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Stage Fright


tjb

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Who experiences it ?

 

Sometime, depending on the gig I have it, but always get through it. Sometime unforeseen glitches pop up and being prepared helps. From experience I am usually prepared, but just when you think you've seen it all, a new issues pops up.

 

I'm not sure I would call mine Stage Fright or anxiety, but it happens from time to time, especially a new gig or higher pressure venue.

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I have stage fright. All the time. I have been playing professionally for 25+ years. 2 to 5 times per week. I was petrified when I started. Not being dramatic, "petrifed" is the correct word.

 

Have now played 4000+ paid gigs. All I can say is - accept it - and it DOES get easier -

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If you suffer performance anxiety, maybe you are not cut out to play live.

There are definitely different levels, from the pertrification level rockerdiva suffered to the 'butterflies'...but nearly everyone I know has that little 'pre-show' moment, running through all the potential horrors that could befall them.

Y'know what? Sometimes they happen! And either you get through it...or you don't. As Yoda said 'Do, or do not, there is no try'.

The old 'imagine the audience naked' thing...not always good...if you play at senior citizen centers, or your parents are in the audience... ;)

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i think everyone experiences it to some degree... if it is something debilitating, then yeah, maybe look for something else to do... but a little rush or the "butterflies" is a good thing as i see it... to me it says you are still concerned over giving a good performance and there is still some excitement about stepping out onto the stage... if you ever get to the point where you dont feel anything, i would definitely recommend finding something else to do, no maybes about it...

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I don't feel stage fright anymore, but I think it is due to my careful pre-planning and the fact that I now know I can cover just about anything that goes wrong at this point. I did a lot of therapy to overcome worry.

 

Yeah, that's how I feel...confident that whatever happens, it'll be OK, 'cause I'm prepared.

 

And, I very much enjoy performing, so that's likely a big part of it, too. :cool:

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Well, I can say that it's never caused me to not want to do it, and I agree that preparation is the key. In fact, the more prepared I am the less I get nervous.

 

I recently relocated to another country for my main job. I went to an open mic in town that has some good players on the weekend. As it turned out, I was the only musician that showed that night and it was a decent crowd so I played the whole night. Although I got through it, I did not feel prepared. I only had my guitar and an extra set of strings and an extra chord, played totally off the cuff, which isn't all that much of a problem, except I did not rehearse a whole nights worth of material.

 

I didn't bring a lot of stuff over with me and was not expecting to play all night, but the musician and performer in me kept me on the stage as long as people were there.

 

When I play out back home I have a spare guitar in the car and a box I keep with various wires, batteries etc.... I usually run through a set list, although when playing live, i stray from the list as seems fit. And, in case of requests, I have an extensive song book if there is a song I haven't played in a while, I can look it up.

 

The owner has asked me back and given me a regular gig, so I'm sure I did fine, but, I am nervous about it and I think it is all in being prepared. I probably should not have taken the gig since my regular job is quite demanding right now, but playing out is what usually keeps me sane. I just need to make time to prepare and i think I'll feel better about it.

 

Usually, back home it is more or less just nerves and it goes away after the first song or 2, but here it's been a little more, and i think the prep is it. I'll have to hit the local music store for a few extras as a security blanket...........

 

Thanks for the replies.

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I get nervous if I'm accompanying someone and it's new material. I deal with it by practising as much as possible; if that doesn't do it, well that's life and I just have to walk through the debris (this doesn't happen).

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During my first 5 years of playing (16-21years old) yeah. Pretty bad.

 

Experience and preparation have gone a long way to fixing the problem. Also, I had a job in college waiting tables. I made a point of approaching each night & each table as a performance; "The Rupert Show" if you will. Made me a better performer, musically and otherwise.

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