How to let go, just play and have fun at a gig?

[makkE]

Hello fellow bass warriors.

I am preparing for a concert, playing through the set about twice a day, and working on specific phrases that still don't go round.

I am trying to achieve a state where I don't have to worry about my hands anymore, so I can get into the groove and have more fun. It seems to work best with those song I know best of course.

Sometimes I get tensed and mess up, or feel uneasy if the parts are harder. I then try to relax both my hands and mind, but my sucess is limited.

Do you have any advice for me? How do you prepare for a gig, how much and how often do you go through the songs? How do you get "in the zone" of just playing without worrying? Is there a thing like having practiced too much?

[Liam Wald]

You are right on track with "The songs I know best". The key for me has always been to know the songs so well that I could play them in my sleep.
The other thing is just racking up the years of playing.
I have been playing bass for 46 years. At about year 30 I was able to take my brain almost completely out of the loop. I reached a point that what I feel automatically translates to my hands.
It takes learning hundreds of songs and playing them thousands of times along with knowing scales and intervals. Also developing really good listening skills.
Then for me the last part of it was realizing that I don't really care what anyone thinks of my playing. I am just doing it for me. To sound like me and no one else.

[Floyd Eye]

The short answer is: The more you play these songs onstage with your band, the less you will have to think about them. There is no such thing as too much practice.

[MalcolmAmos]

If I know the chord changes I relax and let the music take over. If I do not know the chord changes - and do not have sheet music on stage - I fake it. Relying on my ear and assume how I think the changes will go. If I get lost I revert to a tonic pentatonic or tonic root five and groove with that.

The beat is the important thing, the specific notes can slide a little, as long as you maintain the beat. Safe assumption -- you are going to have more I chord than anything then some IV chords mixed in and the V7's will come on the last line of the verse. Assume a 12 bar blues progression with out the dominant 7 chords is a safe bet. When the guys give you the fish eye go back to tonic root five.

Course if you can have fake chord on stage that goes a long way to eliminate the problem.

[Correlli]

Experience, playing lots of gigs. And playing with other muso's who have lots of experience.

[jero182]

Ehhe, need to tread softly here. :P Well there actually is no short or only one right answer. For different people different things work. When I first started I noodled through the songs in and out and in and out. A couple of hours on one song, just to realise that the drummer was doing his own rendition of the same song. When that happens you're screwed anyway so you might as well loosen up and listen to the drummer and play his version. What really made me nervous was that I was literally completely tone deaf. I used to practice Metallica's version of Whiskey in The Jar tuned regularly and not notice that they were tuned lower. So I had to know the songs by heart. The thought of someone transposing the song made me scared shitless. However I did realise that I can loosen up much more if I've had a beer or two. Even my intonation was better so I came up with a recipe: two beers before the gige and one during worked best for me. Any more than that would make me clumsy, less would acomplish nothing.
This however is still not the end of the story. Nowadays, six years later, I never drink on gigs anymore. Partly becouse of a certain mishap on a hometown gig where I really got myself drunk(heeey, my friends were there :F) and ended up slapping thorugh entire session. I lost my pick and you can prolly imagine the reasoning of a drunk person. But the main cause still remains: I am now completely confident infront of the crowd and I do play much better when completely sober. Not just that, I also follow up on my mistakes easier and work on them when I practice.

There.

[Russell L]

Just practice until you KNOW the songs. The only way I can feel relaxed onstage is if I truly know the stuff. It also helps if your bandmates aren't anal about missed notes once in awhile. You can goof (everyone does), and still have a good time. But, being paranoid about missing a note can actually cause you to miss a note. That sounds contradictory, but it's true.

[Snarf]

Originally Posted by makkE

Hello fellow bass warriors.

I am preparing for a concert, playing through the set about twice a day, and working on specific phrases that still don't go round.

I am trying to achieve a state where I don't have to worry about my hands anymore, so I can get into the groove and have more fun. It seems to work best with those song I know best of course.

Sometimes I get tensed and mess up, or feel uneasy if the parts are harder. I then try to relax both my hands and mind, but my sucess is limited.

