Stage fright

[Timmando1]

A very good book that helped me was "The Inner Game of Music". It is a great read and really helps with performance anxiety.
The Inner Game of Music is that which takes place in the mind, played against such elusive opponents as nervousness, self-doubt, and fear of failure.
check it out
http://theinnergame.com/inner-game-b...game-of-music/

[Mandoplumb]

I have played in a gospel band for more years than I care to admit. For me I did get over the stage fright, surprisingly for large audiences first while a small audience would tare me up. At some point I convinced my self that I have a certain amount of ability that is the same no matter if playing to a lot of people or very few. I think small audiences bothered me because it seemed more intimate or personal. Also I am the same musician with the same ability if there is no mandolin player in the audience or if there is a dozen, all better than me listening. When I would just as soon not be on the stage is when I'm not prepared and feel I can't do my best.

[Bertram Henze]

A very good book that helped me was "The Inner Game of Music". It is a great read and really helps with performance anxiety.
The Inner Game of Music is that which takes place in the mind, played against such elusive opponents as nervousness, self-doubt, and fear of failure.
check it out
http://theinnergame.com/inner-game-b...game-of-music/

I know it. It is the one good book. The other is "Choke" by Sian Beilock.

[mee]

I am a newbie here. When I am at home practicing by myself I think I am really getting it but when I go for my lesson and try to play in front of my instructor I totally mess up. Any suggestions?

It's same for me when I get all excited about learning something new and try to show hubby and mess it all up. LOL just need to relax and have fun with it.

[CoryLiberatedPerformer]

I used to have stage fright for years. I tried many things like breathing techniques, visualization, and beta-blockers. While they help, I felt like something was missing. Why couldn't I just walk on stage and perform like myself? I wanted to express myself and all the hard work I put in during rehearsals and practice. I wanted to thrive and enjoy my time on stage. Therefore, after much research and and testing, I discovered and addressed the fundamental causes of my anxiety head on to build up my confidence. Since then, I have dedicated my life to helping others with the same obstacle. Performance anxiety is a real thing that will not just go away. You have to earn your confidence and learn performance strategies. It's a lot of work but my goodness, there is nothing more rewarding then being your best self in any performance environment. If you're interested in my research, check out this massive article I wrote. Let me know what you think. Cheers and rock on everyone!



http://www.liberatedperformer.com/st...ultimate-guide

[Charlie Bernstein]

xxx

[Sherry Cadenhead]

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

I've heard this also! Don't know if it works.

[Timbofood]

I've heard this also! Don't know if it works.

Depends on the audience...

[OlDanTucker]

10 Things to tell yourself before performing:

1) I CAN do this. In fact I did it three times last night practicing until I got it right without thinking.
2) Very few people are really listening. or Care. Those that are won't recognize a mistake if I don't tell them it's one.
3) Even if I screw up no one in the audience will remember an hour later -- provided I don't run off the stage screaming.
4) I will be really pissed at myself if I don't go through with it because I'm scared. There is no chance of success if I don't try.
5) I've been afraid in the past and nothing happened.
6) It makes no sense to be afraid of something that hasn't happened yet.
7) The last guy on stage was even worse than me.
8) I've screwed up worse than this before and there has been no lasting effect.
9) I can always blame it on: The PA, New/Old Strings, The other guys in the band, Barometric pressure.
10) It's just music. I recite the Bene Gesserit Litany Against Fear in the Dune Books.

[Bertram Henze]

I recite the Bene Gesserit Litany Against Fear in the Dune Books.

I recite any of Shakespeare's Macbeth monologues, they're so inspiring. For instance...

I have almost forgot the taste of fears. Time has been, my senses would have cooled to hear a night-shriek, and my fell of hair would at a dismal treatise rouse and stir as life were in't. I have supped full with horrors - direness, familiar to my slaughterous thoughts, cannot once start me.

[pops1]

The more you perform the more you will be able to relax. After 40+ years of performing I rarely get nervous, but there are certain times when I still do.

[David L]

All I can think is "Deep in the heart of a lonely kid, suffered so much for what he did".

