Stage Fright!!!!!!!!!

[lesterpaul]

i don't have it ,technically that is ...lately when i have to play anywhere outside of practice space my right hand just funks up ,i mean it gets sticky ...my thinking is it's my subconcious saying i'm scared i blamed it on this string lube first but i cleaned all that off and at practice it doesn't happen just when i have a show ....it really only affects my slide up and down th fret board ....anybody else have this problem or any other wierd form of stage fright .....peace

 

[lesterpaul]

oooppsss!!!!

i meant my left hand ....i gotta start proofreading

 

[64Firebird]

I've always gotten over stage fright by knowing the music inside out. But, the last few times I went on stage there wasn't anything to know because it was an open jam. I had to make up everything on the spot. That was scary! But, I felt a lot better after it was over and they invited my back.

 

[alien]

I used to get nervous until I realized one thing:

I'm wasn't up there to prove anything. I was up there to have fun. I wasn't a guitarist backed up by other musicians. I was part of a band. Rehearsing bands...jam bands...it didn't matter. It was a band and that's how the general non-musician sees the people on the stage.

That took 75% of the pressure off.

The rest was taken off when I learned how to react to mistakes made by myself or anyone else. Generally, we know when we mess up. the crowd doesn't. Something about the bottom of that bottle filters out mistakes made by the band. So we didn't shoot each other the "you just messed up" look. Nevere grimace or frown on a mistake...always smile.

If the mistake was so obvious that even the drunkest one in the crowd would know, then we all laughed it off. Not once did the crowd not smile with us

You're up there cuz playing is fun. Every pro makes mistakes onstage. It's gonna happen. Strings will break and amps will go *pift* in the middle of the show. The drummer will miss a beat or section, the bassist will fret a scale wrong, and the singer is bound to sing in the key of Q at some point.

Expect this, accept it as parrt of the game, rehearse to minimize the occurance of such, keep equipment maintained, but just keep in mind these things ARE going to happen and nothing can stop them...it's the law

So, kick back, relax, enjoy that instrument in your hands, enjoy being in front of people, act like a 16 year old who just got laid for the first time (you can do that on stage and people say you have charisma as opposed to offstage they'd say you are immature lol), and above all - HAVE FUN! Smile alot and laugh even more. All you gotta prove is you can be fun

 

[Treeline]

^
|

What he said.

What the hell, try a little talcum powder on the palm of your left hand. Just a touch.

 

[lesterpaul]

hmmm....

talcum powder ...i used to use it way back on my acoustic when i was starting out , funny how we forget simple things , i use finger ease some but it kinda feels too slick sometimes i tried the stuff with an appliacting brush but man that stuff gums up th fret board big time ....i'll try the talcum powder thanks

 

[Chris Shaeffer]

Here's a little stage fright wisdom from Reggie Wooten as a friend of mine expressed his nervousness about going out on stage to be part of a stunt.

(paraphrased)

"Look, there several hundred people out there, sure. But I could go out on stage, light myself on fire and scream and they'd talk about it tonight, and maybe tomorrow- but in a week they wouldn't even remember. So don't worry about it."

Clammy hands are a common enough reaction to stress. Talcum powder seems like a good idea, as would having a few dry towels on hand for between songs. I tried wiping my hands on my pants, but by a third of the way through the show my pants are soaked with sweat, too.

Take care,
Chris

 

[Doug H]

I heard that Stevie had once said, just put your head down and play your best. I couldn't imagine better advice.

It's always a trip, (fuck, I hope I don't end up getting sweaty hands now after reading this). We had this verse reprise in one of our tunes (edit: without any singing in it) , man that was a long 20 seconds the first time we played it to a crowd.

The band I was in decided to play at a New Years Eve party they were throwing. Most of the band lived in the same warehouse space. Half of my aquantences at the time had one foot in the zowie party thing or some such fashion statement, so I had gotten inspired that night. I hadn't shaved in a few days so I left a stach and goti and put my hair into two high pony tails (and I'm bald headed) along with the black and purple stiped billowy pants etc.... So we end up playing all our late 60s derived original muscle tunes to this huge sea of black leather jackets at the west end of Toronto.
I was so wasted and wound up I played most of one of my lead breaks on the same string. I'm thinking to myself, "that wasn't too bad, kind of trippy" then we get to the second break where the lead singer is supposed to play harp and he's motioning me to take the lead because his harp was jammed or something like that. Back to the string lol.
After being nearly paralized for a song or two I suddenly found myself feeling like I was sitting in a big armchair next to a fireplace. I moved over to the drummer to try and spread the good will, jam it up etc...It seemed to me the whole band was a little stiff at the time, maybe it was just me, I dunno. I shouted something juvenile at him like "I don't fuckin' care..." and he didn't seem to notice me, his face was kind of grey and stark. He passed out in the middle of the next tune. When he came to a few minutes later we played dead flowers and I think called it a night. Too bad, I was just getting into the zone lol.

