Nervous!

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Hey.
Yeah.........I have a problem with playing to fast when I get
nervous, like when I play in front of a large audience.
Does anyone else have or had this problem? if so, how did
you overcome it? Im playin in a battle of the bands this friday
and I dont want to screw it up hahahaha!!! This is
the first time in a long while ive played in front of alot of
people and im nervous as hell hahaha so i'll probably
be playin light speed:D
 
I think being truly nervous is something that just goes away with time. The more you get on stage and perform the easier it will become.
If your speeding up when your getting nervous maybe practice the song a tad bit slower, so when you speed up live the song will be normal tempo. I don't know how well that will work but it might be worth a shot.
 
Drink heavily and don't sleep the night before the show, that way you'll be too sick and tired to speed up. :D


But seriously, two hours a day of practice with a metronome.
 
Try focusing on something in the hall your playing at. I used to pick something like a clock at the back of the room or a neon beer sign or something and play to that rather than looking at people. After a year of playing in front of an audience, the stage fright went away. That was about 25 years ago.:D
 
bring enough cymbals to block your view of the audince! :)

nervousness goes ways (usually) with repitition...and the realization that if you speed up or screwup some other way a bit during a performance nobody is probably going to notice... metronome work is the best though...

I'm also a big fan of practicing the performance... in that you set up the practice area like a stage and everyone stands like they would on stage... this gets you used to not looking at the guitarists hand for reference, etc... probably more important for the guitarists to learn to not look at you... or eachother...

bands that practice in circles play in circles :)

songwriting in circles fine... but bands forget to practice how to perform.

Play to the audience but don't upstage eachother... don't wander on stage (not a problem for drummers) and make almost everything you do mean something.
 
Being nervous just takes experience to get over. I've played a couple gigs and one was with 250 people packed into a small room watching me. Just take deep breathes and drink water. It also helps if your bandmates and you make eye contact a lot, I know it helps me.
 
Just remember, it's not about YOU, it's about the MUSIC. First and foremost, you are there to serve the music, put your mind on that entirely and the jitters go awy.

How many times heve you seen a showy drummer screw up the music to be showy? Once you get comfortable with your grooves on stage you will start to manifest natural mannerisms which people will attribute to showmanship.Screw what they think and have fun playing the music.


Probably one of the most understated, non-showy drummers is Steve Gadd. He doesn't twirl his sticks, set his drumheads on fire or broadcast every fill he plays. He does some awesome things in a very understated way. People go away saying things like "the drummer was very good", not "the drummer was awesome because he came out half naked, used pyrotechnics, twirled his sticks and trashed his kit". I'd rather be the Gadd style drummer that puts the music first rather than the other kind which puts his own self-inflated ego first.

When you think of yourself as a conduit for the music, it takes the nervousness away.
 
All good advice...

I too used to have the same problem. But I think when it comes down to it, its all about experience. The more you play in front of people, the more you get used to people watching you play and you feel less pressured. Less pressured usually means more relaxed.
 
All good advice...

I too used to have the same problem. But I think when it comes down to it, its all about experience. The more you play in front of people, the more you get used to people watching you play and you feel less pressured. Less pressured usually means more relaxed.
 
WE WON!!!!!!

Hey.
Thanks for all the great advice!.
We played the battle of the bands and to my surprise
I wasnt really as nervous as I thought i'd be.
It was a good night for us, we got first place
and I won the prize for best drummer!:D which I
got a zildgian zxt splash cymbal. Thanks again!:)
 
Congrats man!

I just had a battle of the bands. Man..fun stuff. It was really the first time I ever performed infront of people outside my room! Good thing the smoke/strobes and the fact that their was no lights on the crowd so I couldn't see them anyways.
 
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