Can't Get Into The Zone

[Five String]

At gigs I sometimes find myself mentally tightening up to the point where my technique suffers, my right hand especially. Last night I really fumbled through a fairly challenging rythmnic figure I practiced a lot that i had cold. I was embarrassed. When we got a break I tried it again and it felt relaxed and sounded great. More practice? Too much practice? Yoga between songs?

 

[fearceol]

IMO your last option is closer to what is required to get over your problems. Obviously, it is not feasible to sit cross legged on a cushion in deep mediation between songs. You could however, try breathing slowly and deeply, both when playing and also in between songs. The former might take a bit of practice, but often, as we are so engrossed in our playing we "forget" to breathe. Spending five minutes doing deep, slow breathing exercises before going on stage, would also be helpful.

My 2c worth.

 

[Lobster11]

What exactly do you mean by "mentally tightening up"? Thinking too much? Not thinking enough? Getting nervous or anxious?

 

[HandsFree]

It would probably help to ask yourself some questions.
Was it cold?
Did you lock up only at that specific passage, or does it happen randomly?
Were you nervous? If so, for that gig, for being in front of an audience, or for that one passage?
Could you hear yourself well enough (or were you hitting the strings harder than normally)?

 

[Joedog]

It's always the drummer's fault!

 

[MalcolmAmos]

We all have bad days/nights. Sometime it is best to lay out. Better to lay out than to cause a train wreck.

Turn your volume off and do some "air bass" until you feel the groove coming back - when it does turn up the volume.

Why you are having the problem, goes beyond my expertise...

 

[Five String]

Heard myself fine, temperature fine, hitting the strings too hard, afraid of shaging up, wanting to sound really impossibly good, feeling like I didn't sound good, hands stiff, angry and disappointed when I make mistakes, disappointment builds and blocks easy playing of straightforward things that I normally do not find difficult. Happens randomly. Later in the show I cooled out and a lot of the right hand technique I've been working on came back and I was much for relaxed and (to me) played better. (audience may not have noticed any of this)

 

[HandsFree]

That sounds like a mental thing mainly. Not something I know a lot about so hopefully you can get some advice here on that.

The 'hitting strings too hard' bit is something you can make yourself aware of though, especially now that you have confessed to that. It definitely can responisble for your right hand problems.

I once did a recording session where we recorded the whole band playing live, but there was one bass solo break that the engineer preferred to record at a later time.
When I later recorded that break it was inaudible. The engineer said he had not changed any settings, but it was physically impossible for me to play loud enough to have the bass fit in.

That was a real eye opener for me. Apparently, when playing with the band, I had been striking the strings much harder than I did when practising. The difference was so big I couldn't even play at the same volume again when I was recording the break alone.

So now I am much more aware of how hard I hit.
I'm not saying you should play softly, opinions differ on that and you probably have your own, but on a performance you should not hit the strings harder than when you practise. And I have found out that that's where it very easily can go wrong.

 

[Sixpack324]

Sounds like you just need to relax at gig-time.... You're not curing cancer.....You're just playing music

Music and performing are supposed to be fun...... Do the preparation work (Practice), then get on stage and just rock out with the band.....Don't think, don't worry, don't stress....... Just jam with the guys in the band. AND........if you screw up........Get over it! Everyone else has.

If all else fails...... Blame the drummer

 

[Lobster11]

Heard myself fine, temperature fine, hitting the strings too hard, afraid of ****ing up, wanting to sound really impossibly good, feeling like I didn't sound good, hands stiff, angry and disappointed when I make mistakes, disappointment builds and blocks easy playing of straightforward things that I normally do not find difficult. Happens randomly. Later in the show I cooled out and a lot of the right hand technique I've been working on came back and I was much for relaxed and (to me) played better. (audience may not have noticed any of this)

Definitely anxiety. Once you get into that mindset of worrying about making mistakes, it's easy to fall into a vicious cycle: You start making even more mistakes because your hands are no longer relaxed and your head is in the wrong place, which in turn makes you even more anxious, etc. So the problem is how to break that vicious cycle.

Obviously, the solution is "just relax," but equally obviously, that advice isn't really useful: You already know that's the answer; the question is how to actually do it while you're in that anxious state. I think there are two elements in your description of this experience that are worth reflecting on the next time this happens (if it does): First, as you said, it's likely that nobody else noticed anything wrong, and second, the anxious state eventually disappeared (you "cooled" out) as mysteriously as it appeared, and then your were fine. That is, you can use the memory of this experience to help you "just relax" next time: There was no harm, no foul this time, and the same will be true next time.

 

[BassChuck]

The best advice I ever got was, Don't try to overcome nervousness, learn to play with it.

In other words, if you have a difficult musical task to do AND you're worried that you'll be nervous and mess up, you given yourself 2 tasks and 2 goals. Experience and making the music moment more important than your personal success.

 

[jallenbass]

hitting the strings too hard, afraid of ****ing up, wanting to sound really impossibly good,

Based on this there are 2 things:

1. When practicing at home always play as softly with your right hand as possible so that it becomes a habit.

2. Given that you have put in enough practice to play the line reliably at home give up the idea of playing it well on stage. Literally stop caring and it takes a while to actually do that. This obviously only works if you are prepared.