Playing with too much tension.

[JimKo]

I have been aware lately of how much physically tension I have when playing, especially faster songs, or when playing with really good people. Obviously, this limits smooth playing and even causes me to occasionally miss notes. So far reminding myself to "relax" has not done the trick.
Was wondering if anyone has had to deal with this and, from personal experience, how you were able to overcome it?
Just for the record, I have been playing for over 20 years, gig once or twice a week, and large quantities of tequila are not a good option. Thanks

[DavidKOS]

Was wondering if anyone has had to deal with this and, from personal experience, how you were able to overcome it?

Over the years I worked on concentrating on using as little tension as possible, and focusing on just which muscles need to be used to play guitar and mandolin.

I do not use the elbow much for tremolo, mostly the fingers, some wrist, and a little bit of forearm.

Much of my right hand playing is centered on the 1st finger and thumb, using small circular motions, assisted by the wrist and forearm as needed.

As for the left hand, I'm only using as much pressure as is the bare minimum to get a clean fretted note.

Mostly it's about taking the time to consciously keep unnecessary tension out of one's playing; that in itself is something to practice.

Also, what style of music are you playing and what type of mandolin and picks?

[JimKo]

David, Thanks for the thoughtful reply. I will try an put some of the suggestions into practice. Playing a recently set up Kimble 2 point with a large triangle Primetone pick that I have slightly rounded off the points. Almost all gigs are duos. We play everything from Bob Wills and Merle to John Prine and Guy Clark. Also throw in a few grass tunes just to keep folks awake.

[EdHanrahan]

... or when playing with really good people. ... limits smooth playing and even causes me to occasionally miss notes.

Sounds familiar!

After decades of (on & off) rock bands, casual jams, and "'round the 6-pack" folk music, I joined a mandolin orchestra, playing guitar. That first year was pretty intimidating, reading from sheet music and believing that, unlike my rock/folk buddies, "these people ACTUALLY know what they're doing". Nervousness somewhat went away upon realizing that there's "anonymity in numbers", and that any mistake I made wouldn't be TOO obvious, so they actually happened less frequently.

By far the worst was a small gig near the start of my 2nd season, with only 6 or 7 playing and me being the only guitar. Didn't expect to be nervous hardly at all, but stage fright hit unexpectedly and my shaking hand actually missed notes during a guitar solo. Red face, much? BUT, it wasn't a disaster, and that was probably the turning point: where just realizing that it wasn't a disaster largely made the issue go away.

For me, it was also important to realize that "classically trained" is nowhere close to "all-knowing". We all have our own strengths & weaknesses and, besides, -across all genres- the others are too busy worrying about their own performance to waste effort critiquing mine, or yours.

Keep in mind that ALL of us have been beginners and/or have taken big steps forward, so we've all been there at sometime or another!

[DavidKOS]

David, Thanks for the thoughtful reply. I will try an put some of the suggestions into practice. Playing a recently set up Kimble 2 point with a large triangle Primetone pick that I have slightly rounded off the points. Almost all gigs are duos. We play everything from Bob Wills and Merle to John Prine and Guy Clark. Also throw in a few grass tunes just to keep folks awake.

You might have to use more forearm with that rig than I do. But keep working on it, and all the best.

[Mark Gunter]

Mostly it's about taking the time to consciously keep unnecessary tension out of one's playing; that in itself is something to practice

Jim, this is the only thing that helps me: Consciously working on the things David mentions during *practice*. It’s not the kind of thing I could develop on the fly, under pressure, performing. But I’ve found that after spending time consciously practicing the techniques of relaxed playing, good posture/ergonomics, least amount of pressure necessary, etc., then when performing if I feel or discover myself tensing up, I can more easily correct it on the fly.

That type of woodshedding, together with the realizations that Ed mentions, go a long way to curing the problems. I can still slip into them, but it’s easier to detect and correct when you’ve practiced it often alone.

[mbruno]

IMO, the first step is making sure you know what the right amount of pressure feels like. Sounds stupid, but generally I've found that most of my students (and myself as well) tend to use too much pressure without thinking about it. Try touching a string at a fret so it's dead, then slowly add pressure while picking the string. Once you get a clean note, stop - that's the amount of pressure you need. Usually, this is a lot lighter than you may originally think.

In addition to that, breathing exercises are great. Try breathing with the phrases of music you play. For me, this is really relaxing which in turn helps loosen me up a bit.

[Beanzy]

Having a list of body checks to run through before you play or between pieces is very useful.
Not all at once, just checking in with yourself throughout your playing time.
I ask my self how are the shoulders? nice and relaxed? Not carrying any weight of the arm? How's the head, neck? Balanced? no funky angles?
Feet well positioned to stop any forward tilt or lower back perching tension? You'll never correct or compensate for the big muscles by using the ones actually in contact with the instrument, it would be exhausting, so it pays to keep the big muscle groups relaxed.
Forearms ok, neutral position so muscles able to just sit relaxed? Angle of the mandolin still ok? neck not pulled in towards the body? has it crept upwards at the headstock? I find that's a sure sign I've been tensing up as I play.
Am I able to smile & look at people or the room? If not I may be too tense so shutting down my external inputs & getting in that tension tunnel.

