Anyone had to overcome stage fright playing live?

axisus

Pretty sure I could never have been in a band.

I just saw this rather cool shot of an old fave band of mine - Grand Funk Railroad. On one hand it looks great fun to play live, but as a relatively introverted person who hates being the centre of attention, there's NO WAY I could stand up on a stage with all those faces looking at me! Terrifying in the extreme! I realise that most musicians won't necessarily play to a crowd like that, but even a small amount would be impossible for me.

I guess some people just love the attention, love being up there. 

Anyone had to overcome stage fright?

HAL9000

Not stage fright as such, but I certainly don’t play so well when there’s an audience. So... I tend to keep things simple, play well within the limits of my ability, and definitely don’t try to overplay. I’d rather do a simple lick reasonably well, than mess up a more difficult one.

Also, be aware that 99% of the people watching you would give their eye teeth to be able to do what you’re doing.

Edit - if you don’t like being the centre of attention then just think of your job as supporting the singer, rather than being ‘the guitarist’.

EricTheWeary

I wonder if that pic was Hyde Park? My eldest brother was in there somewhere.

I've suffered with it although on the odd occasion I did gigs on consecutive nights or just close together it reduced a lot. I used to do quite a lot presenting and leading groups at work and had stage fright for that to some extent but again the more I could do the less fright I had. If you told me I had a gig booked to play this December I'd start worrying about it now. 

I was/ am a believer in going through a process to get myself into the psychological place to be onstage. The gathering and checking of equipment, the getting into stage gear, etc, etc, so as far as possible morphing from Eric the mild mannered public servant into Eric the rockstar/ guitarist playing three chord songs. Having the first song be something you can absolutely play in your sleep is a must ( actually a Gary Moore tip) and it also helps you know what is going on sound wise. 
One flip side of this process is my utter annoyance at anyone ( and many guilty parties on here) who think it's appropriate to mock anyone for dressing up/ putting on a hat/ sunglasses/ doing rock star poses when playing to three people and a dog at the local pub. It might be pretentious but it might just be how that person puts themselves into the right frame of mind to do it at all. I've often mentioned the Radio 4 interview with Bob Geldof where he talked about putting on a silver lame jacket and running around a stage as a middle aged man and that it was a 'holiday from being myself' and that's exactly right. 
I suspect for all intents and purposes I've given up gigging and it's not the crappy venues or small financial rewards I'll miss it's that 'holiday' and the price I paid for that was stomach churning anxiety beforehand. 

camf

I’m not sure I’ve ever overcome it, but I do think you can learn to manage it. All the usual things help: being prepared, positive visualisation, remembering to enjoy yourself, go to the toilet (easy to forget!), deep breaths… maybe being prepared is the big one for me. If I know what I’m doing, and that everything is working and where it should be and everyone in our unit knows what they’re doing, then usually I can be calm enough to deal with anything going wrong. Just don’t expect to always get everything right… and remember it’s supposed to be fun… and go to the toilet again.  

Moe_Zambeek

I have always had nerves before a gig, still do. @camf has listed pretty much everything I do. I also agree that preparation is the best medicine. Also ageing a bit and realising there’s really not that much riding on the gigs I do these days helps. 

Edit to add - I’ve only done a few ‘big’ gigs, biggest being a few slots during event nights at the O2 in Glasgow and a scooter fest at an ice rink on the Isle of White - and in both venues you couldn’t actually see anyone while playing the lights were on the band not the crowd so all you see is a dark blob!

monquixote

I think it depends how you are wired.

If you told me I had to play a big festival tomorrow depping with a band I'd never played with before and had 24 hours to learn the set it wouldn't bother me in the slightest.

If you told me I had to take my daughter to a birthday party and I would have to make small talk with the other parents I'd find that quite stressful.

Keefy

I used to tense up terribly when it came time to do a solo. Over the years I’ve got so used to playing in front of people that I barely get nerves at all, but I do enjoy the frisson of excitement that comes with live performance. Before a gig I’m now more nervous about getting there on time, finding somewhere to park, and making sure all my kit works as it should.

viz

I’m predisposed to having massive stage fright and used to be petrified before going on. Ultimately I think it’s all about being so prepared that you own it, and/or comfortable enough with the concept that it’s the taking part that counts, not the ‘winning’ that you can put it in perspective. 

Weirdly, for me it’s faded away even as the events have got bigger, but I do think that’s as much about just getting older as it is about getting better as a guitarist. And obviously experience is part of that. 

I have also found it helps immensely to wear a costume or mask coz you can be another persona . Most performers are probably not being totally themselves on stage. 

Danny1969

Like anything you used to it. I think I might have been quite nervous in the early days but your confidence grows over the years. I've been lucky enough to play in front of some very big crowds. Oddly enough at the largest events there's an exclusion zone in front of the stage so you feel less scrutinised by the crowd then you do at a pub gig

I don't advocate drinking as a permanent crutch but a couple of beers will generally settle most peoples nerves without making their playing go to pot.   

mrkb

Im sure getting used to the situation reduces any issues and makes it less stressful in the long term. I was nervous at a minigig at the weekend, so imagined the audience naked - now I have PTSD

Lestratcaster

I remember my first ever gig in 2005 I think (or maybe 06) and I was very nervous before the show. I was in a 3-piece alternative group so there were less members to look at meaning if I messed up there'd be more focus on it. I was nearly sick in the toilets just before we played as I kept thinking to myself "What if I mess up...". The show started and once we were 2 songs in I settled down but didn't look up once to the crowd, partly due to the bright strobe light in my face meaning I had to stare at my feet for the entire set. 

