Stage fright

[Petrus]

Play with your back to the audience. Mumble a few words apologetically when you're done then quickly rush offstage to the waiting limo to ferry you back to the hotel, where you proceed to destroy the penthouse suite in a latte-fueled fit of rage and self-loathing. Works for me!

[Ivan Kelsall]

It happens to the very best !. Name anything that demands a person to walk onto a stage in front of an audience,& you'll find that lots of them suffer from stage fright.

Back when i had my band,i was really bad for the first couple of numbers,after that,my nerves calmed down & i was 100% fine. It's often been said,especially by sportsmen/women, that a degree of nervous tension is essential in performing to your best ability. It keeps your mind sharp. I suppose that the only real way to combat the stage nerves,is to do it more often & become a tad ''bloody minded'' about it. It eventually worked for me,& i always thought of it as a bunch of folks sitting,listening to us 'jam',
Ivan

[Ron McMillan]

I think it's a lot to do with plain old ability. On blues harmonica I can and do jam with musicians who are on a different planet, musical ability-wise - but I'm good enough on harmonica to play without thinking, and I do just fine.

On mandolin, the moment it's my turn I start to try and think about what I'm doing, and all is lost. That might be because I'm not good enough to just relax and let the music flow.

[Bertram Henze]

I start to try and think about what I'm doing, and all is lost.

The memory part responsible for thinking (declarative memory) is not the part that did all the practising (procedural memory), and gets in the way. It's like your mother-in-law on the passenger seat, complaining.

But that's a sign of mistrust. You have to trust your procedural memory to do its job without supervision, and let go. Practising is for building that trust.

[stevedenver]

As a lawyer, public speaking court etc , i too have had and still get that deer in headlights feeling.

1: know your material. Really know it. For me, this is the foundation. More repitition insures fewer screw ups.
2: find your path. Ie if you cant do stage chatter, jump into a song you can muster.
3: if you must, use a music stand for security. Imho, these are a hindrence to fluid performance, a distraction. But, you can blank, and, while youre vamping to get your bearings, it can be a godsend.
4: control your mind...be excited and energetic, let it come through that you hope to pull the audience into your musical joy. be strong. Dont apologize, smile, slow it down, and focus on the song. Like it or not, you are the story teller, entertainer. This mental commitment helps me get on with it. Doesnt mean im not feeling tentative, but, it helps me get over it fast. Btw, speed really changes how i can process and perform and recall lyrics if i am uptight. What you perceive as slow likely wont be by the audience, within reason.
5: for me, try to find some humor to share, nice comments about band mates, venue, sound guy.
6: play out. Theres a reason it called the school of hard knocks.

[Charlie Bernstein]

Yeah, mics suck. And monitors never, never, never work. There's nothing less natural than singing to a metal ball on a stick.

At 65, I'm over my stage fright, but it kept me from performing until I was in my forties. Here's how I got over it: I invented an imaginary singer/guit-picker to go on stage for me.

His name is "Neon" Leon Fullerton: a tall, lanky, slow-walking, slow-talking, lazy-smiling, 'shroom-chewing, rhyme-spewing, contraband-smuggling, purty-gal-snuggling, roll-yer-own galloot in a ten-gallon hat - a champion competition tobacco spitter honored by my avatar. You can read all about him at www.thefullertons.net. When Hank Thompson wrote "He's Got a Way With Women" and Lowell George wrote "Willin'," they based them on Leon.

In short, "Neon" Leon is everything I'm not. I let him do all the singing, playing, and talking to the audience. When I get off stage, he lets me have my body back. (He wouldn't know what to do with it, anyway.)

Easy, painless, effective, fun!

[Bertram Henze]

lawyer, public speaking court

"yes, your honor, the defendant is pleading - errh, wait a minute - will Wagon Wheel do?"

BTW the public speaking problem is the exact reverse of the public playing problem: you need a full functional declarative memory to talk fluently about your facts, but procedural memory is trying to take over and do what it is trained for, i.e. run like hell.

[Bertram Henze]

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.

Charlie "Neon" Fullerton said this in a much more entertaining way:

In short, he's everything I'm not. I let him do all the singing, playing, and talking to the audience. When I get off stage, he lets me have my body back.

...except I think Neon is the real Charlie, coming out every now and then. When I experienced this kind of transformation for the first time, I was idly marvelling at the man on the microphone until, all of a sudden, he turned towards me and hissed "hey! what is the next verse?" and I said "well how am I supposed to know" and he replied "I am you, you fool! The words, quick!"

