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Thread: Stage fright

  1. #1

    Default Stage fright

    I have trouble with stage fright. Stick a microphone in front of me and I get scared.

    I've been trying to get over it by playing in the park so that people walking by will hear, but not in a way that it looks like I'm asking for money. I don't think it's working.

    I have no problem playing at the jam, starting tunes, etc. But I still have a lot of stage fright.

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  3. #2
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    Default Re: Stage fright

    It happens to the best - the late great UK singer/songwriter Jake Thackray had to be persuaded to go on stage some nights so I can't say that it will go away. Just that remember the audience has come specifically to hear you and, even if you don't play at your best, the majority of them won't even notice.

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    Mandolin user MontanaMatt's Avatar
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    Default Re: Stage fright

    I saw a specialist once that offered free performance anxiety help. It worked. Seek one out any give it a try. It involved visualization, breathing, simple regression hypnosis. Ten year and little trouble since then.
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    Innocent Bystander JeffD's Avatar
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    Default Re: Stage fright

    I have bad stage fright, undiminished with time. The only difference is I have found a way to not be inhibited by the fright. In other words for me the solution is not to try and get rid of the fright, but to find a way to be able to perform while scared.

    I had to do this for work, as my job required more and more public speaking, which for me is the same fear.

    One way I do it is to envision the potential for positive outcomes, and try and convert the fear into excitement. They are opposite sides of the same physiology, just depends on which outcomes you focus on.

    So its not "don't be scared" but really "don't let that stop you."
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    Default Re: Stage fright

    My opinion; the best thing to do is to start in front of 1 or 2 people, friends/family who are willing to listen and be supportive, then gradually build up. Play at gatherings that are somewhat informal (like playing in the park) or small gigs at coffee shops, small town fairs, supermarket openings, etc. where people are at the venue, but they are there to socialize, shop, and/or eat, more than to listen to music. This is good exposure with limited pressure. Most importantly, do it as often as possible - there is no substitute for experience.

    I always find that I am nervous all day long before a gig, but once I step on stage, everything is fine. For a long time I thought I was the only one who felt this way, until one day I heard an interview with Elton John's phenomenal drummer Nigel Olsson - and he said the exact same thing happened to him! I felt much better after that. I also read a story one time about the great rock and roll front-man from the band Queen, Freddie Mercury. To see Freddie perform you would think that being on stage was the most natural thing in the world for him - but apparently the first time he ever stepped on stage he was so scared that got halfway to the audience and RAN back to the dressing room!

    Just take it slow, and in short time you will be fine . . . it happens to all of us.

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    but that's just me Bertram Henze's Avatar
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    Default Re: Stage fright

    What Jeff said. Stage fright is just an indicator that you normally don't really live and therefore are not used to deal with life. Accept it as normal - that will not make it stop, but make it stop throwing you off. Adrenaline is your friend. You may think "that's not the real me", but the opposite is true: the relaxed retired isolated self you know as real is just a cocoon you need to climb out of. Life is out there, waiting.
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    Default Re: Stage fright

    As Jeff discussed, I'm pretty good at channeling nerves into energy, but have to be careful not to get too jacked up. Once I start playing and get into the music, I'm good. The nerves just show you care!!

    Also, the older I get, my willingness to humiliate myself publicly far exceeds my lack of talent
    Chuck

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  15. #8
    Mandolin user MontanaMatt's Avatar
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    Default Re: Stage fright

    The performance coach I saw explained that subconscious triggers can creat adrenaline cascades. An ancient safety mechanism kicks in. Only a few handful of generations ago, most people had much more dangerous lives than the current average, so you needed to have that spark of energy, and you were used to living with fear...

    The method for deprogramming we used was finding how to trigger the cascade, and find a visualization to stop it. I'm not sure if the method has a name, I'll try to reach out to the guy and see if it does.
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  16. #9
    harvester of clams Bill McCall's Avatar
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    Default Re: Stage fright

    Dr Banjo (drbanjo.com) has a great article on dealing with stage fright. He says he gets nervous before every gig, and he's been a pro over 50 years. He's got some very good strategies to help overcome this.

    I was paralyzed by this when I started jamming, and as I learned to care less about the 'performance' and play as well as I'm rehearsed AT MY LEVEL, it got a lot easier. I'm just trying to play the music I can, not 'sound great'. Big load lifted.

    Good luck.
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  18. #10

    Default Re: Stage fright

    Find an open mic if you can. Keep going back. If you live in a populated area, play the one farthest away to alleviate the fear someone you know will be in the audience. Go ahead and bring a music stand for lyrics if you sing. Write SLOW DOWN at the top of the page.