Do you have any advice for me? How do you prepare for a gig, how much and how often do you go through the songs? How do you get "in the zone" of just playing without worrying? Is there a thing like having practiced too much?

Experience. You need to go through the nervous phase for many gigs until you're comfortable with yourself as a stage performer. No tricks, just do it a bunch.

[bassybill]

For me, confidence is much more about familiarity with the material than length of experience. Thirty years ago I played gigs where I was totally confident because I'd worked really hard to learn the stuff inside out. And the flip side of that is that even nowadays (tonight in fact - I just got home from a gig) I can still feel twitchy about stuff that I wish I'd had more chance to really get down.

Just learn the material and the confidence will follow.

[FuturePrimitive]

Originally Posted by Snarf

a stage performer

I think this is a key phrase here. I've watched a lot of people on stage, most of the time what they did seemed effortless, fluid, and natural. It was only after I'd actually been on stage that I realized that it really is a performance, an "act" of sorts. I'm always concentrating on the count and the beat. Always paying attention to what the drummer is doing, listening to the guitarist and singer. But, nobody is able to tell all that from watching me.

Yes, have fun, "relax" and enjoy playing the music but keep your head in the game.

And another thing I figured out finally (if you'll pardon the minor tangent), song complexity has little to do with screwing up. I never screwed up Tom Sawyer at a gig. I did however screw up La Grange several times. Don't get complacent with songs you can "play in your sleep".

[longfinger]

In addition to what others have said, I also want to say that's it's so important that you and your fellow band members are all supportive of each other. Yes, you all can practice, and make sure you have your parts down. Do that, but if you take a chance and try playing something you've never played before, to make it exciting, to express yourself, and someone in the band attacks you because of it, you'll find it very hard to let go and have fun during a performance. This is true of your band mates too if you attack them for trying something new, for taking chances.

As a band you all have to be supportive of each other in making the right kinds of mistakes.

[Matthew_84]

Something else I'd like to point out is to try not to focus on what your hands are doing. I've done very little jamming and no gigging, but I know, and you may too, that I screw up when I really pay attention to my hands, especially my right.

For example, sometimes I may notice that I'll go up to the G string and play an E for two quick 1/8th notes, but I played them both with my index, instead of alternating, and I'll start paying attention to that the next time around. Or I may notice that I raked from one string down to another (I'm trying to weed raking out of my playing), and then I'll really try and see if I do it again.

Correcting that stuff is done during practicing, try and keep your technique completely out of your mind. Just play the music and let your strict, perfect technique slide while performing.

[bassbully]

It just takes time and knowing the songs inside and out. It will get to the point the muscle memory will start to take over. Just keep at it and it will come. Try to relax,breathe and look like you are having a good time.

[collins81]

I read an article in a bass magazine about this subject, sorry the publication and author elude me. The gist of the article is to never stop playing in the event of a mistake and to keep on trucking. Something else in the article I swear to is to sometimes repeat a mistake or sour note. By playing the same sour note again on the next pass shows that you didnt make a mistake but chose to play that note with purpose. Every note that i play, with right or wrong, is played with ownership and purpose.
Good luck at the gig, and own it!!

[Slowgypsy]

I don't know if this is what you're referring to, but some folks experience some form of "stage fright" or another. Actually the proper term is performance anxiety. And there's nothing wrong with it... it's actually our survival instincts coming into play. Do an internet search on the term to learn more. The gist is...

There are many things during a performance to make us tense. The number one thing you can do is know the material to a high degree. Not knowing the material, and getting stressed about it is to be expected. That said...

Some other things you can do to help feel relaxed is don't drink coffee before a gig. It puts your body into the type of high gear that's probably not helpful. For myself, I sip a glass of wine during a gig. Just one glass, and it's spread out over the course of the performance. For me, a glass of wine is soothing and helps take the edge off a show I might be just a touch anxious about. Some folks (I've done this) meditate for a few minutes before a show... clears my head and helps me focus on the task at hand.

But knowing the material well is a pre-requisite for being able to have fun with it. No getting around that one....

[makkE]

Thanks for al your replies so far, I will keep all of them in mind. Great forum here, thanks for sharing your wisdom!