Are you stressed out when playing in front of people?

[Aisha]

This has probably already been discussed, so sorry if I'm repeating.

I've been playing for a bit more than a year learning by myself (and with much help I find here on this forum) and last week I played for the first time in front of 2 of my close friends (one of them is a bass player). I felt a bit nervous but not too much, I was even quite confident, but when I started to play I couldn't do anything right. Though there are tunes that I can play almost automatically without even thinking when I'm alone, in front of them it was a disaster, it seemed like my fingers did not want to move and do what my brains told them!

Strangely it's not the same when I play for family members, even my grand-mother who was a professional pianist, not saying it's all perfect but no comparison with my last week lame performance. Does this sometimes happen to you or should I definitely consider therapy ;)? Well, my grand-mother also has a problem playing in public so there are probably some genetics, but I wonder if this is something common among musicians.

I did other public performances in the past in front of 600 people (bellydance shows) and didn't have this problem, but I wasn't alone on stage so that might partly explain it. But when I had to improvise in front of my dance teacher, same thing, I could never do it right.

Do you encounter these kind of situations (I mean with the mandolin), and how do you get rid of this stress so at least you can play decently?

Thanks in advance for sharing your experiences :).

[Aisha]

I'm not sure the title of my post makes sense (English is not my mother tongue), please feel free to correct it -and blame my former English teacher ;)...

[catmandu2]

Others will no doubt weigh-in and provide links to resources--of which there are many strategies--for overcoming "stage fright," fear of being judged, etc.

Many folks--even professionals--struggle with this throughout thier careers. Unfortunately, it can affect us so acutely as to prevent us from performing altogether -- many well-known cases: Brian Wilson, Andy Partridge, and probably countless others who may or may not attribute various "issues" to these stressors.

[Pen]

It is much more common than you might think Aisha. Even those of us who have played hundreds of live performances get nervous. I will say that WHAT makes you nervous will change. It takes a larger profile event now than it used to for me. I dare say that if you continue to put yourself out there, pretty soon playing in front of 2 friends will be a breeze. Keep it up!

Also - tell me more about the belly dancing.....

[JeffD]

My job requires a fair amount of talking in front of groups. It was something that scared the potatoes out of me. It still does but feelings of fear and feelings of excitement are so connected as to be the opposite sides of the same coin. So if I figured out a way to eliminate the fear, the excitement would be gone too, and it would cease to be something fun.

That being said, 15 mintues before every talk I give, and 15 minutes before every time I perform music for an audience, I get very anxious, and contemplate breaking an ankle on a nearby staircase just to get out of the gig.

[Tom C]

All the time.

[Ed Goist]

You are not alone.
I had a very shaky first go of it this past summer. Here's a thread about it. (http://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/showthread.php?64259-Shaky-First-Performance)
This after years of professional public speaking.

[CES]

This issue is very common, and please allow me to complement your English despite your concerns! Honestly, you'll see much worse grammar than you will probably ever post from those of us in the US, as we tend to fall into slang and/or internet short-hand easily...

I agree that playing with others more is the only way to ever be able to move beyond your fears. I still develop anxiety whenever I try to play with real musiciansn (I'm an untalented beginner). And, I can play in front of my wife without any worries, but absolutely hate trying to sing if she's anywhere within earshot...:mandosmiley:

[AlanN]

You most certainly are not alone. It's well known that the great Robert Johnson had to turn away from people and face the corner to record. There's an album cover depicting that.

[farmerjones]

It takes a very short ladder for me to get virtago and be scared of heights. Yet i can repel and zipline, high up in the trees. Why? Because i am wearing a safety harness. The harness makes you think you are safe.
I think it's the same performing. I have practiced a mindset, of confidence. In reality i know i am not close to being capable at really anything i play, but i tell myself a bunch of balogna before i play out in public. Also remember, whoever you are playing to/for is on your side. They are not waiting for a crash. Many, many times they do not hear the mistakes you can plainly hear. So relax, and tell yourself you have what it takes. And really what do you have to loose? I am also, hard to embarass. I know that if i am already on the ground, i can fall no farther. ;)

[birdman98]

Yes!

I havent played out ALL that much, but I did get miserably nervous at first. And that nervousness SO effected my playing in a not-so-positive way.

After a few times, something great started to happen. I started to genuinely ENJOY playing my stuff in front of other people. And the more I enjoyed it, the more I relaxed. And the more I relaxed...THE BETTER I PLAYED!

So...just keep gettin' out there!

[Mandobart]

Aisha - Your English is better than that of most of us Americans! I agree with all of the above; it is always more stressful to play for others than alone or with very close friends. I believe the anxiety associated with any performance depends on the relationship to those you are performing for. Family members and close friends already love you; you don't need to impress them. However, for strangers or aquaintances that I would like to impress, I am more nervous and therefore make more mistakes. Also, I am more nervous when playing solo than in a group. You will become more used to it. Keep playing! (and dancing!)

