performance tips

[corduroyhorn]

do you guys have any performance tips? what i mean by this is when im playing live im fine beforehand and also fine when setting up but as soon as we start proper i get very self conscious and have trouble getting into the music im playing...( maybe the lack of a monitor doesnt help) anyways just wondered if anyone had tips tricks to being a bit more relaxed? (that dont involve drink or drugs lol)

thanks

[babablowfish]

 

do you guys have any performance tips? what i mean by this is when im playing live im fine beforehand and also fine when setting up but as soon as we start proper i get very self conscious and have trouble getting into the music im playing...( maybe the lack of a monitor doesnt help) anyways just wondered if anyone had tips tricks to being a bit more relaxed? (that dont involve drink or drugs lol) thanks

 

 

You wouldn't consider heroin a drug, would you?

 

Seriously though. What I have found is that time is the best medicine. When I first started performing I had a racing heart beat and intense self-consciousness. I just accepted that I would have to work through it and in time I did. Now, I don't get nervous. So my advice is, don't fight it, just go through it and you will get through to the other side.

[missedmyexit]

I've never really had this problem.. But back when I was playing out in a band I was drinking like a Kennedy so I'm not sure if it would be the same sober.

[spruce goose]

I never gigged, but I do work in a lab where every person presents their work once every 3 months. When I started doing this 'lab meeting' BS, I was very self conscious (even w/ all the heroin), but now I'm more relaxed.

[happy-man]

 

What I have found is that time is the best medicine. ...So my advice is, don't fight it, just go through it and you will get through to the other side.

 

 

I agree with babablowfish. But I never really felt that nervous since I'd had plenty of time in front of people. I've presented before the CEO, at conferences, meetings, etc. But the first time I did an open mics a few years ago... Like I said, I didn't feel nervous, but sitting up on a stool on a stage was very different that sitting on my bed. My playing revealed that I was nervous, or at least unconfortable. It gets much better as you stick with it and do it again and again. One of the great things about open mics is you get that encouragement to keep going.

 

Scott

[EvilTwin]

I'd say baba's spot-on.

 

But also remember that you'll most likely be your own worst critic. If you expect more out of yourself than the audience, the only person you really have to worry about is you. Then it's just a matter of saying "I'm going to do this, do the best I can, and let the chips fall."

[min7b5]

Remember that the brain is air cooled- keep your breathing in check. Most people, when they get a little anxious, their breathing gets shallow and rapid, which in turn increases the heart rate... you get in a loop. Live radio always makes me nuts. I actually will take deep breaths, hold them for maybe ten seconds, and then let them out over maybe another twenty seconds. About five minutes of this gets me back down.

 

Also, practice. Then practice some more. No one ever worries they

[Michael Martin]

So much right-on stuff done been said already. I teach classes with 250+ people, but I was a nervous wreck a year ago first time I played in front of 25 people. I'm still nervous at open mike, but I now know that I can do it, and I'm learning to forgive myself for my inevitable screw-ups.

 

Some nights are better than others. I think it's partly me, partly the crowd, partly the moon. But yea, verily: breathe deep, and my other great insight: Slow down. I have to remember this with every song. Nervousness makes me speed up, and the song becomes a runaway train...you don't want that.

 

Recently I bought a CD featuring some live R.E.M. songs, recorded in the late 80s. It was just Stipe on vocals and Buck on guitar, playing in a tiny venue. What really stands out is that they slowed their stuff way down when they "stripped down" the music, and it really is effective.

[happy-man]

Not guitar related, but another thing I've discovered about myself is that if I eat/drink cold stuff before I sing it's a bad thing. Worst was when I had a huge ice cream brownie sunday right before I went up. I see so many go up with a cold beer, but it just kills me. I find it's helpful to me to have a hot drink beforehand, tea, steamer. Maybe I'm just weird.

 

Scott O

[Stackabones]

I always start with a simple, fun song. Nothing new, nothing too complex (meaning tricky changes, or wide ranging vocals, or too wordy). And make sure it's one you can nail and feel confident about. Make that your safe song.

 

Find a few safe songs and sprinkle them through your set.

 

Also, you may want to learn some kind of relaxation technique that you can use in performance anxiety situations. You'll have to learn and master it off the stage before you use it on the stage.

 

( maybe the lack of a monitor doesnt help)

 

That's just GAS speaking to you.

[guitarist21]

I've never really had an issue with stage fright but sometimes when a show isn't neccessarily going like clockwork (i.e. stuff is breaking, lost my setlist, etc), I get a little nervous right before my set. The thing that relaxes me the most is having some of my friends in the audience. If you have a few people that regularly come to your shows, you can get into kind of a rhythm with them. I like to really involve the audience in my shows and whether that means having a singalong or just joking around with them in between songs, it keeps me and the audience relaxed.

 

OTOH, some people really don't like this. I have a good friend who tries really hard not to talk in between songs too much and I admit it is quite a bit more professional of a show. I just prefer a more relaxed environment.

 

Ellen

[corduroyhorn]

As always thanks for all the great help....its def more a being uncomfortable feeling that a nervous one....always happens the very min the "proper" playing starts...Im def my own worst critic, everyone says nice things....but i can def feel a my hands and body are relaxed and are hindering my playing... I think i will def try breathing deep and making sure i know the music inside out thou i did want to improvise certain bits but dont think the talent is there for me to do this safely yet...

 

Once again thanks again folks....your all top lads and lasses

[Michael Martin]

 

Not guitar related, but another thing I've discovered about myself is that if I eat/drink cold stuff before I sing it's a bad thing. Worst was when I had a huge ice cream brownie sunday right before I went up. I see so many go up with a cold beer, but it just kills me. I find it's helpful to me to have a hot drink beforehand, tea, steamer. Maybe I'm just weird. Scott O

 

Maybe you are, and so am I: I like to gargle with warm salt water before heading to the o-m venue. I don't know whether it actually affects anything, but it feels like a good thing to do. It was my mother's preventive home remedy for sore throats--I figure it can't hurt, and it makes me feel more "ready".

[babablowfish]

Another tip: My brother who was a professional musician for many years (and graduated from Berklee, Ellen) told me, "If you make a mistake you should give absolutely no indication of it to the extent that if the person who actually wrote the song were sitting in the front row, he would not be sure if he heard a mistake or not." When I first played in front of an audience I would grimace and pause when I hit a clunker. That is a pretty good way to make sure everyone knows about it and to undermine their enjoyment of the performance. Now I just go on and act like nothing happened. This really helps keep the performance on course and short-circuits the self-doubt/self-loathing that can set in when you first play and make an error.

[missedmyexit]

 

Another tip: My brother who was a professional musician for many years (and graduated from Berklee, Ellen) told me, "If you make a mistake you should give absolutely no indication of it to the extent that if the person who actually wrote the song were sitting in the front row, he would not be sure if he heard a mistake or not." When I first played in front of an audience I would grimace and pause when I hit a clunker. That is a pretty good way to make sure everyone knows about it and to undermine their enjoyment of the performance. Now I just go on and act like nothing happened. This really helps keep the performance on course and short-circuits the self-doubt/self-loathing that can set in when you first play and make an error.

 

 

Great point! If you are playing Originals then likely no one will ever know you messed up. If you are playing covers well.. likely no one will ever know you messed up. If they hear a off note they certainly won't remember it. When I use to play out I had to explain this to my singer many many time. If I messed up at all he would turn to me and gawk with a 'what the F**k face'. It is kind of tough to do at first because you can't help but wince and throw off your timing when you mess up but after awhile it comes as 2nd nature.