There is a much older tradition to this:

[stevedenver]

"yes, your honor, the defendant is pleading - errh, wait a minute - will Wagon Wheel do?"

BTW the public speaking problem is the exact reverse of the public playing problem: you need a full functional declarative memory to talk fluently about your facts, but procedural memory is trying to take over and do what it is trained for, i.e. run like hell.

I get it, but, let me say this...i feel (yup the lawyer here feels this physically ) the two are deeply connected. Of course i have the automatic fingers...cant think your way through blackberry blossom or get up john at 220 bpm. Otoh, if i can think...ie...have a grip by having some path, my singing and playing hugely improve. I think its about overall relaxation. And, i can say, when uptight, songs i know, can vanish....like conjuring and being unable to single out red haired boy, whiskey before, gold rush, and cherokee shuffle....all close in my brain,......now...where do i start....so...while auto fingers may be there, it can get derailed, until i start and the patterns take over.....at least for me, and i know these forwards and backwards, and, in minor too...lol. ( what have i done when this happens? Play the changes while trying to grab a phrase and get the fingers on auto...sometimes it works, most times, the song still flies).

And, OP, most pros , even after the green room warm ups, still have a period of a few tunes before thyre in the pocket. We may not hear this as an audience hearing the super rehearsed, but the few pros i know, and two i play with, agree.

Its an organic thing mannnn.....lol!

[Steve Ostrander]

The best advice I ever got was from a band mate who remarked about our audience, "We may not be the greatest, but we're better than they are." So I always tell myself that before a gig. Remember that they are there to hear YOU. If they were professional musicians, they'd be playing their own gig. (I guess I'll be in serious trouble if CT ever shows up at one of our gigs...)

I still get butterflies before a gig, but it's not anxiety, it's nervous energy. I've rehearsed and I'm ready to play. I try to keep busy before a gig, setting up the PA and so on. I'm a stickler about getting to a gig early and setting up. I don't like to be rushed. I like to get set up and then have about ten minutes to focus before a gig.

[farmerjones]

Take 2 -
I made an assumption it was a solo gig. As an addendum to my previous advice, if it's at all possible, play with a buddy or two, or 9. It is immeasurably better in my opinion. I mean also, if you can start as a side-man, as well, so much the better.

[Bertram Henze]

play with a buddy or two, or 9. It is immeasurably better in my opinion.

Unless you succeed in derailing the whole band on a song and get grilled by your buddies afterwards. Don't ask how I know.

[sbhikes]

Find an open mic if you can. Keep going back.

I've played at one open mic with 3 of my friends. They stuck a mic right up to my mandolin. It freaked me out! I refused to look up the entire time, until near the end I looked up by accident and was shocked to see people in the bar dancing! Wow, that was awesome. Young people dancing to Old-time. That's gotta be a first. It really is better than it sounds, I guess. Anyway, that's the only open mic I've ever done.

I don't think I'd do an open mic all by myself. I don't know that the mandolin is enough by itself.

You haven't said how many times you've played on stage with a mic.

Only once have I played on stage with a mic. I've played many many times without a mic (in a group) and that does not bother me at all. Our jam group gets hired out to play as a jam and once in a while we play for dances with a caller. It's always very informal and I have no trouble with it. I think it's fun. It's the mic that scares me.

The stage fright I had the other day was because we were being recorded and they wanted me to play the whole A part by myself with a mic 6 inches from me. Oh man! I did better the second day but the first day was very scary.

His name is "Neon" Leon Fullerton: a tall, lanky, slow-walking, slow-talking, lazy-smiling, 'shroom-chewing, rhyme-spewing, contraband-smuggling, purty-gal-snuggling, roll-yer-own galloot in a ten-gallon hat - a champion competition tobacco spitter honored by my avatar. You can read all about him at www.thefullertons.net. When Hank Thompson wrote "He's Got a Way With Women" and Lowell George wrote "Willin'," they based them on Leon.

Charlie Bernstein, you are hillarious. I'm 52 and I'd probably like bad-boy Neon.

[Austin Bob]

Lots of good suggestions here. I normally have no problem playing in public, but when I have to lead the choir, I still get nervous. Not as bad as at first, but it's still there. I'll be all sweaty at the end of service, and I don't sweat when I'm just playing in a band. I also tend to play too fast.

What helps me is to practice, practice, practice. I also have a designated singer to help me stay on tempo and not go too fast.