 

[smellyfuzz]

It was a band and that's how the general non-musician sees the people on the stage.

They may see the band, but they watch a lead singer, and every move & sound he/she makes.



Sean

 

[Jblount]

Most audiences place the vocal coming from the singers mouth, but dont associate notes from fingers. Its just a wall of sound and they cant distinguish acoustic guitar from electric. Its odd, but that is how they see.

 

[mekkab]

The Chicks from SLANT 6 would give themselves that "oops, I just messed up" look and keep on playin'. They treated it like no big deal, so we didn't care.

 

[Thwok!]

Sounds like talcum powder is something I need in my accessory bag. I don't usually get stage fright, but clubs can be hot and stage lights are hotter. I've often felt that my hand wasn't moving smoothly up and down the neck when on stage because sweat was dripping off my head onto my hand. I adjust to it, but I have to concentrate on that more than I like.

You'd think that sweat would lubricate, but no.

 

[alien]

Sweat has salt and pics up oil on its way out. that's why you feel sticky after finally drying off after a good sweat.

I used to go to a sporting goods store and pick up a resin bag for bowling. If the powder inside wasn't talc, I'd unstictch it, pour in talc, and stitch it back.

Was a bit of work, but the one bag would last a good long time so it was worth the 30 minutes it took

 

[2muchstuff]

Great advice, Alien! There's a guitar player in my band that will find a talc-bag comforting. Your post reminded me of Billy Joel's comment, passed to him from a jazz player: "If you make a mistake, do it again. That way the audience will think you meant it." Whenever I get nervous about the crowd (which only happens, for everyone, before we begin) I think of that and let go of any performance anxiety that would get in the way of having fun. The audience tunes into attitudes as much, or more so, than the little things that go wrong here or there.

 

[Kelly5150]

I remember reading that in a guitar mag about 20 years ago, from some guitar player saying if you mess up just do it again and they'll think you meant to do it...

 

[BrettB]

I remember reading that in a guitar mag about 20 years ago, from some guitar player saying if you mess up just do it again and they'll think you meant to do it...

Seriouwly, when I do something wrong on stage, I've learned not to panic and even try to play like the fault was meant to be. A few gigs ago, I played a very dissonant note on the end of a solo, so it really gave the impression 'this is wrong'. But instead I just kept that note, played it again a couple of bars in a row while making intense faces... the crowd believed it was part of my solo!

 

[Treeline]

I do mostly solo work, and not much at that. But when I goof, I work it into the rapport with the audience. I don't try to hide it. More like "Uh oh ... here it comes..." or "Where'd that come from?" and do the lick or whatever again, or else just move on with a sheepish grin.

The audience is there to have a good time. They don't want you to mess up and if you do, they will feel relief if you can handle it with a sense of humor. They like the idea that you can get up and play in the first place - so don't stress over it.

 

[64Firebird]

Seriouwly, when I do something wrong on stage, I've learned not to panic and even try to play like the fault was meant to be. A few gigs ago, I played a very dissonant note on the end of a solo, so it really gave the impression 'this is wrong'. But instead I just kept that note, played it again a couple of bars in a row while making intense faces... the crowd believed it was part of my solo!

I've done that too. And the really funny thing is when people come up to you later and tell how cool it was.

 

[copperandstars]

My band went on tour for 6 weeks this summer...about 30 shows...and I still get a little nervous every time we play.

 

[Fmmahoganyrush]

I'd say that all the advise here is on point! Another thing I do is a shot or two before I go up . In my old duo, we would just keep plugging along in the face of adversity... like one night when there was a huge bar fight, total chaos.. about 30 cops, one lost his gun in the mayhem... we just kept on playing an Irish Jig (one of the reasons is we didn't want to be confused as part of the fight and end up in the klink for the night). One of the cops came up to us after the crowd was cleared and said laughingly "You guys are like the band on the Titanic.. you kept on playing and went down with the ship". This is something to work on, but you gotta know when to say when... ...the incident in Warwick, RI comes to mind