[Mike Bunting]

This issue is very common, and please allow me to complement your English despite
And just plain bad spelling. You are looking for the the word complIment not complEment.

compliment
noun |ˈkämpləmənt|
a polite expression of praise or admiration

complement
noun |ˈkämpləmənt|
1 a thing that completes or brings to perfection : the libretto proved a perfect complement to the music.
Sorry. :)

[Steve Ostrander]

I believe that being somewhat anxious before a gig forces you to try to play your best, rather than be complacent about it.

I'm not talking about anxious to the point of vomiting before a gig. That's a problem.

[RobP]

I found that the irrational fear subsided the more I practiced playing in front of people. I started out in church on guitar - probably the most friendly audience you can get. I used to be *terrified*. Now when I'm performing I am usually only nervous if I start to think about what I am doing too much. I try to NEVER NEVER think while I am playing :)

Rob

[Alex Orr]

You most certainly are not alone. It's well known that the great Robert Johnson had to turn away from people and face the corner to record. There's an album cover depicting that.
I'm going to disagree with that one. For those who don't know, RJ famously chose to face the wall of the makeshift recording "studio" that was set up for his first recordings. Why he chose to do this has been heavily debated in blues circles for decades. There have been suggestions that he was shy, but there are also tons of other theories. One holds that the room's size swallowed up his sound, making it harder for him to hear, so chose to face the wall where he could get a bit of sound reflection and thus better hear himself. The one that I tend to believe is that he was paranoid about folks stealing his licks. These were not sessions just for RJ and the room would likely have had other blues performers standing quietly by, waiting their turn to record, and checking out whoever was playing. My former professor, Barry Pearson, wrote a book on RJ in which he interviewed a lot of folks including Johnny Shines, who was one of the few people RJ would go out on the road and play with for extended periods of time. Shines said RJ was very possessive about his playing. He would play anywhere and anytime (he made his money as a live performer at house parties or busking on street corners) but if he caught anyone looking at his hands too long, he would turn away from them or abruptly stop the song. Shines' theory (and the one Pearson believes) is that RJ did not want a roomful of blues musicians (who he saw as competitors) getting an up close look at how he played his songs, so he turned his back on them and played to the wall. Interestingly enough, Louis Armstrong had a similar sort of paranoia early in his career and he would frequently play with a handkerchief over his fingers so no one could see what fingerings he was using on his horn. While it was often seen as simply an act of showmanship, Armstrong himself stated it was to keep others from being able tot steal his signature riffs and voicings. The fact that RJ would play for hours in front of people on street corners sort of destroys the myth of him as a shy and reclusive genius, a myth that was basically perpetuated by early liner note writers for his first compilation back in the '60s.

[eadg145]

It's well known that the great Robert Johnson had to turn away from people and face the corner to record. There's an album cover depicting that.

I assume you were making a wry joke, Alan, but just in case, I'll point out that I think the guy from CBS who recorded that session in the hotel room used the corner of the room to improve the acoustics to the microphone.

[CES]

And just plain bad spelling. You are looking for the the word complIment not complEment.

compliment
noun |ˈkämpləmənt|
a polite expression of praise or admiration

complement
noun |ˈkämpləmənt|
1 a thing that completes or brings to perfection : the libretto proved a perfect complement to the music.
Sorry. :)

You are, of course, correct. The edit above (at 2:17) was meant to correct that error, but I've been reading about complement levels (as in the cascade of events invoked during an immune response) and just giggled at the irony and left it there. No need to apologize! :))

[Keith Witty]

I find it goes away with time. I used to get nervous, but never anymore.

[Dale Ludewig]

I've been playing in front of people since the 60's. I've also played with a bunch of people who were way too good- they scared me half to death. A few years ago, I pretty much stopped worrying. Maybe I'm getting old and just don't care so much anymore. Hmm. Let me rephrase: I am getting older and don't care so much anymore. Life's too short! Music is for playing. :)

[Aisha]

Thanks a lot for all your answers and compliments on my English ;) - and I take full advantage from the fact that you can't hear my French accent.

I guess I'll have to torture my friends so I get used to the context. This said even if they love me no matter how I play, I'd rather offer them something that sounds good to their ears because I love them too.

Sure it must be something common to most musicians, but I was surprised and very frustrated that it affected my playing so much. I'll have to be courageous to renew the experience because my first thought after that was 'Ok, I'll try this again in a few years... maybe'.

I also take good note of Jeff's point: if I had to choose between the gig and the hospital because of a broken ankle, I'd definitely choose the gig no matter what, so next time right before playing I'll think about that, I'm sure it will help me play better imagining a lot worse could happen ;)!

As for the bellydance (should be subject to another forum, there's a lot to say, about the music too), stress doesn't help for this either, and improvising in front of a Morrocan teacher/professional dancer who's one of my references, even after 6 years of practice was yet another story. Now I try to keep dancing but mandolin took over simply because there are only 24 hours in one day (and coping with work, etc.) and... I guess now I'm even more addicted to mandolin so I do that first whenever I have free time.

