stagefright

[epiphoneguitarist221]

ya, i have a battle of the bands coming up (one week away) and im pretty confident about the songs, but the thing is, we as a band have NEVER played anywhere together besides practices, and i havent ever played a show, im nervous as hell, i also have a solo on the first song were gonna play. what do you , and what should i do 2 deal with this nervousness ?
:confused:

[SlapHappySunshine]

Practice practice practice.

[acrypticburial]

the only show type thing ive ever played was a talent show at school, and it was the first time ever playing in front of people, i had a solo aswell. all went good, you have to have the right attitude about it, just go out and be like, im lucky i get to do this, and just have fun.

Also it might help to just have some of your peers over to where you practice, just to get used to playing infront of someone

[epiphoneguitarist221]

ya
any more?

[loserkid5643]

Please make sure you do better than my band did at our first show.. Of course that won't be hard. I started off being nervous but you loosen up after a bit and it just becomes a lot of fun.

[himynameistweek]

Also it might help to just have some of your peers over to where you practice, just to get used to playing infront of someone
you should definitely try that. just get 3,4,5...20.... friends over, play for them. that will give you a good idea of how nervous you'll be and it will help get you used to playing in front of people. I am, by nature, a very shy, quiet, nervous person. I hate talking in front of people, i hate playing guitar in front of people. but when i'm with a band, i have no problem. i don't know why, i actually really enjoy it.

[innovation]

and if you feel that you suck, record some material and have both people u dont know and friends to review it. if they all give praise, then you've hit the mark, u can rightfully grow sum balls now, but make sure u pick a varied bunch, we all know some people can be big music snobs.

[echoed_song]

I've only performed public once or twice, and it was small, but the two things that always help me are: one, practice as much as possible if at all possible. That way, you can at least tell yourself that no matter how freaked out you are, your fingers/vocal chords/whatever will know what they're doing. Practice something enough and you can be unconscious and still play it, so you can know you'll do ok.
The second thing is adrenaline. Once you get there and you're about to go on, that stuff starts roaring through your system. Especially once you get some applause or something. The audience isn't against you--they're here because you're here, to hear you play. You don't have to convince them you're worth hearing, just give them what they want, and bask in the glory after you're done.
Oh and screw-ups that you notice, most others don't, so don't stress if you mess up. Just keep going. Chances are, only you'll know.
That's my advice, but if someone else here contradicts me, you should probably listen to them over me. My experience is pretty limited heh.

[gaslight]

I'm a really shy guy and not outgoing at all, but I've completely gotten past stage fright now because I just think, what is there to worry about, all I'm doing is playing my instrument like I've done a thousand times before, except this time people are watching.

[Ando]

What Echoed Song said is absolutely true. We did a show last year at our school and because our bass player got suspended the day before, we only found out on the morning of the performance that he couldnt play. I therefore had about 20 minutes to learn how to play bass to Knocking On Heavens Door and Keep On Rocking In The Free World. I was only a beginner at guitar, and had no idea how to play bass. But even though i had no idea, we got up there and gave it a go. The only people in the audience who picked that i couldnt play bass were the music teachers and bass player themselves. After the performance we got a standing ovation. So as long as the audience has something half decent to listen to, they will like it generally. The definately wont notice the minor things that often, and probably will, go wrong :)

[LivingDeadBoy]

im past it i believe... i remember when i did have it. Please notice im the bassist/vocalist

[kriswrite]

Yep, get together some groups of friends and family and perform in front of them as a group. Another thing that can help is to treat your practice sessions like a performance. Now that you've got your tunes down, don't stop and start. Go from the beginning of your set to the end of it. Behave exactly as you should in front of an audience. Even go so far as to imagine walking on stage, with the audience present, and imagine the group in front of you as you perform.

Another tip is to pin point exactly WHY you're nervous. Are you worried you'll mess up? If you do mess up, what's the worst that can happen? Most likely you'll realize the consequences aren't that bad :) Are you worried about making a good impression? Instead, focus on enjoying yourself and creating music. Etc. etc. etc.