Public speaking is another matter. I never had a problem until about 10 years ago. While speaking to a group of senior managers, I had a full blown panic attack. It was HORRIBLE. No way to describe how I felt in words, but it took every ounce of courage to complete the presentation and not run from the room.

For me the solution was to find ways to breath properly, and visualize success. I find one person at first, look them in the eye and pretend we're having a one on one conversation. Lots of stuff out there on the web. I also saw a doctor and now take a small dose of anti anxiety med before a big presentation, but that is a personal choice and should be approached with caution. One prescription lasts me a year or so, I only take when absolutely necessary. I think it's as much of a mental crutch than anything, but it does seem to help.

[GASguy]

There has been much good advice that has been offered here.

My approach is to practice exactly in the manner you will be performing; if you are singing or playing into a microphone at the gig, practice in the same manner at home, if you are plugging into an amp or PA practice that way.

It is ok to learn a song acoustically but when you are prepping for playing out, you should practice and prepare under the same conditions as the live performance will be.

Singing and /or playing into a mike will be a very different circumstance than plugging in or playing acoustically; replicate your live performance conditions when you prepare for your live performance.

Also someone mentioned Robbie Robertson, The Band had a great song by the name of "Stage-fright" that I will quote briefly:"You can make it in your disguise, just never show the fear that is in your eyes."..."But when you get to the end, you want to start all over again"

[Astro]

..."But when you get to the end, you want to start all over again"

Brings up an interesting phenomenon that isnt discussed much and goes hand in hand with stage fright.

That is the post performance euphoria. Of course its the more emotionally important shows that give the most stage fright ahead of time. And the more stage fright before the gig, the more euphoria experienced when its over. And sometimes you just want to keep playing and dont want it to be over once the groove kicks in and the fright wears off. It becomes enjoyable energy. Weird stuff, performance. A bit like adrenaline junkies.

[foldedpath]

Unless you succeed in derailing the whole band on a song and get grilled by your buddies afterwards. Don't ask how I know.

Yeah, I think most of us who have played in bands have been there. But having someone to cover for you is the ultimate safety blanket.

I was fortunate to play in a duo for a while with a very good guitar player, who backed me while I played melody on mandolin. Mostly wedding gigs, Irish trad as background music. I would occasionally have a brain fart, call a tune, and then play something completely different. Like saying "Cooley's Reel" and then launching into Toss the Feathers. This guy wouldn't miss a beat, quickly shifting gears and following along. I might get a sideways glance ("Um, okay?") but that was all.

That kind of support is priceless, and I've only been in a few bands where you could count on that kind of thing. Your band members have to be confident in their own ability to be flexible and cover for each other. I try to reciprocate when someone else is in the hot seat.

[Bertram Henze]

I try to reciprocate when someone else is in the hot seat.

Absolutely. Balance is essential.

[Charlie Bernstein]

...except I think Neon is the real Charlie, coming out every now and then. . . .

Don't let Leon hear you say that!

[mee]

I wish I could say it goes away. Sometimes I am ok and other times not so. But it isn't as bad as it use to be. I think it best not to over think it.
But the biggest help for me is playing in nursing homes. I do this several times a month and have gotten completely comfortable with this. These older folk absolutely love it and it doesn't seem to matter how many mistakes I make they are very appreciative and forgiving and we have fun together. Actually I find I make very few booboos because of the relaxed atmosphere. And they LOVE my pretty little "guitar"

[Michael Kinch]

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?

[sbhikes]

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?

Don't take any lessons! Ha ha.

Just kidding. Just keep playing.

[Charlie Bernstein]

. . . I'm 52 and I'd probably like bad-boy Neon.

Absolutely. Everyone does. That's another difference between Leon and me!

[Bill McCall]

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?

Lessons are performances for an audience of one. You will learn to perform in that setting as a prelude to other venues.

You'll also see that your teacher has seen it all before and will provide some guidance as to how much progress you can make in a week, so you can stress a bit less.

Took me a bit to learn that.

[JeffD]

It has been my experience that the performance anxiety has never left me or even abated, but my ability to keep it from inhibiting me has improved greatly over time.

I have come to hoping it never abates, because I think it is related to wanting to do well and caring about how you do, and I never want to get on stage not caring.

I don't sky dive or drive fast or bungee jump, but an every now and again adrenalin rush is kind of a good thing. Walking up to the microphone is mine. And seriously, learning how to stay the course and have a clear head and get the job done during a "fight or flight" episode will probably serve me well in an emergency.

Let us hope I never have to test that last one.