[Randi Gormley]

I've been in plays since elementary school and did a lot of community theater after college, did some beledi myself, and never felt a twinge of stage fright. But since I took up the mandolin, I've learned differently. The first time I had a duet (with my husband) on mandolin, my hand shook so badly I was surprised I didn't drop the pick. I had to stop in the middle of a phrase until I got my fear under control while my husband just vamped for a measure or two ... it was never quite as bad as that afterward. There were two other incidents (burned into my mind, of course): one time when I thought that a couple of guys i'd been speaking with (strangers) might show up at a performance of my group on my recommendation and I freaked so badly I couldn't finish my usual duet with my husband and just put my mandolin down halfway through the piece after shaking my head at the group leader. The other time was when I was taking a workshop and the teacher had all of us play something for him so he could judge our level. I'd been playing for five years or so by then, but my mind went completely blank and I couldn't do anything at all. Couple of friends and I joked afterward that I'd sound like the 'most improved player' by the end of the week when my terror went away. These were all semi- or real solos. Even at my most embarrassed, I didn't have problems playing with a group. I'm not nearly so bad these days provided I don't think too much about what I'm doing and just try to zone out. Closing my eyes helps a bit, too.

[John Flynn]

I see being able to play in front of an audience as a kind of musical skill, one that different people have to different degrees, but one that any musician can develop. If you play out a lot, you get better at it. Also, I think it has different dimensions for different people. I know very good solo musicians who have a hard time playing for an audience. Yet I know musicans who are just OK, but they are every bit as good in front of an audience as they are in private. The OP spoke of being able to play music in front of relatives and being able to bellydance in front of 600 people. I'm the opposite. I can play music for 600 people, but have trouble playing in front of my relatives, I guess because of the emotional content.

And I would be VERY nervous bellydancing in front of anyone! Not as nervous as the audience would be, but still very nervous!!! :))

My advice is to play out more. It gets easier. Also, my mandolin mentor once told me that to perform a tune well, with all the distractions and stage fright, you have to "over-practice" it, meaning getting the tune down in private is only half way there. It's like you have to "know it in your sleep." I think of those stories that get told about beauty pagent contestants who play an instrument for their "talent." While some of those gals can really play, some of them only work up one or two tunes well enough to perform them. But when you see them on stage, you'd never know it. That's a bit extreme, but I do think it is a great idea to have a few tunes that you know so well that you could play them well, any time, for any audience.

[AlanN]

I assume you were making a wry joke, Alan, but just in case, I'll point out that I think the guy from CBS who recorded that session in the hotel room used the corner of the room to improve the acoustics to the microphone.

Uh...not intentionally...lol

Thanks for setting me straight (but I think I did hear that he was shy to perform).

Wow, I just read Alex's reasoned post. Now I want to face the corner.

[Mandolin Mick]

I have no fear of public speaking ... in fact, I thrive on it. Same with performing in public.

However, I dread meeting people one-on-one ... same with playing for one person. Almost always play as if I'm learning the tune, no matter how perfect I can play it alone. :(

[Malcolm G.]

Aisha,

There is tons of great advice and examples in this thread.
I've been "playing out" for over half a century, and offer these thoughts:

Never loose the pre-show nerves entirely - they keep you sharp. Barbara Streisand literally throws up to this day before going on stage and then just kills.

Have an opening number you can perform in a coma. Once the first song is successfully out of the way, the set becomes much easier and way more fun.

Don't let a small slip throw you. I'll bet most of the time the audience never even noticed. If it was a big slip - laugh at yourself and say something like "So much for improv...".

Your nervousness is contagious and so is your sense of fun.

Stick with it. I feel we have a rising star in our midst.

Oh, love your accent, by the way.

[re simmers]

Fear of speaking in public is the #1 fear and always has been. It's even above death and terminal illness.

For a long time I would never play on stage or in front of a crowd. I literally got sick every time. But, in 1990 I took the Dale Carnegie course and that cured me. I won't turn this into a commercial for the Carnegie course.

I can honestly say that I don't get nervous about it anymore and haven't for years. I've played before about 800 people a few times. I played on live TV once. My job has always required me to make a lot of presentations, which helped.

My best advice would be to "expect to be nervous. Plan on it. And prepare to be nervous. Go so far as to welcome it, and learn how to turn the nervousness into adrenaline." The more you expect and prepare for it, the easier it will be. Sometimes you may be more nervous than others. Just go with it...........as if you planned on it.

Bob

[Pete Counter]

Aisha,


Don't let a small slip throw you. I'll bet most of the time the audience never even noticed. If it was a big slip - laugh at yourself and say something like "So much for improv...".


