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  #16  
Old 09-28-2009, 09:58 AM
BigRed51 BigRed51 is offline
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Originally Posted by vac4873 View Post
take every opportunity you can to play in front of an audience, large or small, and this will make the activity part of what you "normally" do. Play a church, at jails, at rest homes, at schools, wherever you can play for others.
Amen! I don't believe there is any other way to get over your tenseness.

As I have pointed out a few times, I am an old person. It has been somewhere over 45 years since I first sang and played guitar in front of people. I'm sure I was nervous, but I really don't remember. I do remember that it took awhile getting comfortable in a "spotlight" environment, where the room is dark, all you see is lights when you look toward the audience, and you can't see the faces. To this day, I much prefer a situation where I can watch the folks and see their reaction, which allows me to change the set to match what they are enjoying the most.

I don't know what style of music you play, but find every possible situation to be in front of folks that will like the the genre you play ... even if it's an audience of one! As you play and sing, make as much eye contact as possible, and smile at 'em! I don't believe that the goal is to keep the "practicing at home" feeling when you have an audience as much as it is getting used to playing and singing well when you're tense ... then sooner or later, the tenseness will fade, and you will really start to have fun.

Finally, if your music style lends itself to jams, find as many as you can and participate often ... just another way to adjust to playing with eyes watching, and people tend to be very supportive.
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  #17  
Old 10-04-2009, 11:00 PM
taylorDude710 taylorDude710 is offline
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Beer or bourbon works wonders
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  #18  
Old 10-04-2009, 11:17 PM
susitna susitna is offline
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I haven't done a gig yet, still working on my repertoire (and trying to teach myself how to sing and play at the same time).

But when I do vocal performances or karaoke, I try to start with a song that's about feeling confident and/or relaxed. That way, when I start to tighten up I just remind myself to take the advice that I'm singing. For bonus points, I try to pick something easy as well. Jennifer Lopez's "Feeling so Good" seems to work wonders for me (now just to make an acoustic version... ).
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  #19  
Old 10-05-2009, 01:25 AM
Billy Memphis Billy Memphis is offline
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That is a great idea! Taking the advice of the song you are singing.This shows you can really get involved with your music, which certainly bodes well for you as a performer. Good job.
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  #20  
Old 10-05-2009, 10:48 AM
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Quote:
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Beer or bourbon works wonders
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Originally Posted by ewalling View Post
a surgeon friend of mine gave me some beta-blockers as an experiment. I took one and then he and all his friends came round to hear me play. It was perfect!
I just heard Steve Earle interviewed on Fresh Air. He struggled with alcohol. He said empahtically that performing drunk hurts performance, not helps it.

However, many people use Inderal, a beta blocker, to deal with performance anxiety. I have lawyer friends that use it before big jury summations. If I am going to be doing a performance that is taking me way out of my comfort zone, I will take an Inderal an hour before. I feel no effects at all. I just simply realize that I am not nervouse at all and really can get into my performance. Here is a link to a discussion of Inderal and performance anxiety. http://www.ethanwiner.com/BetaBlox.html

Works great for me.
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  #21  
Old 10-05-2009, 12:19 PM
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Everything Larry said, and if all that fails, alcohol would do it pretty quickly.
Of course only up to the point to get you out of the wheel of tenseness you're in. Once you're out, alcohol is out too. Problem is that some people get caught up in the wheel for too long
He might end up grabbing someone's mic and say "I'm really happy for you and i'm gonna let you finish, but I thought taylor guitars make the best guitars of all Time!"
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  #22  
Old 10-05-2009, 12:39 PM
murrare murrare is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by taylorDude710 View Post
Beer or bourbon works wonders
I've done all the tricks in the book as far as getting comfortable in front of people: breathing techniques, imagining everyone in their underwear, visualizing playing in front of people at all times, playing as often as possible, etc. Some have worked, but all seem to wear off eventually and I'm back where I started.

