Stage Fright!

[Levinson Blade]

How do you get over stage fright
I can play well if I think no one is listening to me
BUT if I susspect some one is listening I make silly mistakes with songs that I can play well

[AnUprightMan]

not that I am in a band or anything.
but when I first started playing I could not even stand being in front of one other person with the damn guitar. Know i will bust the thing out in front of 20 or so people at a party or something and I feel totally fine. Just keep playing in front of people. odds are, you sound better then you think. I suspect this is good advice, although if you are talking about a real gig I can't help.

[mjamer]

Levinson, not to go totally off topic.. but if you look at what you said "I susspect some one is listening I make silly mistakes with songs that I can play well" -- this is bad of course, but in a good way. Least for me it makes me practice that much more, for fear of messing up hehe.

I used to be terrified of the stage, I'd sweat, my hands would tremble.. when it was time for me to play the solo and I knew everyone would be listening.. oh my was it tough, playing with trembling hands isn't an easy task, and I generally messed it up.

Just like practicing guitar to be better, overcoming stagefright takes practice.. eventually you'll either forget there's an audience and just be consumed with what you're playing, and you'll play as if you were in a room by yourself or you'll start loving the attention and eventually be totally relaxed in that environment.. maybe even both, lost in the music.. catering to the audience.

Have fun, that's what it's all about in the end. You'll probably always make mistakes as well, it's how you handle those mistakes is what's important. If you make a mistake, don't get scared, don't think .."oh man, i blew it and THEY all heard me!", most of the time they didn't hear you at all.. (the few guitarist in the crowd might catch it.. but not the general audience).. just keep on playing as if you meant to do what you did. =)

[Levinson Blade]

Thats good advice thanks mjamer
I have just read an article in a guitar mag about a guy who has played for over 30 years who made mistakes at a recent gig he started to play the song and got it wrong three times and had to start over
i guess we can not be perfect all the time

[bobcat]

Hi! I will share my most traumatic musical experience with you. (keep in mind, I was a classical flute major) I was called upon to play the flute solo in the William Tell Overture. It is a HUGE flute and oboe section of the song that the oboe plays one note to every six that the flute plays. Well, the oboe player took off flying through his part. I gotta play six times faster to keep up with him. It didn't work! The only thing that could have made that solo any worse is if I had thrown up on the stage...I was humiliated!

After the concert, people from the audience came up to me and said what a nice solo it was. These people had no idea that I just completely blew this thing!

Always remember, most people in the audience will not be musicians, nor will they know when you blow chunks into your instrument! Live music is the best music because the sound lasts for a brief instance and then it is gone. People remember the overall performance, not each individual note of it! Keep playing! :p

[GuitarGuillermo]

If you're playing from sheet music, just concentrate on the notes. if your playing from memory just watch your fingers and concentrate on them.

[ESP_Viper]

I have less fear playing with my band. Since they are my friends, we are all comfortable with eachother. It's a lot different if you're by yourself. When I am playing alone, thats when I get scared. 'Cause it's all you and you know everyone is paying attention to what you're playing. I just find doing anything in front of a crowd is easier when you're with at least another person. I had a show last night, I only got nervous when I was on drums, and I don't know why. I played bass for the show, and I was fine. It was A LOT of fun!

[SteelSlider]

I still get a bit uptight about stepping on stage. I do much better in private parties, places where I know everyone.
The only way I can over come stage fright is to tell myself 'I'm on control here'.
After all this time, I still lack confidence in myself.
I use to worry about makin' mistakes, forgetting a riff, totally blacking out. It's all happened at one time or another, but I gloss over it and keep going, just as if nothing happened. Some times when the part comes up again, I'll purposely make the same mistake, just to cover my butt.
I know everyone will be watching and criticing. I just know it. I still get frightened.
When I walk toward the stage my hands are wet. I know everyone knows my hands are wet, too.
I have actually walked into peoples chairs, in small clubs, because I'm looking at the executioners block instead of a stage.
My first gig was when I was ten or eleven, I'm fifty three now. I still feel like that when I get close to the stage.