Our bass player and I do this, when one of mess up or play some bad notes we look at other and say "JAZZZ"

[Dale Ludewig]

That is so true. I don't remember when I heard or learned this: when you mess up a lick, play it again and people will think you meant it. That's jazz! Another one that's always fun to remember: if it isn't the right note, you're only one fret away from where you thought you should be. And it's most likely no one else except your band mates that even noticed. But they're not likely to let you forget until the next time they screw up.

[Jack Roberts]

No, not when I play mandolin, but yes, I am when I play fiddle

[Aisha]

I think I experienced something similar to you, Randi (I wish someone was playing with me and covered me in that situation), like my mind went blank at some point and I just stopped the phrase, and then went on -until the next incident.

John, you're right, I think I'd feel a bit more comfortable if I hadn't played alone. Eventually I had put one of my CDs and played along and it was a lot better but still, I played some wrong notes in tunes I knew perfectly, so as you say, I should probably play them another 100(0) times for next time.

In front of the 600 people (of which friends and relatives) I was anxious before going on stage (more than before playing the mando for my friends) but I wasn't alone and the audience was enthusiastic from the start already by seeing all the coloured costumes and hearing joyful music and live percusionists, so it gave us a very positive vibe and it was eventually quite easy. Now dancing alone in front of friends or relatives is also ok, but that's because they wouldn't know if I made a mistake. Wrong notes are more noticeable I think (and one of the friends is a musician).

[raulb]

Performance anxiety is the #2 reason I do not perform nor do I even contribute in jams. The #1 reason is a lack of talent.

[David Rambo]

Aisha,

Don't feel bad about having some anxiety. I think that all of us have had it. As was stated before, it will help you to give a better performance. Somehow it seems to help my focus.
Just don't let it bother you, and keep on playing. It gets better as you do it more, and the people aren't there to see you crash. It's not auto racing. A large amount of the audience wouldn't know a bad note from a good one, anyway.
As for audiences, the worst audience to play for, at least in my case, was my home church. It got better after I came to grips with playing for all those people who knew me. When they were all strangers, it was so much easier!

[catmandu2]

Regarding preparation: practicing alone in our home may help us to become proficient at...playing alone at home. Replicating performing environments--as much as possible--can be helpful. While it's not possible to replicate exactly, you can do things like: playing pieces from start to finish--complete with mistakes and recoveries; envisioning an audience--and the distractions that ensue with live performing.

Performing is tricky business. We have to be relaxed to do well. One goal is to execute difficult techniques with apparent ease. Even if this is not the case, you might work to appear comfortable. I always say that performing is 50% faking it (give or take 50%...sometimes little if any--other times everything). And one thing we can expect from performing situations is to expect the unexpected. Anticipating these--and our response tendencies--may help.

[Jill McAuley]

I've played in bands for years, and after the first few shows kind of stopped feeling nervous about it all, but playing mandolin in front of folks was a different story altogether, most likely because it's just me out there, no band mates, amplifiers, or loud music to "paper over the cracks" as they say . I've found that busking has helped me with that a lot and I'm a lot more comfortable nowadays.

Cheers,
Jill

[John Ritchhart]

Aisha, yes it happens all the time. In fact it's so common they have a name for it. It's called a train wreck. I force myself to play in front of people because it gets easier the more you do it. And yes I can hear your French accent in your writing. I love Brussels and wish I could visit again. (in the summer time). I think your English is excellent. Keep playing in front of people and this will get better.

[barney 59]

Just say to yourself--"I'm good enough,I'm smart enough and doggonnit people like me" I have had moments in front of people when I've had a complete brain annurism(someone can correct my spelling here) I have gone into a total blank not knowing what I'm playing or where I am in a tune. Then the panic can make it go much worse. Thank goodness I practised my scales and have faked myself through until I regain my compossure. Hitting a clunker you can give yourself a significant nod and people will think you hit that weird note on purpose but a whole series then you go backstage and hang yourself on a rope or at least contemplate it. I've known people that appear to be really comfortable on stage and run off backstage in the middle of a set and throwup. They return as if nothing has happened.

[yankees1]

Not stressed, FRIGHTENED!

[Hayduke]

Stress comes with the territory. I don't know if it ever can be overcome. For me, I don't worry about hitting all the right notes anymore in a jam sesson. I know I'm not going to be anywhere near perfect and I'm not too disappointed if I mess up. If I hit it good, great. If I miss it, I just move on. I either play with the same group of people regularly or with another group I may see once every month or two. One group can forgive my mistakes and the other forgets them by the time we jam again. Making mistakes is not the end of the world. You have to take risks to get better. How many times did you fall as a child before you could walk? Mistakes are part of the process so don't worry about them.

[Pen]

Also, it's worth noting. I can virtually guarantee you that while many of us may be better mando performers than you. I'd bet my last nickel that you are an equally (probably better) better belly dancer than any of us.

I just had a visual of some of this forums crew onstage trying to do the belly dance and got quite a chuckle. Then, I thought, maybe we could just hula-hoop instead. However - some of us could wear a hula-hoop as a belt, so that wouldn't work either....