Having said that, as soon as I'm under scrutiny by someone who I know, I find I begin to care too much about what they notice or might think & the tension monster comes out to play. I'm a teacher's nightmare as they never actually see me relaxed.
At a gig or concert I don't give a hoot and can relax. I'm weird like that.
It'll always be a work in progress.

[mandocello8]

[too] much physically tension

if nothing else helps, take karate lessons. exercises like the sanchin and tensho kata are designed to teach/learn to create tension and by necessity to release tension. tell the instructor "I want to learn to relax", stick with the one who knows what you mean. warning, internal martial arts (tension/relaxation) take longer than 5 minutes to learn. one also gets to learn patience. (Joke. "I want more patience NOW!").

causes me to occasionally miss notesm

For me, that is/was a major cause of tension and discomfort. I let go. I permit myself to miss some notes, play some wrong notes, miss a beat or two, whatever happens, happens, chill, relax.

[gfury]

This very timely for me. It's been on my mind a lot lately.

At practice I'm much more relaxed. At a gig, tension creeps in.

It's gotten a bit better, but I need to make a deliberate effort to improve my relaxation (seems counter intuitive).

I was at a jam this week and had a couple of beers. I think it made me sloppy.

I have three gigs this week (big week). So, more opportunities to try to relax.

[DavidKOS]

IMO, the first step is making sure you know what the right amount of pressure feels like. Sounds stupid, but generally I've found that most of my students (and myself as well) tend to use too much pressure without thinking about it. .......
In addition to that, breathing exercises are great. Try breathing with the phrases of music you play. For me, this is really relaxing which in turn helps loosen me up a bit.

Breathing is important!

"tend to use too much pressure without thinking about it"

Exactly, and that's why it requires some effort to be aware of the minimum pressure.

Having a list of body checks to run through before you play or between pieces is very useful.
Not all at once, just checking in with yourself throughout your playing time.
I ask my self how are the shoulders? nice and relaxed? Not carrying any weight of the arm? How's the head, neck? Balanced? no funky angles?
Feet well positioned to stop any forward tilt or lower back perching tension? You'll never correct or compensate for the big muscles by using the ones actually in contact with the instrument, it would be exhausting, so it pays to keep the big muscle groups relaxed.
Forearms ok, neutral position so muscles able to just sit relaxed? Angle of the mandolin still ok? neck not pulled in towards the body? has it crept upwards at the headstock? I find that's a sure sign I've been tensing up as I play.

That's a good list for body awareness!

if nothing else helps, take karate lessons.
.

That's a good idea....in my case though it was Tai Chi Chuan.

[CarlM]

There is the story of the old Indian chief Black Cloud who was troubled by a recurring dream. He was so bothered he went to the medicine man Red Deer to ask for advice. Red Deer said "Well perhaps I can help you, perhaps not, it is all within you but tell me the dream and we will see."

Black Cloud says "Well first I dream I am a teepee, then I dream I am a wigwam, then I am a teepee, then a wigwam and it goes faster and faster as I switch first a teepee then a wigwam then a teepee on and on. It comes every night relentlessly and is driving me wild. I must know what it means."

Red Deer replies' "Hmmm, I believe I can help you, this one is really rather easy. It means you are two tents."

[Gelsenbury]

Thank you for asking this question. I have the same problems and will try some of the advice kindly offered here.

[tmsweeney]

Gelsenbury - absolutely, especially on stage in front of audiences, I call it "right arm lock" you can move your wrist but not your arm and so the playing suffers terribly, even if you nailed it at rehearsal and in practice. All the contributions above are correct - it is a Physical thing not so much a mental thing.
so loosen up before playing (sounds strange but it does help) stretch twist and bend if you were about to enter a soccer match.
Right hand exercises, as boring as they can be do help immensely, but you need to do this over time ( before the performance).
Also check your pick grip ( difficult to do in the middle of a song) try and loosen that a little, without dropping the pick obviously.
I'm not sure I'm 100% cured of it, but focusing on avoiding it has paid off.
Good Luck!

[mandocello8]

one more thought. i discovered that a frequent reason i tense up is because i do not actually know the tune i am playing. (many discussions here on what that means, with some people going as far as saying that you do not know the tune until you can play it backwards (in reverse)). for me it means, "i can play it from the dots", is not good enough. "i can play along with youtube videos" is not good enough, "i can play it with metronome at 80 bpm" is not good enough (if dance tempo is 112 bpm, practice speed should be 120 bpm). to get there, both the right hand and the left hand must know the tune separately (put right hand in the pocket and play the tune just with just the left hand!). having done that, instead of tensing up and struggling, i go "how come this is so easy?!? why are we playing at this crazy fast speed and it feels like there is nothing to it?!? can we go a bit faster?".

[gfury]

one more thought. i discovered that a frequent reason i tense up is because i do not actually know the tune i am playing. .... .

This is a very good point.

I think the tension can be related to one's competency with the piece and speed.

