Playing in the moment (releasing from tension and improving focus and awareness)

[rmp]

This thread is comforting,

"so it's not just me.. hmp! Go figure!"

It's not all the pieces that I've got in the repertoire but a few.

One of them is an Alex D'Grassi piece and not even one of his what I assume would be hardest ones.

It's kind of like running a 1/2 marathon with the last 2 miles being up a steep hill.

I've had to abandon it, and then I've tried to revive it, but it ends the same.

I can get thru playing the parts ok, that's not the issue, it's the endurance from start to end that kills me. I guess it's just not in the cards for me and that song in this one example.

Then again, it's Alex, and well he aint no slouch.

[TBman]

Originally Posted by SprintBob

Great feedback and discussion and let me clarify, it’s not just about playing in the moment and releasing yourself when recording or playing in front of others, but every time you pick up the guitar to play.

Bob, do you ever play along with the original rendition of a tune? I do it all the time. That might help you get "into" a tune more.

[SprintBob]

Originally Posted by TBman

Bob, do you ever play along with the original rendition of a tune? I do it all the time. That might help you get "into" a tune more.

Yes I do with the Amazing Slow Downer app.

[Norsepicker]

Very useful thread for me. I was a theatre professor and professional actor for a time and used to have to teach this. I came very late to being successful on stage in eliminating performance detrimental tension. I took up guitar late and thought there would be more crossover. There wasn't. In acting it didn't matter so much if your hands shook, in guitar it did, as I discovered in my first attempt to perform publicly. Pretty much have avoided performance since unless performing with musical partners who can take up the slack if I flame out. Recently taking clawhammer banjo lessons on FaceTime from a very demanding teacher and trying to record for him, and record guitar as well. I find that the anxiety in front of him and the anxiety after pushing the red button are pretty much the same. What I've found instructive from recording and his badgering is that I really didn't know the pieces I thought I knew well enough to perform them. For me the main difficulty is getting the rhythm right, which of course entails everything else. I'll try to put the advice here to use and thank the posters for it. Pretty impressed with the caliber of players who have taken the time to respond.

[Mr. Jelly]

An additional thought about performing is why? Why do you perform or aspire to? Is it for attention? Or to show your skills or give people pleasure? Down deep what is your answer? Really. The point being that if a person focuses on their reason when performing they are not focusing on "not playing well". Or a million other distractions. You know what you are trying to accomplish and are there to do the best you can. That's all anyone can do.

[SprintBob]

Originally Posted by Mr. Jelly

An additional thought about performing is why? Why do you perform or aspire to? Is it for attention? Or to show your skills or give people pleasure? Down deep what is your answer? Really. The point being that if a person focuses on their reason when performing they are not focusing on "not playing well". Or a million other distractions. You know what you are trying to accomplish and are there to do the best you can. That's all anyone can do.

Why I play is for my enjoyment and health. To clarify, my issue is being focused, aware, and relaxed any time I play regardless of whether I am playing in front of someone (which is extremely rare) or recording (which is becoming more frequent for me). I agree with you about distractions, it’s a real challenge to put the rest of the day to the side when you pick up your guitar.

[Davis Webb]

Good thread, but I am going talk about vocals.

My vocal style ( i do 60 performances each summer)...changed over the years.

It used to be projection, like musical theatre.

Now it is soft, close to the mic and really opening up tension from the whole body. I am doing gospel runs now, stuff I never could before.

In other words, I am doing what you said OP, but with respect to voice.

[TBman]

Originally Posted by SprintBob

Why I play is for my enjoyment and health. To clarify, my issue is being focused, aware, and relaxed any time I play regardless of whether I am playing in front of someone (which is extremely rare) or recording (which is becoming more frequent for me). I agree with you about distractions, it’s a real challenge to put the rest of the day to the side when you pick up your guitar.

Bob, you might want to try picking a chord progression and just noodle with them - no tab, no pressure, just relax and play.