any solo guitarists performing here? nervous or confident

[tbeltrans]

Originally Posted by eyesore

just wondering if any"solo" guys get nervous when you perform...I do... how do you keep your confidence "up"

For me, playing solo has always been like jumping off a high dive. Yes, I get nervous, but once I have played that first note, I have committed to playing and can't worry about it after that. This is true whether playing live or making a Youtube video.

Tony

[muscmp]

i believe that the artist had better be a little nervous. listen to a lot of the "stars" talking about being nervous about going out in front of people and they have been doing it for years. i know they say practice makes perfect,but, no one is perfect.

when i was playing in the office band in front of 500 people, i was always nervous until i hit the first note or chord. from there on, i was in neverneverland until the end of the song and i would come out of it. i don't believe it is confidence as much as concentration!

play music!

[rogthefrog]

Originally Posted by Howard Emerson

One third of a duo, huh? Alternative math.
HE

Maybe because the duo is greater than the sum of its parts.

[ChrisE]

There is some great advice on this thread. I find that I am more nervous about getting to the gig, setting up, getting this sound right, and everything going according to plan than I am about playing. If I can get to the gig in plenty of time to set up, sound check, and have everything ready to go then I am able to relax and play without nerves. If anything goes wrong in the set up, commute, load in, etc. then I am usually nervous when I start playing.

I suppose my main problem in that regard is that I work a lot at my regular job and I am always trying to rush from work to a gig or from a gig to work. I don't really have any time to decompress in between so it can make things stressful just getting from one place to the next. Couple that with a wife, family issues, teachers from school calling, picking up kids from school, etc. itbcan make for a stressful time.

[eyesore]

well played tonight. it went well. the crowd was about my age ;late 50's and up.[i'm 64]. but could not tun up my volume at all because it's a small restaurant. felt self conscience at first because i was basically playing unamped.as the crowd got a little buzzed from wine;they started clapping . but it was all good. be playing there again every few weeks.

[ARiley]

On the radio today, I heard a Grammy-award-winning record of Ella Fitzgerald and her band covering "Mack the Knife" live. She blew the words sky high but kept on singing, in tune, on the beat, having fun, and her band kept on riffing: "Here's the verse that . . . I forget . . . and . . ." And the audience loved it. And that won a Grammy!

I couldn't *believe* it! But that's the fabulous Ella, trusting her skill and her ear and her band -- and it totally worked. Yeah, that's jazz, and maybe our genre doesn't seem to have room for that, but you know what? The audience is there to have fun. If you're having fun, they're having fun. So have fun.

If you catch a clam, keep the beat going. Keep the progression going. Take a breath until it comes around on the guitar again, like Arlo said: "Doot doot doot, You can get anything you want . . . "

[Goat Mick]

My best friend of 40+ years was one of Bluegrass Unlimited magazine's top three bass players in the world for three years. He played thousands of shows before he retired and he always told me that the day I stop being nervous before I step onstage is the day I need to hang it up and quit. Every time I step up to a mic I'm nervous until I hit the first chord and then I'm home. I absolutely love it. I'm relaxing from tonight's show right now and I'm already getting fired up about tomorrow's show. It's a great life!

[jaybones]

I won't say I'm a seasoned veteran, but I've played in front of more crowds than I can count. Had a couple years of playing out under my belt when I performed in one of my last bands (with a couple high school friends, and a friend of mine at school on drums, no rehearsal with him) where I was going to college.

I was way more nervous playing in front of my friends, people whose opinions I cared about and would see again after the performance was over.

The show went better than I expected.

When playing solo to a bunch of strangers I couldn't care less what they thought of me. Not that I got up there and didn't try my best. I knew my songs backwards and forwards, and knew my voice was on key and as good as it was going to get (don't think I sound great, but people tell me they like what I sound like).

I knew I was playing the best I could, and wasn't making any serious mistakes, so I didn't care if they liked it or not.

[Wade Hampton]

Stage nerves are just another form of the anxiety that can hit us when we're in a recording studio. The key thing is to think of these nerves and anxieties as a form of energy, which is exactly what they are. So take that energy and funnel it into your performance.

That's what works for me, anyway.


Wade Hampton Miller

[Alex6strings]

Originally Posted by eyesore

well played tonight. it went well. the crowd was about my age ;late 50's and up.[i'm 64]. but could not tun up my volume at all because it's a small restaurant. felt self conscience at first because i was basically playing unamped.as the crowd got a little buzzed from wine;they started clapping . but it was all good. be playing there again every few weeks.

Congrats on the good night. I'm glad it went well. I think you're probably quite good at dealing with your nerves already. Which is most definitely better than myself. A gig is a gig and they may not pay well but open mics can be a cold lonely place at times so to walk away felling you did well is great.

Sent from my A1601 using Tapatalk

[AndrewG]

I'm a recent returner to pure acoustic playing after several years in a rock band, so I guess going solo might be a bit of a learning curve. I feel a little nervy anticipation before a gig, but once I start playing any nerves fade away and I just get on with the job.
I agree with a previous comment about playing to small numbers as opposed to a larger, anonymous, audience though. It can be quite scary feeling that attention focussed on you from 20 people! Oh, and never apologise for screwing up-unless it's really bad in which case just make a joke out of it. Chances are nobody will have noticed! Oh yes; and smile!