[Kenny]

When you practice have you ever practiced a tune you know very well and increased the tempo until you notice the tension in your body? I’ll bet that, like most of us, it’s the tempo that takes priority, not the effect tempo has on your physical response to it. We keep going, ignoring tension, because playing faster is the goal.

I take at least one session each week to work on those little things that are easily-ignorable stumbling blocks to improved playing. e.g. physical tension, LH-RH coordination, finger position on the strings/frets, how I hold the pick. “Back to basics.” if you like.

One of these things I do is work on speed by playing a section of a tune at an easy, loping tempo then doubling the tempo the second time through, then return to the easy beat. Alternate tempo like that for just a few minutes then move on to other practice. The point of this for me is to play very cleanly at the slower beat then play without tension at the faster beat. I want the faster beat at the threshold of tension so I’m aware of it and I consciously relax as it’s happening. The slow beat lets me play the same thing entirely relaxed so I recognize the sensation I’m seeking.

Sorry so wordy. HTH

[DavidKOS]

one more thought. i discovered that a frequent reason i tense up is because i do not actually know the tune i am playing. (many discussions here on what that means, with some people going as far as saying that you do not know the tune until you can play it backwards (in reverse)). for me it means, "i can play it from the dots", is not good enough. .

When you practice have you ever practiced a tune you know very well and increased the tempo until you notice the tension in your body? I’ll bet that, like most of us, it’s the tempo that takes priority, not the effect tempo has on your physical response to it. We keep going, ignoring tension, because playing faster is the goal.

Good points.

But if you are playing genres of music that DO use written music, then one has to also read the music without tension. that's another skill set.

I realize many mandolin styles don't use written music, though.

[Kenny]

That’s a fair enough point, though the OP didn’t mention reading. I learned to read music in early elementary school but when, as an adult, I took classical guitar lessons for several years it was humbling to sit next to a talented player who could sight read a new-to-him/her piece at near-performance level. Reading or not, one’s practice needs to focus on improving skills (“everybody knows that”) and overcoming known difficulties (by thinking about them during practice). The latter is often overcome by working on the former but sometimes it isn’t and we need to work consciously to break away from something we do that holds us back. Practice at the threshold of tension has helped in that sense.

[JimKo]

Lots of good stuff here. Thanks for all the ideas. Have been putting some of them to use while practicing the past few days. Real test is this afternoon at a gig. Looking forward to that. One point I hadn't considered before was the combination tension between right and left had at the same time. I think that might be a quest for volume. Today I will just adjust the volume slightly and let the electronics do the work.
By the way no reading involved. I admire those who can do that but it isn't on the radar at this point.

[DavidKOS]

I think that might be a quest for volume. Today I will just adjust the volume slightly and let the electronics do the work.

Playing loud definitely takes more effort than playing softly.

Good idea, let the amplifier do the heavy lifting.

[sbhikes]

What is wrong with missing notes? I mean that seriously. Making "mistakes" has taught me how to make my mistakes sound like an intentional variation. Missing a note here or there could just be me being creative for all anyone knows. A lot of the music I play with other people doesn't have a set idea of "these are the exact notes and any deviation is WRONG". I notice a lot of beginners will think that way but there are so many variations of old time and Irish music, so many different ways to play the little licks and things, that there really isn't a one exact right set of notes. I acquired an accordion book of Irish music and I notice a lot of tunes have little tiny variations in the notes that seem like they make the tunes easier for accordions to play. A lot of tunes on thesession.org are written in ways that are easier for fiddles or flutes and the comments sometimes even say just this. I took Irish fiddle lessons for a while from a really good Sligo-style fiddler who takes lessons from some famous guy in Ireland, and the ornaments he taught me were put in to help make it easier to get from here to there in the tune. Me missing a note or playing a different note is just me making it easier to get from here to there for all anybody knows.

[DavidKOS]

What is wrong with missing notes? I mean that seriously.

That would depend on which genre of music you are playing, and to a degree, which notes you missed. Missing one 16th note in a scalar run is less problematic than missing the whole note that begins a melody phrase.

Making "mistakes" has taught me how to make my mistakes sound like an intentional variation. Missing a note here or there could just be me being creative for all anyone knows.

That makes sense in jazz for example, particularly when soloing.

..... there are so many variations of old time and Irish music, so many different ways to play the little licks and things, that there really isn't a one exact right set of notes.

Yes, there are many setting of such tunes, none necessarily being the "one" right version

But that would not work so well in Classical music, nor in certain other genres where there IS a composed "correct" version of a piece of music.

One other thing - professional musicians do make mistakes, fewer than beginner players, but they also are better at covering mistakes.

[mandocello8]

let the amplifier do the heavy lifting.

downside. amplifier amplifies all the mistakes louder.

[mandocello8]

What is wrong with missing notes?

no missing notes, zero mistakes, etc is the result, not the goal. like in cooking, you start with perfect ingredients, a time tested recipe, follow it carefully in a clean well equipped kitchen, result is a perfect feast. alternatively, one could start with a goal "I will cook a great meal!" then proceed with whatever components, a recipe from a google search, cleaning the kitchen and sharpening the knives postponed for later, while chatting with 10 friends on facebook. goal good, but good result unlikely.