[Chip Booth]

I've played probably thousands of gigs over the years so I don't suffer much from performance fear, but I do find the fewer people I perform in front of the worse the anxiety. That may seem odd at first, but the way I see it when you play in front of a festival crowd it isn't very personal, you just see a huge group of unknown people. When I play small shows in restaurants with four people sitting at a table a few feet away and staring at me I begin to wonder what they are thinking.

The worst case for me is when a musician I admire walks in to the restaurant...

[Tim2723]

I'm never stressed while performing, I thrive on that part. It's the anticipation of the performance that gets to me. The waiting. Hanging around the house until it's time to leave. The minute I'm on the road to the job, I feel fine.

I get more stress in the recording studio, and if there's a camera or something recording the performance, I can fall to pieces.

Fear of being late to a job is my big thing. I have this bizarrely over-developed sense of responsibility when it comes to being on time. Growing up, it was constantly pounded into me that tardiness is the unforgivable sin. I'll easily show up an hour before I have to.

Also, I stress out totally about getting a parking space. That's a weird one. I'll refuse jobs that require parking on the street for fear that I won't find a space. I'll play our local auditorium of 1300 seats without a care in the world as long as I can park somewhere.

I probably should get professional help.

[JonZ]

I believe that the generally recommended method for overcoming any kind of fear or anxiety is "progressive desensitization", which is a fancy way of saying "expose yourself to the thing you fear in gradually increasing doses". Often the first step is to imagine yourself in the situation.

So, try to play for your friends on a regular basis, until it becomes easier. Also, imagine yourself playing for larger groups. Then play for larger groups, until that becomes easier.

In the thread "Do you force your child to practice" there has been some discussion of the "practical" benefits of learning a musical instrument. I think that poise in front of an audience is one of the big ones. We start our children playing in front of their family members, then at small recitals, then at bigger concerts. It is a great help to them when they need to speak in public later in life.

Oh, and don't forget to imagine your audience is dressed only in their underwear!

[Malcolm G.]

Oh, and don't forget to imagine your audience is dressed only in their underwear![/QUOTE]

That makes MY imagined audience over dressed.

[Bertram Henze]

it seemed like my fingers did not want to move and do what my brains told them!

Just guessing what exactly you mean by 'brains': your fingers have probably learnt to play without your brains, so having your brains suddenly tell your fingers what to do is a deadly distraction - after all, your brains didn't do the practising. What helps me is not thinking at all (which must be practised in itself; step 1: no words, step 2: no pictures). Once your brain is silent and dark, playing will work better. Try reading Sian Beilock's book "Choke".

The other thing that helps is performing in front of people over and over again until you get used to it.


bellydance shows

Any YouTube videos? :cool:

[Jim]

Though it has been a long time since I had anything like "Stage Fright" I still play too fast when I first start playing in front of a crowd and have to make a real effort to play at a relaxed pace at least for the first few tunes.

[dogwood]

Two thoughts on this:

- At one of my early public performances, someone told me that "anyone that displays even a sliver of talent will be well-received". Once I was confident I had a sliver of talent, I was much less stressed about the whole idea of performing in front of people.

- As years went by, I took what my pubic speaking instructor said to heart, "its not about perfection,....let er rip." That I did.

These days I have a strange kind of semi-apathy about playing for others. I set the bar pretty high for myself, and then I grade my performance on how well I reached the bar. The resulting output seems to please the audience. This approach also takes the audience somewhat out of the equation - promoting less stress.

Hope this helps.

[JonZ]

....Or maybe you are supposed to imagine yourself playing in your underwear. Whatever works.

[SGraham]

A friend who plays professionally told me, "You're going to play the tune anyway, so you might as well have fun."

That helped.

[Aisha]

Thank you so much again for your answers and support. So much good advice I read here, and I also checked Ed's link posted at the beginning of this thread, very interesting too (and I take my hat off, Ed, for doing what you did after only 4 months of playing).

[Jim Bevan]

A musician (a real musician, this guy was the second-chair second fiddle for Toscanini) once told me,
"You'll only perform in public half as well as you can play at home, so practise it until you can play it twice as good as it needs to be."

[Bertram Henze]

....Or maybe you are supposed to imagine yourself playing in your underwear. Whatever works.

Seriously - that might work even better.
I have noticed that the situation - me facing an audience - often was a nightmare my brain desperately tried to wake up from, causing a vast potential of distraction, freeze-up and yips. What helps is accepting the audience and your soul being openly exposed (because that is exactly what's happening), with whatever your soul happens to wear underneath.