15 years on I've played in several bands, and all types of venues/stages. Of course you get a bit nervous before you play but that's more adrenaline and excitement now. I think after 10 shows I just get used to it and you learn to enjoy it. I'm also a teacher so have to 'perform' in front of students in a way. It doesn't bother me anymore.

But public speaking is a different matter, as I don't feel as confident as when I'm playing the guitar.

Chuffola

monquixote said:

If you told me I had to take my daughter to a birthday party and I would have to make small talk with the other parents I'd find that quite stressful.

Well, bearing in mind what happened at last year's birthday party that's understandable

slacker

axisus said:

 

Anyone had to overcome stage fright?

Yes, long post, skip to the end for the point if you want. 

I started on guitar, got asked to play bass in a band and two years of rehearsing every Saturday did a very low level gig. I was terrified, I could hear my heart beat over the drums. Various things happened and I joined a couple of rehearsal only bands and did two gigs after a year or two. not so terrified but still a problem. Three years later I played a lot of gigs to ever increasing amounts of people. I played bass in two carol services in  Luton Town Football club first year 5000 people, second year 10000 people. Loved it. No nerves. 

Around 2000 I started to play electric guitar again and when I started doing gigs, I was nervous again. Recently I started singing and I will be nervous if I gig. 

In 2018 I went to a fretboard jam. I offered to cover bass for some songs. For my guitar songs, I downloaded the tab, looked at lessons online, found ones that showed exactly how to play and I practiced again and again and again. I ballsed up at least two solos and got lost at times. For bass, I listed to the tracks on youtouble, looked a the chord charts once and decided to take my electric double bass to make things difficult. I got complements on my playing. 

For a time a knew a professional footballer that became a church minister. He admitted to me that he had played away at Anfield, had to mark Pele (admittedly past him prime) and played for England once. He wasnt nervous. But when he had to speak in church he was on the point of throwing up. 

Defeating nerves is a process often helped by familiarity, I've played a blinder on bass in a scratch band, with no rehearsal and hungover. In a previous job I've presented training courses that lasted a day yet a three minute presentation gives me nerves. Sometimes you will never defeat nerves in some situations. 

monquixote

There is a story about a NASA test pilot who's plane caught fire causing him to make an emergency landing at an airport many miles from home.

Apparently he was cool as a cucumber as he landed the flaming plane and the fire brigade put it out.

As he walked out of the airport the local press asked him for an interview and he had a panic attack.

axisus

slacker said:
Three years later I played a lot of gigs to ever increasing amounts of people. I played bass in two carol services in  Luton Town Football club first year 5000 people, second year 10000 people. 

One of them Luton Carol Aid 1989?

slacker said:
For a time a knew a professional footballer that became a church minister. 

Alan West?

Neill

monquixote said:

I think it depends how you are wired.

If you told me I had to play a big festival tomorrow depping with a band I'd never played with before and had 24 hours to learn the set it wouldn't bother me in the slightest.

If you told me I had to take my daughter to a birthday party and I would have to make small talk with the other parents I'd find that quite stressful.

That's me - in my professional life I've had to address audiences and make speeches etc and I'm sure it helped when I was in a band.  I've never suffered from stage fright but I'm genuinely scared of social occasions, even when I'm with my wife.

adampeter

Definitely if playing the guitar,  Definitely if any public speaking is involved, but asked me to sing and i would be completely unfazed regardless of the crowd, and i'm a shite singer so go figure

poopot

I think everyone gets a little “nervous” before a gig but for me that goes as soon as we start playing…

day to day I’m happy organising big crowds and ordering folk about when I’m taking pictures…

I guess it’s the hiding behind guitars and cameras that gives me the confidence to do that…

however…I had to give a best man speech for a mate a few years ago and I shat myself… it got to me so much that when another mate asked for the same I politely said no and nearly lost a friendship over it!… speaking in public is not for me!!!!

slacker

axisus said:

slacker said:
Three years later I played a lot of gigs to ever increasing amounts of people. I played bass in two carol services in  Luton Town Football club first year 5000 people, second year 10000 people. 

One of them Luton Carol Aid 1989?

slacker said:
For a time a knew a professional footballer that became a church minister. 

Alan West?

Yes to both.

Snags

mrkb said:

Im sure getting used to the situation reduces any issues and makes it less stressful in the long term. I was nervous at a minigig at the weekend, so imagined the audience naked - now I have PTSD

At least you didn't imagine your bandmates naked.

Jalapeno

camf said:

I’m not sure I’ve ever overcome it, but I do think you can learn to manage it. All the usual things help: being prepared, positive visualisation, remembering to enjoy yourself, go to the toilet (easy to forget!), deep breaths… maybe being prepared is the big one for me. If I know what I’m doing, and that everything is working and where it should be and everyone in our unit knows what they’re doing, then usually I can be calm enough to deal with anything going wrong. Just don’t expect to always get everything right… and remember it’s supposed to be fun… and go to the toilet again.  

This (WIS'd)