Stage Fright

[Silly Moustache]

Just to reinforce what I wrote about this back in July - this may be helpful :

[FanoFan]

I don't think there is a trick, it just comes with time unfortunately. I've been playing on stage (as a drummer) for over 30 years and I still get nervous sometimes. I will say that I find playing in front of a few friends or family members much more anxiety inducing than playing in front of a few thousand strangers.

[Charlie Bernstein]

I do both of these:

Gambit 1. Attitude:

Don't take yourself so seriously. And if that's not possible, then don't take yourself more seriously than your audience takes you.

It also helps me to be fatalistic. First, I assume that everything that can go wrong will go wrong. Then I imagine in glorious Technicolor every way I might screw up. Then I tell myself it'll all happen. Then I ask myself: Who actually cares? Answer: No one but me!

And suddenly I don't care, either.

Gambit 2. Surrogate:

If you can't regroove your attitude, just pretend you're someone else. I have an imaginary alter ego named "Neon" Leon Fullerton. He's everything I'm not: charming, talented, good-looking, charismatic, well-prepared, popular. I send him on stage. Then I sit back and enjoy the show.

[LukeE]

I'm a quiet and reserved guy by nature. Hate public speaking, borderline anti-social, etc. So I struggled a lot with stage fright when I was doing a weekly open mic a few years ago. I nearly bailed on every open mic I ever played. For me, the waiting for my turn, then the walk up to the mic and plugging were the absolute worst parts. So I'd usually try to get the 2nd or 3rd slot. The nerves eased once I actually started the first song.

And playing cover songs was one thing -- you can kinda "hide" behind someone else's song. But playing originals is a whole other thing for me. One, because my originals probably aren't very good . And two, it's really putting yourself out there. So mentally I try to treat my originals as just "some songs I know" rather than "songs I wrote."

Sadly, the coffee shop that held the really good weekly open mic the next town over from me closed. I've been looking for another good one that fits my schedule for a few years now. I found that playing in public on a regular basis spurred me to write more songs and improve my technique more than just playing in my living room.

In the end, most people can't play an instrument and won't notice 99% of your mistakes. And it's all for fun anyway, so don't take yourself too seriously.

[Charlie Bernstein]

Originally Posted by LukeE

. . . And playing cover songs was one thing -- you can kinda "hide" behind someone else's song. But playing originals is a whole other thing for me. One, because my originals probably aren't very good . And two, it's really putting yourself out there. . . .

I just don't tell people I wrote 'em. I let 'em think it's just a song they're not familiar with. If they ask, I usually say it's by "Neon" Leon Fullerton (my pen name). I've turned a lot of appreciative people on to Neon Leon that way.

Sometimes I credit a popular artist: "Here's one of my favorite Tom Petty tunes," or "This is a Jackson Browne song that slipped under the commercial radar" or, "Glad you liked it! I think I got it from Commander Cody's third album."

You can even cite a made-up band, e.g. "Here's one from Umbrella Cocktail Manifesto's latest CD" or "Here's one for all you Geranium 235 fans" or "That was a B-side from an Al Bumen and the Eggheads single."

Audiences love having their cultural horizons expanded.

[anton]

I struggled with playing in front of folks in the beginning, and for me it never truly goes away. As other folks have said, more experience and time tends to calm those nerves a good bit, at least for me.

Being well prepared helps too, i assume my playing ability is going to drop by 20-30% if I'm performing, so over preparing and being able to nail those hard parts helps.

One thing that has helped me is to mentally convince myself, "they are going to like me and they are there to listen to me". I try to avoid saying phrases like "here is my next song, i hope you like it". The audience is already there to support you and listen, you don't need to ask for their permission. At least in the places i play at, which are quiet instrumental guitar concerts.

Eric Skye has a good talk on confidence here.


I try to be a bit more dialed up version of myself on stage. Things like talking "out" in a more presentational way, and looking out at the audience vs down at my guitar or my shoes.

Knowing what to talk about between the tunes is something I am still working on. In the beginning i would literally plan out everything i was going to say between each tune, to the point of almost scripting it out. Over time it became less planned out. Now I have chunks of things to talk about between each tune, so i can insert them where needed. Or I'll talk about where i learned the tune, or just try to make something up on the spot, which sometimes falls flat.

I will say as a solo guitarist I don't really enjoy performing as background music , and tend to avoid those kind of performance situations. With a band its different, but as a soloist I prefer people to be attentive and listening. But thats just me.

I hope some of that is useful

[DaveG]

I figure I'll either play good or I'll screw up. Either way I'll be entertaining!

[Robin, Wales]

Originally Posted by DaveG

I figure I'll either play good or I'll screw up. Either way I'll be entertaining!

^^^^^^^ Love it!

I definitely practice cocking up. As it is bound to happen. I played a solo spot at a choir concert last night - 50+ seated audience, no p.a. so it was just me and guitar standing there in front of them. I forgot the first line of the second verse so I just rolled the turnaround and sang the first line of the first verse followed by the rest of the second verse - no one noticed. I'm getting very good at picking or strumming additional measures while I remember words!!!

I've not been playing as a solo act for very long - just since the end of the pandemic, so under two years. But the more I play out in front of folks the easier it gets to be calm and enjoy the moment.

For me, it really is a case of the more experience I get of playing in front of people the easier it becomes.