that higher plane I think we somehow need to focus on and tap into---not sure what to call it---consciousness? I don't want to get quasi-evangelical or high-falutin' here, but I think part of our jobs as musicians and humans is to tap into this. I don't know what to call it exactly, but it has to do somehow with finding the good in things and people, doing good with our gifts, but more than that surrendering our smaller selves and ego/emotion, and just trusting and letting ourselves be carried off by that 'other' energy. 'Separateness' (God/Man/Devil; performer/audience/stage, etc., etc.) are children of Western thought, and they sort of suck and can lead to a variety of cul de sacs. Nothing is all good or all bad, but it SEEMS like Eastern approaches to thought, spirit and art may be superior. It's the way I want to go, anyway, if I ever learn how.

    I don't claim to have any answers, just thinking out loud and working on it...
    Last edited by fasstrack; 04-02-2017 at 12:41 PM.

  26. #25

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    As an amateur, one thing that's helped me with performance anxiety is to do a lot of relatively low-risk performances where I'm mostly playing accompaniment with occasional short solos. I've looked for opportunities to perform in big bands, small swing bands & folk groups and have played lots of community centers, coffee houses, elder care facilties, festivals, and occasionally special events like weddings. In the beginning I tried to stay in the background, but with time found myself moving out of the shadows with more solos, being featured on tunes, and eventually finding casual gigs as a band leader with a more challenging repertoire. I've also had the good fortune to play with people that I really like, have compatible sense of music, and are supportive. That's a huge confidence booster.
    Last edited by KirkP; 04-02-2017 at 01:02 PM.