[billkilpatrick]

last time i performed in front of an audience was last year, in a piazza packed with people in montepulciano. we were all lined up behind the huge doors of the commune (city hall.) i was more concerned about how my costume looked (medieval) and whether my oud was in tune or not (yeesh...) than any crowd outside. at the word "go," our drummer started up a marching beat and out we went, me following the guy in front with his back more or less blocking out the entire piazza. it wasn't until we were down into the piazza, marching around that i got a good look at everyone out there - mamma mia! - and it suddenly hit me: i'm a 64 year old american geezer, marching around a renaissance piazza in leotards and mou-mou, strumming an arabian instrument, singing a medieval pilgrim song before a huge crowd of italians ... what in the world have i got to be stressed out about! if i can do this, i can do anything!

[Dan Hoover]

i'm not a performer but,i would be nervous if i had to play the mandolin in front of people while belly dancing too..:grin:..seriously,my hat goes off to anyone who performs in front of a audience.. i'm sure everybody has a little nerve's one time or another?we're all human..meditation helps me deal with every day people and issues,i'm sure that if you find the zone your in while dancing, would greatly help..good luck

[Rob Gerety]

Good comments above. I would add that the problem diminishes as confidence grows. I think it is hard to be highly confident after just one year, especially if it is your first instrument, but even if you are proficient playing other instruments. Also, playing solo can be extremely stressful and one way to introduce yourself to performance without so much stress is to play in a band.

[Schlegel]

I play mandolin for bellydancers. The first couple of performances my hands shook. Intentional slow deep breathing helped some, but more performances helped the most.

[Rickey Noel Mitchell]

I will try to keep this short. Performing in front of people was a life long issue for me and the biggest reason I stop playing music 20 years ago (I've have of course started playing again). Since then I became an outdoor writer and an author. My subject was flyfishing and kayak fishing. I had a few articles published before I did my first talk. I also figured there would only be a few people there, wrong. I'd been outside before they call me in . There was over a hundred people in the room. I've played music for tough audiences
but none of them come close to a room full of Fly-Fishmen and women. What I was that night was prepared, By the end of my 1 hour talk I was soaked in sweat but I had come prepared. I'd rehearsed my talk and my material over and over. I now do the same with my music. Bottom line be prepared if you have the time and space, practice, practice, and practice again. Fact is I've been a speaker at hunting and fishing shows on the west Coast for over 10 ears now and I still have stage fright for about the first few minutes of my talk or performance. Being prepared is what gets me through and practicing when I'm not working. As I said before in a post, I practice scales on my mandolin while I'm riding my stationary bike , and also while I'm watching TV.

[Jill McAuley]

A musician (a real musician, this guy was the second-chair second fiddle for Toscanini) once told me,
"You'll only perform in public half as well as you can play at home, so practise it until you can play it twice as good as it needs to be."

One thing I try to be conscious of when playing/practicing at home is to not get into the habit of stopping when I make a mistake - my banjo teacher had told me that you have to learn to play thru them so that yourself and others you're playing with don't get thrown off by you hesitating or freezing up because you fluffed a note. Whenever I make a mistake during practice I just make a mental note of it and then after playing the tune through I go back and isolate the problematic part and work on it. I also find myself thinking about football (a.k.a soccer) - for any fans of the beautiful game out there, how many times do you hear about a defender losing concentration during a big match and because of that someone from the opposing side gets the better of them. I have to remind meself of that when I'm playing in a distracting environment - if I focus I'm fine but if my mind wanders or I see something interesting I can suddenly find myself going blank on what the "B" part of a tune is!

Cheers,
Jill

[Jesse Harmon]

One thing I do when I have to perform, which is not often these days, is to impose on friends or neighbors to give them quick concerts. The instructions are that I will arrive and with a minimum amount of conversation, set up, bow and play for them. The bow helps put it squarely in a performance situation in my mind. I have done it for one person only, and for a yoga group I belonged to. A friend of a friend especially works because you don't know them. Most people get a kick out of my little concert and want to stay on my hot line. Unfortunately I have had to accept that I am not a "PERFORMER" but refuse to let it stop me from playing. You really gain the admiration of people who realize you did it in spite of the fear.

[Bing Cullen]

I am also nervous playing in front of people...strangers ie. and it affectsmy ability to play nicely. But it would be nice to hear more remedies for this. In the Sydney, Aust bluegrass meeting they do a thing called safety in numbers (SIN)where a whole lot of people at varying levels of expertise do a couple of numbers together in front of a friendly audience. There are no nerves in this set up. So it seems that if you play in a large group your nervousness is reduced. There must be a critical number where nerves resume, but I don't know what that is...

[mandroid]

My playing situation is a tavern jam, I welcome the musical conversation amongst the participants.
the fact that others are listening is no consequence, though I welcome the tip jar contribution.
that Pays the player's bar tab.

[Bing Cullen]

I have heard though of many professional musicians who never got over their stagefright. Van Morisson apparently is one and Carly Simon got it after her career had blossomed. So hard to explain in terms of the more you perform the easier it gets. Of course Charlie Sheen's (Harper) solution in 2.5men was to get roaring drunk. probably a route many a popstar has taken.... not that I wish to open that can of worms.