I hope this helps,
Kristina
http://voicestudio.kristinaseleshanko.com

[epiphoneguitarist221]

thanks guys/girls i guess there really isnt to much to be worried about

[gaslight]

Nope, just go out and have fun, and the more used to it you get, the more fun you'll have, and the more fun you have, the more fun the audience has :).

[Merkaba]

I dont know about the friends and family things. If they are cool then yea, but sometimes you might get looks and vibes from people that cant relate to your music, where as at a show if you even decent youre gonna see someone bobbing their head or something. Just practice and if youre tight, you wont have any problems because thats way more important than anything else. My first show i was nervous but we had good shlt, so after about halfway throught the first verse you just say fvck it. Dude, if this is what you want to do, then go ahead and relax, why waste time if you want to be a musician. Let it go and get on to better things to spend your energy on. If youre tight it wont matter , trust me...thats the most important thing.

[Sardon]

It will go away when you do more gigs and get used to play infront of people. I've found it very helpfull to start moving when the first song starts and when the next song starts you're not as frightened at all.

[epiphoneguitarist221]

ya , well this one is for a PRIZE, we WANT 2 do as good as possible (4 hour free recording session)

[the_uber_penguin]

Put you're easiest song first. Preferably the most fun one to do, as well.

[moaner]

ken has a band called stagefright...

[Trigger_003]

ken has a band called stagefright...
Yeah lol, that's what I thought this thread was about when I first saw the title.

Anyway, as already said, take your easiest song (by that I mean the one you all know how to play the best without making much of a mistake) and play that first if you're playing a set (and if you can still change the order). With an easy song, you'll complete it fine which will give you a massive boost. You can go out there and enjoy yourself without having the fear of making a mistake.

Most people are going to have a great time just because they are there and loving the whole concert anyway. I went to a Spiderbait concert the other day just to check em out (not so great IMHO). They did hardly any crowd relation stuff but the people in the pit were crowd surfing and stuff just because they were there.

As long as you don't walk up there SHOWING that you're shy or play SHOWING that you made a mistake - if you happen to make one - you'll be fine. If you make a mistake, it's done. Thinking about it won't change it, so get on with the rest of the song; don't put yourself off by going "oh god, that mistake was so bad, how could I have done that?".

Just enjoy the experience. That's what it's all about. :thumb:

[Distant Echoes]

Some people work better under pressure, but usually when one little mistake comes along, its all downhill from there. Just dont let them get to you on stage and you should be fine.

And make sure at the very beginning of your songs, do not get the tempo too fast, because then you cant slow down and the whole thing will just be worse and more difficult to keep up with. I remember reading an article about lynyrd skynyrd, and they said on their first tour, opening for the who (i think), they were nervous as hell and got through their first five songs in about 10 minutes. Just dont let the little things have a long term effect

[Merkaba]

Some people work better under pressure, but usually when one little mistake comes along, its all downhill from there. Just dont let them get to you on stage and you should be fine.

And make sure at the very beginning of your songs, do not get the tempo too fast, because then you cant slow down and the whole thing will just be worse and more difficult to keep up with. I remember reading an article about lynyrd skynyrd, and they said on their first tour, opening for the who (i think), they were nervous as hell and got through their first five songs in about 10 minutes. Just dont let the little things have a long term effect

^ Pink Floyd kicks *** :thumb:

[SonorKen]

hahaha I thought someone was talking about my band!!

Well, here is what I would do. First thing, don't put a song your nervous about first. Put the easier music first. This does 2 things, it allows you to warm and limber up and it will build confidence. The worse thing you can do is miss that solo, you'll be crushed and will suffer for it. The first HUGE crowd I played for I had a case of Stagefright. I stared at the bells of my cymbals until it passed.

Large crowds put off an energy, I find myself actually craving that energy. It is a phenominal feeling when you are doing something that so many people are in touch with. I love watching people dance, sing our lyrics, play air drums to my fills, its phenominal and you can only get that feeling playing live.

[10571z]

yeh my bands got there first gig cumming up on the 19th of march im neverous im have to sing!! im not a singer arghh but u only live once so you may as well do your best