But, as soon as I toss the strap over my shoulder and pick up my pick, that feeling is forgotten. It's time to go to work.
Time to do what I have spent my life doing.
Everyone has to deal with feelings their own way. A guy I played with for years use to take a t-shirt with him on stage, drying his hands with it right up until the moment to play, then toss it to the closest lady to him.
I tried that once and it landed in the lap of some ladies husband. I never did that again.

This comes up alot when a new group of guys gets together. A band is a team, we all make mistakes. One member making a mistake makes reflects on the band as a whole.
Like an athlete, the boxer, the javilin thrower, the runner, they all psyc themselves out.

Like someone mentioned, practice around people. Someone you know. Don't tell them your practicing in front of them or putting on a show for them for your benifit, just causally pick up the guitar and mess with it. Run through a few licks and riffs, make it look like your just messing around, but keep control of your self. Hide the sweatbeads on your forehead as much as possible. If your hand is shaking, stop. Shake your hands out, give them a stretching, then resume.
Heck, your only messin' around with the guitar, as far as anyone else is concerned. But it's breaking the ice for you. Go as far as you feel comfortable going. The more you play infront of people, the less the stage fright will control you.

One last thing, then I'll shut up.
BE PREPARED.
Start right now, in your mind, going over every concievable senerio you can think of. Playing in front of your girlfriend/boyfriend, your family, your friends, a party, with a band. When you imagine having stage fright, think of ways to over come it. Practice in your mind. Use you mind for more than remember chords and experiencing stage fright.
Your in control.
We all get it, some more than others. If you with a band, tell them. Your a unit, a team. They will help.

[Sandman_96707]

I don't fear going up in front of crowds, but going up and playing my guitar I would. Most especially because my bassist says "I'll go hide in the background, and you can be in the spotlight". Unusually, I feel more uncomfortable playing around people I that I do know but aren't like really close friends. Can't explain that. Maybe because passers by that you don't know aren't going to be so critical like the people I know.

[fizz]

hi,
this is useful for me too!
i have to play in front of 400 people with my band!
ack.
im having the problem of stage presence.
i dont want to stand still, im hoping by moving around on stage, headbanging etc, it will encourage the crowd to mosh,
But when i think about starting, i get very self councsious, especially with the size of the audience.
( we will only play 3 songs - but thats not my point)
thanks.

[decosta1228]

The first time I preformed in front of a crowd was a school concert,the only thing was that when I sat down,the overhead light was directly in front of me,so all I could see was a white room,the light obliterated the audience. Therefore I had no worries.

You get used to it,I find that people appricate music even if played badly.

[smfulla]

just to back up what everyone else already said, it takes practice=] Just keep on going up on stage and performing, and you'll get used to it. I'm still nervous when I get up on stage, and soon I'll be performing infront of my school for the jazz band =] Oh no!

[barbietta]

I agree with the other comments that the more you play in front of others, the less it will bother you.

In my piano days, I used to play publicly a lot. One time at a recital, I was playing a really challenging piece. I managed to pull of the entire song flawlessly--except the very last note, where I slipped and made a god-awful clashing racket. I was mortified, but as it turned out, the audience liked the "human" character it lended. I ended up getting far more praise than those who didn't make any mistakes at all. Embrace your mistakes, I say! ha ha :)

[Krieselman13]

I just seem to speed up the rhythm a little bit when there is a LARGE crowd watching me, but if it is a small crowd, I tend to play like normal. It just depends on what the person is used to I guess.

[55'gibby]

I'm really lucky that three of us have played together since Nixon was in office, and being freinds as well as bandmates is a great thing. we're just up there playing and having fun just like we we're playing in my garage a long time ago. I have the other problem... I get too pumped, and need to get settled down before I play. But one piece of advise that an old gutarist freind of mine once gave me was "relax, don't take it too seriously, the crowd wants you to do well" I realize it seems kinda weird, but I have found it's true, they are there to have a good time, you might as well have one too!! To tell you th truth, most folks aren't listening that closely, so minor faux pas' are easily forgiven. Know all the songs and arrangements like they are second nature will help you get over the fear of "brain death". Good luck on the gig!! There is some good advice to be had in the other posts, read them all... remember being on stage just like anything else, it takes practice.