Anyone had to overcome stage fright playing live?

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  • LegionreturnsLegionreturns Frets: 7965
    edited July 2021
    I'm not wired up right. 

    Being asked to prepare a speech/do a presentation or training course/play a gig barely registers on my brain. 

    I've had to do impromptu presentations for 2000 people with 10 minutes prep. No problem, and I am very comfortable in front of a crowd. Quite like being the centre of attention. 

    On the other hand, if you make me go to a busy shopping centre, surrounded by the great unwashed on a busy Saturday...it freaks me out and I can have severe panic attacks. 

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  • EricTheWearyEricTheWeary Frets: 16253
    Probably part of why there's been such a history of people developing drink/drug problems. Even if it's not whisky and smack apparently beta-blockers are commonly used. 
    I'm pretty sure people, even on game shows or whatever, are still encouraged to have a g and t or two before a show. 
    I watched some clips of Ted Rogers talking about hosting 3-2-1 and in those days they had a free bar behind the set so many of the contestants had a pint or two. There was some loophole that the winners could bow out and the game went back to one of the couples who had been knocked out so the game sometimes ended with people who thought they had finished, got rat arsed and had to be brought back on set.
    The regulations used to be that for games with members of the public it had to be a lottery to select who went on but that changed at some point so everyone you see now has been auditioned to see if they can cope. I think I'm right in saying that for the first series of Who Wants to be a Millionaire in 1998 it was still a lottery but subsequently everyone was auditioned. Interesting to watch Pointless made during the pandemic where contestants have only been auditioned online and they are often more nervous than normal because the process hasn't weeded out anxious people as effectively.        
    My uncle was on Sale of the Century when it was just a lottery ( you had to write in saying you wanted to take part and your name was pulled out of a hat) and we watched this quite nervous bloke from Tipton in his best brown suit on the TV. Lots of old game shows had people who weren't coping very well ( and maybe needed a drink) but that has largely gone now. 
    Tipton is a small fishing village in the borough of Sandwell. 
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  • axisusaxisus Frets: 28280
    @EricTheWeary Interesting!
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  • PhilMPhilM Frets: 278
    I found playing in front of 10k+ people at a festival easier than playing in front of 10+ in a pub on a Friday night! 

    Just pretend to be someone else for the duration of the gig - it's exactly why some artists wear a hat and/or glasses or a silly costume. It helps them "become" the alter ego
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  • bbill335bbill335 Frets: 1368
    Public speaking terrifies me.. i will be taking beta blockers, got the dry mouth and tight chest and everything..  so it was hell that my work (pre Brexit fucking my R&D career) needed me to speak on the biggest stages at research conferences to hundreds of people cleverer than me. Gives me nightmares.

    But if I strap on a guitar for a gig or do a high pressure theatre show, I have no anxieties at all and will usually play a lot better to a big audience, and take risks on solos too - it just seems to flow out like watching a movie play out.  Some lower level adrenaline effect maybe. 
    i'm the same, no issues playing guitar in front of anyone. i sometimes have had full-band nerves when i don't think we're up to scratch on the set but have always felt fairly sure of myself on the old six strings. always happy to fight the bull as well, let it run about and see where it goes, where the limits are. however, ask me to speak or - lord have mercy - sing? hoo boy, then the nerves get me.
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  • Bennyboy-UKBennyboy-UK Frets: 1710
    HAL9000 said:
    G4pei said:
    I also get nervous when I recognise one of my guitar playing peers in the audience!
    Yup. Went to a blues/soul jam thingy the other week and Innes Sibun was there. (Not that I could even remotely come close to claiming to be his peer!). Slightly unnerving.
    Thats the one at Lacock isn't it - Innes was playing with my friend Graham - he's trying to get me along later in September for a play - how was it all? How did you find it all?
    I'm always looking for interesting USA Hamers for sale.