[mandomurph]

A former boss of mine had a sign on his desk that said, "Be bold and mighty forces will come to your aid!" I use that phrase to remind me to take a deep breath and play like I know the song perfectly whether I do or not. If I play a wrong note boldly, few people will notice it was wrong. If I play a wrong note cautiously or timidly, everyone will notice.

[Rick Cadger]

I've gigged regularly and frequently with bands and played in many pub sessions. I still get rubber fingers sometimes! It's not as bad as it used to be, and it does improve as time goes by, but I am certainly not immune to nerves

Worst for me is singing: especially in the presence of my wife.

At 50 years of age I'm relatively new to singing. It's something I've avoided for years. I'm an enthusiastic joiner-in, but I've always been reluctant to be the actual centre of attention. On mandolin I'd rather play rhythm, fills or a bit of counter-melody than solos.

The singing thing came about because it got so hard to find singers for the weekly pub gig. Eventually it dawned on me that if you want something done you often have to do it yourself, so I started howling out a few songs. Apparently I'm reasonably good at it, and the din has been well received. It is, however, many miles outside my comfort zone. At the worst moments of nervousness I forget lyrics and my throat tightens. Sometimes I have to shift my guitar capo up a fret of two and do a song in a different key from usual because the effect of nervous tension in my throat means I can't get low notes.

There's little rhyme or reason regarding how self-consciousness and nerves can partially disable an otherwise competent musician. Fortunately, if you persevere things do gradually get a bit more relaxed.

Keep going for it, and good luck.

[Bertram Henze]

...my throat tightens. Sometimes I have to shift my guitar capo up a fret of two and do a song in a different key from usual because the effect of nervous tension in my throat means I can't get low notes.

Breathing slowly and deeply helps with that. Don't concentrate on your throat, while you do it. Instead, concentrate on your nose.

[Rick Cadger]

Breathing slowly and deeply helps with that. Don't concentrate on your throat, while you do it. Instead, concentrate on your nose.

I'll try to bear that in mind, thanks.

I've got a lot to learn, especially about the breathing thing. There's a bit in Dylan/OCMS's 'Wagon Wheel' where I totally forget to breathe! This singing lark isn't as easy as I'd assumed...

Neither is the mandolin thing.

Jeez, when you don't have talent this stuff is hard work! :))

[Beanzy]

Down our way we set up a group called the Seriously 'Aweful' Sinfonietta specifically to give people who were beginners, inexperienced or new to an instrument a chance to rehearse and perform together. It's great for getting over the nerves bit as the audience are under no illusions about the level to expect. We often end up with people from the audience coming along to practice saying they'd always wanted to play this or that instrument. I think they do this as it's just so easy to access and feel comfortable with a group that is specifically designed not to impress. :) We always pitch in with whatever festival or event asks, and even raise funds for local charities. There are people who never performed before coming along to this group a few years ago, who have now got together in their own quartets etc. So if you can get other musicians together regularly then do it. Don't even wait to see if there's a beginners picking session out there, set one up and get others to come along.

There's nothing quite like getting out there and doing it to get over the jitters. So although that's how it is for my cello, which I use the group sessions to force me to keep practising, on the mandolin I'm just about to launch myself into a local session. Now I'm really nervous about that because I've never performed the mandolin in public. But what I will do is go along, warn the folks there that I'll only be 'hiding in the back' and promise not to put them off too much. Then I'll just pick along to the tunes I know and do some good listening and looking for the rest, scribble down tunes and come back to the internet resources to get the music to practice for next time . I'll be nervous but that'll be exciting too.

I reckon if Aisha can find some others to play with regularly then that will help a lot for when a more lonesome gig pops up.

[Patrick Hull]

I know this may sound crazy. I get nervous, but it seems that I usually do better when performing in public than when Im practicing. I think there's something about the adrenalin rush.

One thing that helps me is to realize that even the pros make mistakes. I don't know how many times Ive seen a pro just stop and laugh and apologize and start over. I think if you give yourself the space to do that, it almost tells the audience that you are confident enough to laugh at your mistakes.

Another big help if you can do it is to take a few seconds to talk into the mike. That helps me to get settled in, and check the mike out.

[mandolindude04]

I'll chime in with my two cents worth. I've been playing the guitar for many years now, and been doing some playing on the mandolin for about seven years. I've performed in church since I was in grade school with the Trombone, and singing in the choir. I still get nervous. My worst time of it though was when I was doing a duet with my first wife at our Sunday evening worship service way back when I was in my early twenties. When it came time for us to sing, my guitar was horribly out of tune. We managed to do our song acappella or something, and got off the podium, it was awful. My wife chewed me out good on the way home as I remember to, just rub some more salt in the wound there dear! I think I'll always have a performance that will be a disaster. But hey 100 years from now who will care? I still have this memory because I'm half scots Irish, and suffer from Irish Alzheimer's...We never forget anything, we Scots Irish. Stuff that happened in the old country back in the 1500's we still remember it like it happened yesterday...