    After twenty or so open mics you should see a big difference. I started bringing my mandolin to open mics very early on, because, well, I've grown to like playing on the edge and doing something no one else does. I also like to debut new songs the day I've written them when melodies aren't really locked in. I guess I kind of miss the performance anxiety. It is an adjustment going solo for sure.

    Playing some fiddle tunes also exposes more people to something new too.
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  19. #11
    F5G & MD305 Astro's Avatar
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    Default Re: Stage fright

    Yup, like everything else, its just about practice. So dont think of it as fear but think of it as being excited you will be practicing the art of live performance. Expect to suck at it at first just like the first time you played your instrument. You will forget lines. You will botch chord progressions. You will sweat and tremble. All normal and expected. Expect to practice at live performance 3 times per week for 2 months (open mics). If it makes you feel better, announce to the crowd of almost no one listening that you are just there to practice at performing live so dont expect much. They get what they paid for(joking with them). Expect you will have times when you want to quit because you and everyone else will see that you suck at it. Forge ahead even though you continue to stumble. Stay there humiliated to learn you will not die and no one boos you. Don't take no for an answer. Start with one song and see how you feel. You can stop after tripping through one song. Soon you may feel better by song 2 or 3 or 4. It varies for me still. At this point you must stop making excuses. No more pre game apologies. No one wants to hear it or cares if you goof anyway. It is what it is. Laugh it off. You must practice at it if you expect to do it. After awhile I found that I was a little less nervous but still felt it was a significant hindrance to my performance. BUT my musician friends--who in the beginning could tell I was nervous-- tell me now that they can no longer perceive that I am nervous. Before I realized it the physical manifestations resolved. First we learn to fool others. Then we learn to fool ourselves. I'm still working on that one but have had glimpses of being free during live performances for short periods. Unaware of myself. That is my goal.
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  21. #12
    Lord of All Badgers Lord of the Badgers's Avatar
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    Default Re: Stage fright

    I personally get incredibly nervous when playing solo. With a band, I never experience the misery of stage fright.
    My nerves do ruin my technique - i play too hard and too fast and it sounds clashy & awful
    Agree re practice. Throw yourself into it as best as you can - I know - the worst scenario maybe but the thing to remember - most people have NO idea you messed up a note/chord/change unless it's bang out of key. Don't be over critical and don't admit mistakes.
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  22. #13

    Default Re: Stage fright

    Stage work is to be practices like any other aspect of playing music. But this is often overlooked, because one is just trying to play in time and maybe sing. Some call it rehearsal, but it's really just practicing being on stage. Get out all you stuff that you use on stage. Set it up and lay it out in your practice room. Get used to where everything's at and what's geographically best. Make a set list. Time it out. Considering all these things before one goes on stage takes all that anxiety away.

    The other thing is a mental state. You're giving a gift. It's not like you're giving somebody a new car, it's just a song. A song you know thoroughly. Turn your ego down. Turn your love of humanity up. Simply walk out and do it. It gets better and better typically. There's probably a number of shows that after "this many" if one still has anxiety, see a psychiatrist. No sin in using the right tool for the job.

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  24. #14

    Default Re: Stage fright

    Quote Originally Posted by sbhikes View Post
    I have trouble with stage fright. Stick a microphone in front of me and I get scared.

    I've been trying to get over it by playing in the park so that people walking by will hear, but not in a way that it looks like I'm asking for money. I don't think it's working.

    I have no problem playing at the jam, starting tunes, etc. But I still have a lot of stage fright.
    You haven't said how many times you've played on stage with a mic. I've done only a handful of times, but I'm starting to get more comfortable. During my first 4 gigs my only thought was I can't wait until this is over. My last 2 gigs I had a ton of fun. However, the last two gigs were at bar/restaurant venues to people were eating, drinking, and talking which took off a lot of pressure :-)

  25. #15
    Registered User Timbofood's Avatar
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    Default Re: Stage fright

    I've been doing this stuff a very long time and I still get "edgy" but, two or three tunes in, I settle in and things pretty much get more reasonable. Sometimes things keep me tight for most of the night, try to use the energy you are spending on being worried into your picking, it helps a LOT.
    I have been an acolyte at church and served in front of more than a thousand people countless times without giving it a moments thought. Get me onstage to play, I need to go into a whole mental zone to do it and not feel like I need to go throw up.
    It doesn't necessarily get "better" it gets "tolerable" until you tune the people out and play like no one is there! It does happen...sometimes.
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  26. #16

    Default Re: Stage fright

    It took me 30 years to (mostly) get over it, but in the meantime I learned to perform with stage fright, it was an acquired skill, took practice, and it wasn't something I could practice at home either.