    At the moment I'm looking for:
    * Hamer Watson, SS2, Vintage S, T62.
    * Music Man Luke 1, Luke II

    Please drop me a message.
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  • In my experience it’s all about how prepared you are. Amateurs practice until they get it right, pros practice until they can’t get it wrong. If you’ve done the work you should be able to get up there with total confidence, nail it and enjoy it...
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  • HAL9000HAL9000 Frets: 9551
    edited August 2021
    HAL9000 said:
    G4pei said:
    I also get nervous when I recognise one of my guitar playing peers in the audience!
    Yup. Went to a blues/soul jam thingy the other week and Innes Sibun was there. (Not that I could even remotely come close to claiming to be his peer!). Slightly unnerving.
    Thats the one at Lacock isn't it - Innes was playing with my friend Graham - he's trying to get me along later in September for a play - how was it all? How did you find it all?
    Yes, it’s the one at Lacock. We’ve only fairly recently moved to the area and I was trying to find opportunities to play with others (we’d previously lived in West Sussex where I attended a weekly 12-bar session and the odd open mic - all very casual). Despite everyone at Lacock being friendly and encouraging it definitely feels a bit more pressured than I was used to - possibly because I’ve hardly played with others since the first lockdown, also because the Lacock thingy is monthly rather than weekly it’s taking longer to settle in. I certainly enjoy the challenge and appreciate the opportunity but it is somewhat outside of my comfort zone. Also, back in W. Sussex I was probably one of the better players in my circle of friends and acquaintances. At Lacock I’m probably one of the worst. Everyone is supportive though, and it’s only by getting out there that I’m going to improve my playing with (or in front of) others. Hope that helps.

    ps Your friend Graham is pretty handy on guitar isn’t he?
    I play guitar because I enjoy it rather than because I’m any good at it
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  • pmbombpmbomb Frets: 1169
    edited August 2021
    Is stage fright different to nerves?

    Yes I get nerves, especially with a long break between performances. Very annoying, can spoil the day a bit and cause me to fumble too.

    I find they lessen with performance frequency but a long gap causes a reset.

    All really irritating as in the big picture I know well enough it's no biggie, it's not "important" in life terms.

    I do enjoy playing live and what I do isn't particularly demanding. Mostly power chords.

    Curiously I also find, despite being a bit introverted IRL and not someone who seeks attention I'm a real tart with a guitar in hand and don't mind bouncing about with the punters. I even use a wireless system cos I know a cable would get tangled up, then I'd forget I had it and would pull the amp over.

    But I don't think I get stage fright, if that's different. I still want to go on!
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  • NikcNikc Frets: 627
    I have suffered with nerves - I've thrown up before playing on more then one occasion - But I buy into 'feel the fear and do it anyways' mind set. So I just keep going and keep getting up to play. A good friend of mine thinks I must be an adrenaline junkie that somehow I enjoy the level of anxiety. 

    Good news I played yesterday and was hosting a 4 hour event which all went well and wasn't too bad with nerves at all and my wife came to watch  =)
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  • sweepysweepy Frets: 4159
    Never have overcome it tbh, the main reason I never really bother anymore 
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  • Bennyboy-UKBennyboy-UK Frets: 1710
    edited October 2021
    HAL9000 said:
    HAL9000 said:
    G4pei said:
    I also get nervous when I recognise one of my guitar playing peers in the audience!
    Yup. Went to a blues/soul jam thingy the other week and Innes Sibun was there. (Not that I could even remotely come close to claiming to be his peer!). Slightly unnerving.
    Thats the one at Lacock isn't it - Innes was playing with my friend Graham - he's trying to get me along later in September for a play - how was it all? How did you find it all?
    Yes, it’s the one at Lacock. We’ve only fairly recently moved to the area and I was trying to find opportunities to play with others (we’d previously lived in West Sussex where I attended a weekly 12-bar session and the odd open mic - all very casual). Despite everyone at Lacock being friendly and encouraging it definitely feels a bit more pressured than I was used to - possibly because I’ve hardly played with others since the first lockdown, also because the Lacock thingy is monthly rather than weekly it’s taking longer to settle in. I certainly enjoy the challenge and appreciate the opportunity but it is somewhat outside of my comfort zone. Also, back in W. Sussex I was probably one of the better players in my circle of friends and acquaintances. At Lacock I’m probably one of the worst. Everyone is supportive though, and it’s only by getting out there that I’m going to improve my playing with (or in front of) others. Hope that helps.

    ps Your friend Graham is pretty handy on guitar isn’t he?
    Ah cool - Yeah, Graham is handy and he's a really nice guy - he was telling me how stress and nervous he was getting up there.