If I'm playing a show that's bigger than my comfort level allows, I'll go buy a couple of Jack Daniels shooters to have on hand just in case. I'll shoot one about 15 minutes before hand, and it works wonders. And believe me, I'm not what you would call a "drinker".

I know that drinking alcohol affects your playing in a bad way, but so does anxiety! You'll have to walk that line between being comfortable and being passed out...
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  #23  
Old 10-06-2009, 10:44 AM
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Some good advise I can't emphasize enough the importance of practicing with a mic and practice plugged in. My first live performance was a bit of a nightmare purely because I was completely thrown by the live sound, I was expecting it to sound like it dies when I'm practising at home. Since then I have practised with a mic and amp and have no problem now, still get the nerves though.
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  #24  
Old 10-12-2009, 07:26 AM
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Played at a large party at a farm over the weekend. They initially had me set up outdoors, which was uncomfortably chilly and after about half an hour I was struggling with the typical problems that cold fingers cause. Fortunately, someone asked me to move inside around that time and I was happy to oblige. "Inside" was not heated, but it was still quite a bit warmer, and I played for another three hours. Got some other people to sing some songs, do harmonies, etc. It was a fun gig, and a good learning experience.
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  #25  
Old 10-12-2009, 08:01 AM
Acoustic Rick Acoustic Rick is offline
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Hey man, chances are you're worked long and hard to get to where you are if you're gigging already. SO, that being said, just let yourself go. Let the music take you away and you'll get so into it that it wouldn't matter if the Queen of England was in the audience. Dig in and enjoy!
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  #26  
Old 10-12-2009, 03:05 PM
mellowman mellowman is offline
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Looks like you've got some great advice here. For me, starting with some tunes I'm really comfortable with is a big one. That lets me get into flow of the performance without having to worry about the technical aspects of the playing too much. Also, there's no substitute for just doing a lot of performing. It does seem to get easier over time.
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  #27  
Old 10-12-2009, 07:44 PM
mmmaak mmmaak is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Kira View Post
He might end up grabbing someone's mic and say "I'm really happy for you and i'm gonna let you finish, but I thought taylor guitars make the best guitars of all Time!"
Shouldn't that be Beyonce guitars?
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  #28  
Old 10-14-2009, 07:53 PM
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Beta blockers. I was amazed at the number of professional musicians (mostly in big name orchestras) that rely on beta blockers to perform. Of course the other methods should be tried first.
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  #29  
Old 10-16-2009, 07:08 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ewalling View Post
I've had the intention of playing in public for some time now. I've got the gear - a Fishman SoloAmp, a mic and some nice guitars - but now I just need the courage! Funny, I can stand before a conference room full people and speak, but even an informal performance on the guitar makes my fingers quiver ever so slightly, but enough that only the most rudimentary fingerstyle piece is possible. In the 80s, when I was living in Spain, a surgeon friend of mine gave me some beta-blockers as an experiment. I took one and then he and all his friends came round to hear me play. It was perfect! Not the guitar playing, I hasten to add, but my nerves. I know drugs are not the way, but that pill certainly cancelled out this reaction. I think in the main, though, it is frequency of performance that does the trick. At a few points in my life when I have played in front of a few people, I've noticed that the problem did diminish somewhat.
Try starting small and easing your way into playing in front of big crowds. Find one family member or friend you can play for in a safe environment. Then bring in 2, then 3, then 4, etc.
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  #30  
Old 10-16-2009, 07:30 AM
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Part of the problem is that you are trying too hard to make it perfect and when you do that, you put pressure on yourself and tense up. Lots of expirence helps and so does the realization that you can and will make mistakes and it won't be the end of the world. Just keep going and relax. Have fun with it. I often joke with my audience before I play.

Try this, record yourself during practice. Record it as if you are going to produce it. That always makes me want to get it perfect and it never is. That may give you the same kind of feeling as in front of an audience. If you can learn to overcome that, then the rest will be easier.
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