My advice is, practice, and care about how you go about your performance. You know there are people who will get up and perform with a $5000. Taylor guitar, and they sound awful, others will perform with an instrument that looks like firewood with some strings on it, and they sound like the angels. What's the difference? That person playing the kindling with strings cares. Now, I've performed with people who don't care. They don't practice, they sound lousy, and they just write it off, as not being good musicians. That's bogus. A person who may not be the best technically, but cares about how the music is, and shows some soul, and feeling will always win out over the guy playing the nice guitar, and is just going through the motions. I would much rather perform by myself and care and mess up the performance, then play with someone who doesn't care, because you know you're going to sound bad from the get go. I know I put in some Americanisms, I hope you get the general idea of what I'm saying though..Keep at it!

[catmandu2]

... just rub some more salt in the wound there dear! I think I'll always have a performance that will be a disaster. But hey 100 years from now who will care? I still have this memory because I'm half scots Irish, and suffer from Irish Alzheimer's...We never forget anything, we Scots Irish. Stuff that happened in the old country back in the 1500's we still remember it like it happened yesterday...




Ha! :)

[Bing Cullen]

unfortunately I have this feeling of ambivalence...are musicians naturally gifted or can anyone sing and play (perform well) with practice? I suspect the former, much as people who are good tennis players or other sports, have natural ability and no amount of practice will achieve that. No hope for me then. But I keep trying for some stupid reason.

[Paul Kotapish]

Almost every performer gets butterflies at least some of the time--and not always in the situations you might expect. Some players are far more nervous at a small, friendly house concert or intimate coffeehouse venue than they are on a big festival stage.

The key is learning to manage the nerves.

The single most useful thing I've done over the decades is to rehearse the "performance" in addition to rehearsing the "music." You need to woodshed the actual music, of course, but to manage nerves, practicing the mechanics of the gig itself can be equally important.

This is a lot easier with a band than it is as a solo, but both are possible.

I've played thousands of gigs at this point, but I still do most of the following with a new band or a new show for the first performance(s).

Start by refining your set lists to optimize flow: create a smooth balance betweeen tempos and moods, minimize instrument and tuning and capo changes. Next, work out the places where you want or need patter and figure out who is going to provide it. Plan the patter and don't count on last-minute inspiration to save the day. (Stage patter and effective introductions are a whole separate topic, but try to use the intro to set the stage and mood for the music to follow without recapping the song or relying on info about the song's pedigree.) The main thing is to eliminate any surprises and to be prepared so that you can focus on delivery rather than content.

The next key task is to emulate the performance situation--mentally and physically--and go through your entire performance in as realistic detail as possible, including walking on, getting set in front of the microphones, doing your stage patter, tuning, etc. You can start by doing this as an imaginary exercise in your mind well in advance of the performance. This kind of purely mental/imaginary practice performance is a proven technique a lot of pros use, BTW.

As you get closer to the peformance date, you'll need to do some physical rehearsals that resemble your expected performance situation. If you play in a band, start practicing in the formation you'll be in on stage. If you are used to sitting or standing in a circle to rehearse, you 'll need to line up facing the front of the stage in the exact places you intend to stand or sit. Limit yourself to the dimensions of the stage you'll be working.

NOTE: If it's a big stage, don't spread out to fill the whole thing. Figure out your optimum spacing and stick with it even if the stage vastly bigger than what you are used to. And if it's a tiny stage, practice playing as crammed together as you will need to be.

You'll learn a lot about what you need in terms of hearing, sightlines, etc., with this simple change in your routine.

Better yet is to practice in the actual venue--or a mock up of the venue--where you will be performing. If you can get access to the venue far in advance, great. If not, set yourself up wherever you can--borrowed church hall, garage, even your living room--and go through the full show. If possible, use the mics and P.A. and set up exactly as you intend to do it for the performance. If you don't have access to that, borrow some mic stands and get your mock-up of the stage setup as close as you can and run your set(s).

Finally, the day of the gig, get to the venue (church, club, coffeehouse) as early as possible and give yourself twice as much time as you think you'll need for load-in, setup, and sound check. The more time you have in front of the actual setup you'll be using, the more comfortable you'll be.

The discussion of how to get the right sound in the house and on stage is another separate discussion, but suffice it to say that when in doubt, turn everything down--especially the monitors. Better to find a comfort level that enables you to play well--even if the audience needs to listen a little harder--than to be distracted by a miserable sound balance throughout the gig.

A lot of summer music camps and local community-oriented music schools and venues offer "performance-boot-camp" classes that may be of value, too. Most of them stress the value of this kind of practice performance as a way to quell jittery nerves.

Being comfortable on stage--despite the nerves--is a learned skill, and anyone can master it with mindful work and practice in the art of performance itself.

Good luck!