    The house band are all pro's and all really nice too - I shudder thinking about getting up there - but as you say - doing is the only way to get more comfortable with it.

    If you go - I'll go D!! 

    PS sorry for the very slow reply !
    I'm always looking for interesting USA Hamers for sale.

    At the moment I'm looking for:
    * Hamer Watson, SS2, Vintage S, T62.
    * Music Man Luke 1, Luke II

    Please drop me a message.
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  • I'd be surprised if anyone who ever played live hasn't had to contend with stage fright at the beginning of their journey.
    It's pretty much a natural reaction to being 'exposed' in such a way, no?

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  • BillDLBillDL Frets: 7041
    slacker said:

    ..... 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.
    I wholeheartedly agree with this.  I often wonder what it would be like to walk out onto a small stage in front of an intimately small audience of strangers with a classical guitar and sit down to entertain them.  Of course a classical guitarist in such a situation is most likely to be extremely confident in his/her technical and artistic ability, but the audience of such a gig is also likely to comprise people with an intimate knowledge of classical music who would hear even the tiniest mistake more readily than in the scenario of a solo folk guitarist with a steel string strumming or picking less "classical" music in front of a similarly sized audience of strangers.

    I think that this comes down to different kinds of audience expectations, and that can affect the feedback and general feel that you get from an audience.  If people go to watch a musician or band with the "OK, now entertain me" attitude (as I would guess would be the mindset of the audience watching a classical guitarist), then there is already a stronger reason to be nervous than when playing to a much more loosely wound audience who are allowed to and want to cheer, whistle, dance, or participate in the singing, and are less critical of the occasional fluffed note or vocal squawk.

    I know that I am more comfortable giving a lecture to a large audience than a classroom sized one.  Most small group training courses use the "tell us all something about yourself" introduction.  This can be more terrifying to some people than addressing a large hall of people on a microphone from a lectern, or even standing on stage as a band's front man.

    Many very well known musicians use an alter-ego persona while on stage or meeting fans, but revert to their normal or even shy and introverted selves when off stage.  We often see a completely different person when those musicians appear in talk shows.  I'm sure that being able to become another persona during a performance helps artists cope with nerves.  I have never heard Brian Carroll playing in front of an audience without the mask and KFC bucket on his head.  If he has done, I wonder if he was more nervous without the mask?

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  • I suffered with this for a long, long time. I too have no issues public speaking but stick me in front of people with a guitar in my hand....

    Had a hypnotherapy session some ago with Oli @Grunfeld from this parish. Played a gig on Saturday and it's the best gig I've played since I was a kid. I cannot overstate the change. Prior to this I would be so stressed I literally couldn't play (fingers wouldn't work/tight/total brain-fade) but on Saturday it was literally effortless. I actually started laughing to myself as the gig progressed; it seemed that easy..

    Did I get a sense of excitement and a feeling of nervous anticipation? Yes - like I do when I speak to a large audience. But it didn't impact on my ability to play this time. In fact, like public speaking, the anticipation/nervousness was a benefit and made me hyper-aware without the stressful downsides.

    The amazing thing was that I was totally in the moment and it seemed to me that time slowed down rather than rushing against me.. so weird..

    What changed in me? Fuck knows but something did..

    You might want to consider it...

    Si
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  • axisusaxisus Frets: 28280
    I suffered with this for a long, long time. I too have no issues public speaking but stick me in front of people with a guitar in my hand....

    Had a hypnotherapy session some ago with Oli @Grunfeld from this parish. Played a gig on Saturday and it's the best gig I've played since I was a kid. I cannot overstate the change. Prior to this I would be so stressed I literally couldn't play (fingers wouldn't work/tight/total brain-fade) but on Saturday it was literally effortless. I actually started laughing to myself as the gig progressed; it seemed that easy..