[Br1ck]

A guy was playing a bunch of Neil Young songs in a bar in Woodside, Ca. Word got back to him that the guy was nailing his guitar style so he walked in to check it out. Now THAT would have sent me straight to petrification.

[dadsaster]

The older I get the less I care what people think in all aspects of life.

"When you're 20 you care what everyone thinks, when you're 40 you stop caring what everyone thinks, when you're 60 you realize no one was ever thinking about you in the first place" -Unknown

[Bren]

I'm happy playing in a band onstage but get the nerves when playing in a pub session.

Especially when people don't join in but listen intently.

Breathing helps a lot. I do tense up and sort of hold my breath. Also my jaw moves at tricky bits and playing gets jerky.

(After playing in one band for a year, they eventually told me that the guitarist was standing behind me mimicking my jaw movements every time I took a solo. And I thought they were laughing with delight at the music!)

I found that if I breathe deliberately and steadily, the jaw movement stops and my playing gets smoother.

[mandocaster]

Eventually, every awful thing will happen to you on stage, so stage fright will be unnecessary. Strings will break, headstocks will snap off, no monitors, off key singing, songs forgotten, bandmates too drunk to stand, stomach flu, obnoxious audiences, nonexistent audiences, etc., etc....

[Tate Ferguson]

I tell myself that I love the audience. This helps a lot. They are my close friends (in my mind, at that time).

The audience is primed to see me as talented and entertaining. This is a built-in advantage. Whatever I do, they are inclined to like.

I try to stay within my capacity; I only perform that which I can play really well. At the same time, I try to do something slightly surprising or "out there" to wake 'em up a bit.

I have the advantage of being mostly bald, and not good-looking. Therefore I know that any applause I receive means that my music has truly impressed them.

I hope these concepts help. Most of my stage fright is gone.

Fate, or the Universe, has said, on a particular day, "You are supposed to be on stage. They are supposed to watch you." This thought helps too.

[JonZ]

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syst...esensitization

This is the gold standard of therapies for phobias.

[ManjoMan]

Within the world of bluegrass, it appears that there is competition between bands and the musicians that are in the bands. I always looked at it from a comparison POV to gauge my abilities as a singer and a picker relative to those that I would see often playing at the same venues as I was. It helped me quite a bit in hearing what others were doing to make me want to be a better musician. I bring this up only because that in almost every aspect of life, there is competition. I think that it is part of the reason that we get nervous when going on stage. We know that other musicians are judging us. It adds to the stress that live performance brings. What we tend to forget is that those "other" musicians are going through the very same things we are going through. For me, time has been the only thing that has helped me get over my fears. I have been playing so long now and have been in a band with just about every musician in the area where I live that we all know what each others abilities are and that it just feels comfortable to be around them. As far as the audience goes, well the one thing that helps me is that they are the audience because they cannot play an instrument (or don't want to), but they love to hear music performed live. Just make sure that you convey to them that you are having a great time entertaining them and that you appreciate them showing up to hear you play and sing. Just some of my thoughts...

BTW, the article is very interesting, that is, the parts that I have read so far. I think I will have to print it out to really study it. I always enjoy other peoples ideas about musical subjects. It helps me to step out of my box and see things from a different POV.

[Bertram Henze]

I tell myself that I love the audience. This helps a lot. They are my close friends (in my mind, at that time).

That would not work for me. Whenever I lie to me, I instantly detect the fraud.

[Dave Sheets]

I got over it playing jazz. When you take a solo, a truly improvised solo, there are times when you are simply going to suck. I hate that. But, there are times when it will be phenomenally cool, in ways that simply won't happen again. You've got a choice, to take the really good with the really bad. Or don't play and get neither. The more you do play though, the less really bad you get, and the more really amazing.

[Charlie Bernstein]

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

Even when the audience is naked I get stage fright!

[Bertram Henze]

Even when the audience is naked I get stage fright!

There's no use in imagining things about the audience. Just open your eyes and acknowledge the simple truth: there is no audience

[Mandolin Cafe]

Article from Strings Magazine, December 2017 that is of interest to the discussion:

Scare Tactics: Tips on How Musicians Can Overcome Stage Fright