    I found that when enduring stage fright, my effective skill level drops a bit, so I learned to not attempt to do stuff right at the edge of my skill level in a live performance. During rehearsals and jam sessions I will push it, but not live, not any more, and there is much less stage fright when I am playing stuff I *know* I can nail every time.

    If you are into drugs, I have many family members (one is a professional musician who swears by it), look into propranolol, it is the miracle cure for stage fright.
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  27. #17
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    Default Re: Stage fright

    I don’t know if you will ever overcome performance anxiety; but as many here have said, you can work through it.

    I have only a couple of suggestions; they will take a lot of resolve just to take the first step.

    1. First, put together a set list of maybe 15 or 20 short, recognizable songs. Enough for an hour of entertainment. You might consider including a “set list” of some light banter – jokes, brief stories, fillers that primarily poke fun at yourself.
    2. Now, go to some folks who will really appreciate your efforts, regardless of how well you do. Find a nursing home with some economically disadvantaged folks. Make it a regularly occurring event – weekly or every other week. Play for them. Sing for them. Involve them in a sing along. If you can find a couple or more cheap ukulele’s, pass them out to whoever’s willing, show them some simple one-finger chords with simple strums, and play a song with them. All of this will be a rewarding experience, for you as well as for them.
    3. Next, you’re already kind of doing this, but take it a step farther. Take the same set list, get out of the park that you’re playing in, and go to the entrance to the park. Yes, I’m talking about busking. Play your heart out for folks who have no interest in you, but try to find a way for them to have just a moment of interest. Who knows? You may develop a really strong stage presence in this process. And maybe pick up a few bucks in the process. Please note that you may need to check on any city ordinances on busking.

    Just know that when it comes to stage fright, you’re not alone. I wish you success.

  28. #18

    Default Re: Stage fright

    Another thing to remember, everyone, no matter how good or how seasoned, screws up sometimes. I remember our band playing a Neil Young song and our lead guitar started playing a different one. I made a knowing look at our keyboard/singer, and knowing the lead player is never wrong, we switched to what the lead player was playing. I saw Paul McCartney stop his show twice, once because a piano was out of tune so he switched to his other one, and once because he felt an intro could be better. Saw Jeff Tweedy blow coming in on a vocal of a song he played a thousand times. Both he and the band cracked up. He waited till his entrance came around as he laughed at himself.

    I horribly botched the bass line of a Steely Dan song once. Polled friends in the audience. No one noticed.
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    Default Re: Stage fright

    Some folks think that if you imagine the audience naked it helps with the stage fright. Don't know from personal experience though.

  30. #20
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    Default Re: Stage fright

    I like the hard core punk approach: first you vomit on the audience.

    It can only get better from there.
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  32. #21

    Default Re: Stage fright

    Quote Originally Posted by farmerjones View Post
    Turn your ego down. Turn your love of humanity up.
    Right on

  33. #22
    Registered User Randi Gormley's Avatar
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    Default Re: Stage fright

    This depends on the venue and situation, but I've found it helps to concentrate on something neutral -- like my-husband-the-guitar-player's fingers on his fretboard, my feet, the ceiling -- I was at a gig today where four of us were playing for two high school classes (and teachers) in a classroom and even though I never soloed, my hand started shaking even on stuff I know cold. It happens. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes and then just never looked at the kids again. Managed to work through the fear so it wasn't incapacitating. Eventually it went away and we did, oddly enough, survive!
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    Default Re: Stage fright

    Robbie Robertson of the band comes to mind. If you get famous and make a lot of money you can just stop playing or you can simply decide that you're going to let it all hang out there and not let the mistakes bother you. The difference between a pro and an amateur is that the pro will make a mistake and play through it without drawing attention to the mistake. Me, I'll generally roll my eyes to let everyone know that I messed up. You need to grow some thick skin and realize most of the folks listening can't do what you're doing and they came to hear live music because it's spontaneous and not always perfect. If they want perfect they can listen to a Steely Dan record at home. Just enjoy the music.

    By the way, I regularly mess things up in front two or three hundred people at a time.
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  36. #24

    Default Re: Stage fright

    I used to do quick workouts before I played. Just a half hour or so. I think it helps deal with the adrenaline rush.

    Now I'm more scared of exercising.
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  38. #25

    Default Re: Stage fright

    A mandolin playing friend of mine, who is also a doctor, prescribed beta blockers to me, as well as other members of his band. I played banjo for over thirty years in local BG groups. My stage fright never diminished over the years. Beta blockers help. Before I used them, if I screwed up a break, it would ruin the whole gig. After I started with the beta blockers, if I screwed up a break, no big deal, I just moved on. They are not for everyone, but some people swear by them.

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