    Did I get a sense of excitement and a feeling of nervous anticipation? Yes - like I do when I speak to a large audience. But it didn't impact on my ability to play this time. In fact, like public speaking, the anticipation/nervousness was a benefit and made me hyper-aware without the stressful downsides.

    The amazing thing was that I was totally in the moment and it seemed to me that time slowed down rather than rushing against me.. so weird..

    What changed in me? Fuck knows but something did..

    You might want to consider it...

    Si
    The hypnotist stands in the crowd. He clicks his fingers. You drop your trousers and squawk like a chicken ....
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  • fretmeisterfretmeister Frets: 23948
    Interesting thread.

    Pre lockdown I had an episode of stage fright for the first time in a good 20 years. I was playing a tune I knew very well, with people I knew well, with a friendly audience and for some reason my brain just decided "no" and it was a real struggle to get through the set and of the stage. It was even in a venue I was familiar with and had used many times before.

    For my job I have been public speaking for over 20 years and I look forward to it. I've done endless gigs in several genres for the last 30+ years including fronting bands. Done the dodgy pubs and the function circuits.

    When it hit I was just at the back playing a simple bass part. It was very odd.
    I'd love to know why it just happens sometimes.
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  • JMS96JMS96 Frets: 135
    edited October 2021
    I’ve periodically have ‘stage fright’ - in a few different contexts. I was once at a work meeting where someone unexpectedly turned to me with a question. I panicked and was metaphorically reaching out for how to answer and finding nothing to hold on to. Then I froze, and then started sweating. It was excruciating. Same things happens with music performance. I used to do (low level) piano solo recitals and it’s terrifying. The only way to deal with it, unfortunately, is preparation. I tell my kids, even if you don’t have time to fully prepare, have the first 30 seconds totally nailed down in your head - that means the routine for getting on stage, picking up your instrument, etc, as well as the opening of the first song.
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  • icu81b4icu81b4 Frets: 365
    The first arpeggio chord shape to Mr Brightside completely left me towards the end of a wedding gig, I’d picked up my steinberger (copy) which was tuned a half step down specifically for this song which I’d played umpteen times before with no issues, but as the band stared at me to start the song along with the guests… with the singer trying to jog my memory by singing the opening riff to me (That didn’t help).

    after what seemed like an eternity I just said “nope, let’s move on” as the keyboard player started ‘I gotta feeling’ … the drummer was in stitches laughing at me.  Weird. 
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  • LogieLogie Frets: 440
    edited November 2021
    My first gig was a stand in while I was working in Cyprus. I stood in for a 3 piece band who's guitarist had gone back to the UK. They had a Xmas gig they really wanted to honour and I knew the drummer and he persuaded me to do it.

    I'd never played in front of people before and when we were setting up I noticed there were quite a lot of people ....300 to be exact!

     I got through the first song and then just before the next song I looked out, saw all these people sat down watching me all suited and booted and I just froze.

    Couldn't play a note for the next few songs and obviously in a 3 piece there's nowhere to hide so it was really turning sour. 
    It felt like I was standing in a pool of my own sweat and I was getting waves of nausea travelling up and down my body. Totally miserable experience.

    Anyhoo, the rest of the band launched into Hotel California with me still glued to the spot but when it got to the solo I finally kicked in. I'd learnt it as best I could note perfect and muscle memory got me through. The audience gave a massive ( probably ironic ) cheer and from then on I was fine. It didn't exactly save the gig but we got paid.

    I was having a piss afterward and a bloke in the next urinal turned round to me with a proper withering look and said " you were fucking shit mate " and walked off 

    I've only done about 12 gigs as a guitarist mainly because I never felt comfortable in front of an audience but the odd thing is I've sang in a few bands and I don't suffer from nerves singing. Happy to be up front and belting it out whether it's at an open mic, karaoke or full band.

    Maybe my sub conscious is telling me I'm a shit guitarist  
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