Members valentsgrif Posted December 15, 2012 Members Share Posted December 15, 2012 Been playing off and on for 35 years. Never played in front of anybody beyond the bored dog and my wife and kids. My guitar teacher has shamed me to finally get over my phobia about playing to people. I'm playing in a neighborhood club's showcase show put on by my teacher with the assistance of his band. I'm going to embaress myself either by playing like suck, or by dropping my guitar mid panic attack and running out the back door. Last time at this event, I chickened out 5 minutes before the show. Anybody have any tricks or advice. Can I pay off the soundboard guy to hide me somehow? I need to do this before I die. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Bobby1Note Posted December 15, 2012 Members Share Posted December 15, 2012 Bring a shower-curtain with you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members deanmass Posted December 15, 2012 Members Share Posted December 15, 2012 Better to look and back and say " I can't believe I did that" than to look back and say " I can't believe I never did that. Sack up, walk out, play yer stuff, close your eyes, whatever. You'll be fine, especially if you are brave enough to bare your heart. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members katopp Posted December 15, 2012 Members Share Posted December 15, 2012 Playing WITH people FOR people is the greastest fun evvvah!No need to {censored} yer pants or to be afraid. If you play with people it takes a {censored}load of crap until the audience actually realizes that you f@cked it up. Most in there will either lack the capability or the bollocks to do what you are going to do.I was {censored}less scared the first time and I loved it atfter 30 seonds..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jamesp Posted December 15, 2012 Members Share Posted December 15, 2012 Listen to teach. If he says you've got it, you'll be fine. What are you going to play, Val? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members wkendhacker Posted December 15, 2012 Members Share Posted December 15, 2012 You may be putting too much thought into it. What happens if you mess up? Nothing. I've played in front of crowds for years. Can you guess how many times I played all night without making a mistake? Probably never.Take the pressure off yourself to be perfect, step to the mic and rock the house. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Terry Allan Hall Posted December 15, 2012 Members Share Posted December 15, 2012 As katopp pointed out, about the only mistake 99.99999% of any audience will pick up on is if you stop playing entirely. Anything less obvious will be thought of as "style". Just relax and have fun... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Opa John Posted December 15, 2012 Members Share Posted December 15, 2012 Just close your eyes and play and sing it like you're home alone in the shower. And, if you make a flub-up, just continue to march on.....they won't even know you did it. And, when you're done, you'll wonder why you were so worried about it. The next time will be much easier. Best wishes!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members babablowfish Posted December 15, 2012 Members Share Posted December 15, 2012 Originally Posted by Terry Allan Hall As katopp pointed out, about the only mistake 99.99999% of any audience will pick up on is if you stop playing entirely. Anything less obvious will be thought of as "style". Just relax and have fun... Terry is right on. Just keep on playing and smiling. My brother who was a professional musician for years told me, "If you make a mistake you should just keep on playing and show no reaction whatsoever. If you do this, the guy who wrote the song could be sitting in the front row and won't be sure if he heard the mistake or not." Also, don't expect not to be scared. Accept the fear and stay determined to just work your way through it. It will get better. Heck, I even kind of miss the old jitters - they added a level of excitement to the performance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Michael Martin Posted December 15, 2012 Members Share Posted December 15, 2012 I'll just add myself to the long list of people who were terrified beforehand but felt great afterwards.I first did this 6 years ago. I remember wondering whether I would lose my voice, or forget the lyrics, or spazz out and be too shaky-handed to play, or maybe just faint and pee my pants while vomiting onstage. Now, I look back and think--not only did everything go well; it was great fun.You'll do fine. Play to the gods! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Louis Schwartz Posted December 15, 2012 Members Share Posted December 15, 2012 Also try and remember that the audience wants you to do well. The ones who don't know you are there to have fun not to have the uncomfortable experience of seeing someone freeze up and walk away. The ones who know you are there to support you. You'll be surprised by the positive vibes you'll actually be greeted with. No one will notice the mistakes. Hopefully you love the songs, so just sing 'em! As everyone has already said, get up there and play--right through the fear, right through the mistakes--keep smiling, and it will be over before you know it. Then you'll have a chance to do it again, and chances are you'll want to!Louis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members valentsgrif Posted December 15, 2012 Author Members Share Posted December 15, 2012 Originally Posted by jamesp Listen to teach. What are you going to play, Val? Melissa. Zevon's Keep Me in Your Heart for a While Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members valentsgrif Posted December 15, 2012 Author Members Share Posted December 15, 2012 Elected to play on my Gibson WM-45 with old strings cause it has no pickup and moderate volume. No need offending the back of the room. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members hypcollector Posted December 15, 2012 Members Share Posted December 15, 2012 ...the performance is the easiest part. breath smoothly and drink a bunch of water prior. lossens up the vocal chords. also, and this is very important, make sure your feet are tapping. live performances require the entire body....i've been told shorts are a no no, but i've done many gigs in shorts. finish off your lines. townes van zandt always closed his eyes, but you miss so much that way. wearing shades is good advice--no distraction for the audience as you dart your eyes variously... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members valentsgrif Posted December 15, 2012 Author Members Share Posted December 15, 2012 Originally Posted by hypcollector ...the performance is the easiest part. breath smoothly and drink a bunch of water prior. lossens up the vocal chords. also, and this is very important, make sure your feet are tapping. live performances require the entire body....i've been told shorts are a no no, but i've done many gigs in shorts. finish off your lines. townes van zandt always closed his eyes, but you miss so much that way. wearing shades is good advice--no distraction for the audience as you dart your eyes variously... Yep shades! Great ideas!. Thanks ya'all. Gettiing pumped! I'm not not dealing with ordinary first time jitters- this is a phobia. I've acted on stage and presently make my living speaking on my feet to audiences full of strangers under stressful conditions. Never was nervous, really. But this is on the terror side of the scale. Irrational, but real. Woke up last night in a cold sweat from a dream where my guitar neck twisted right before going on. This is some {censored}. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members OldTwelver Posted December 15, 2012 Members Share Posted December 15, 2012 Break a leg !!! Paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Michael Martin Posted December 15, 2012 Members Share Posted December 15, 2012 Originally Posted by valentsgrif Yep shades! Great ideas!. Thanks ya'all. Gettiing pumped! I'm not not dealing with ordinary first time jitters- this is a phobia. I've acted on stage and presently make my living speaking on my feet to audiences full of strangers under stressful conditions. Never was nervous, really. But this is on the terror side of the scale. Irrational, but real. Woke up last night in a cold sweat from a dream where my guitar neck twisted right before going on. This is some {censored}. Same here--I hear ya about the irrational phobia. I had done community theater a few years prior to my first open mike and for 11 years prior I had been teaching large classes (200+ students) and also made lots of presentations at conferences--but playing/singing a song to a room with people in it was WAY scarier. I don't know why. But seriously, it took nothing to overcome this phobia, except make the leap. Now it's my favorite thing in the world to do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 10ae1203 Posted December 15, 2012 Members Share Posted December 15, 2012 Give 'em hell. You can have one of my bp pills if it would help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Opa John Posted December 15, 2012 Members Share Posted December 15, 2012 Just lay it out there for 'em, Val. If they don't like it, they'll let ya know. And, if they don't pick up and leave in groups of five at a time, don't worry about it! I'm always amazed at some of the compliments I've gotten in the past. But, Hell.......it's no wonder, really. Most people couldn't play a "hillbilly G chord" on a guitfiddle or carry a tune in a bucket if their lives depended on it.You're "special", Val. Just go out there and prove it to 'em! And, again......if you make a little mistake, DON'T BREAK TIME!! Keep right on playing! They'll never know you did it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Chicken Monkey Posted December 15, 2012 Members Share Posted December 15, 2012 I quit having stage fright when I realized there was absolutely no consequence for complete and utter failure. It sometimes helps to "sing for the band" rather than singing for the audience--I don't know what the distinction is, but if you think of it as a celebration of a great song with other music lovers, then it's easier to relax into the song without thinking about performance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members valentsgrif Posted December 15, 2012 Author Members Share Posted December 15, 2012 On way to "gig". May turn around. Drama queen to the end. Thanks all for the support. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members kiowa1 Posted December 15, 2012 Members Share Posted December 15, 2012 Don't worry too much about it. It's all fun. Go up there with a positive attitude and tell yourself you're going to have some fun WITH the audience. If you get the pre-gig jitters, a couple of snorts of Grandad will help too. You may want to pick out one person in the audience and sing to that one person. It takes away the vastness of the audience. Have fun! It's no big thing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jamesp Posted December 16, 2012 Members Share Posted December 16, 2012 Originally Posted by valentsgrif Melissa. Zevon's Keep Me in Your Heart for a While I had not heard that Warren Z. song. Very sweet, but so sad! So... were there groupies? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members valentsgrif Posted December 16, 2012 Author Members Share Posted December 16, 2012 Originally Posted by jamesp I had not heard that Warren Z. song. Very sweet, but so sad! So... were there groupies? Yeah, there was one groupie, a lttle Irish thing trying to remain hidden from me in the back, beaming a huge grin on her face. Thanks baby! It all went by at lightening speed. Third performer on the list, place wasn't that full yet. Mostly other musicians in this very dark club. I pulled it off. Only major mistake was playing a verse chord pattern during the bridge in Melissa, but nobody noticed as you all predicted, but nailed the solos, which are my weakness and had kept me on edge. Nobody threw anything, nor asked for an autograph. Learned so much in eight minutes. Thanks brothers. I may have to start posting takes on VOM. No more excuses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members OldTwelver Posted December 16, 2012 Members Share Posted December 16, 2012 Well, a big CONGRATS Val !!!!! You're not a "virgin" anymore, and the next time will be much easier ....... Paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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