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How do YOU deal with performance nerves?

O

Ozzel

Aug 20, 2003
108
0
57
Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA
www.erichstevens.com
#1
Hello all.

Been preparing for my church's annual Christmas concert/drama and yesterday was the dress rehearsal with full orchestra and choir. A large and complex production is not something I'm accustomed to playing in so naturally the nerves and sweaty palms kicked in and I began screwing up on songs I had practiced for hours!!! Obviously this was very frustrating and embarrassing for me; and it's anything but fun getting the angry eye from the music director while he yells "Bass! Bass!" Fortunately it was, after all, a rehearsal... but the real thing is 6 days away and we are doing two performances! Aside from practicing my a** off, please suggest some tried and true methods of dealing with those confidence-killing nerves. Thanks in advance.
 
#2
repeated exposure.

My first performance, playing music in front of a crowd was when I was 5 years old. I was scare out of my wits (I think I wet my pants) - but when it was over, I learned something: the worst thing that will happen is folks won't love what you do. If that's the worst thing that can happen, that isn't so bad. So suck it up, go out and play while sweating like a pig... Rinse and repeat. It *will* get easier.
 
#4
The more you clock stage time, the lesser of an issue this becomes. Not that it's good to avoid being overconfident when hitting stage. A little bit of performance angst is good so you want to do a good job.

If nothing else, go to as many jams as possible. One day when you realize you just pulled off playing bass a song you never heard, then you feel you could pull of anything.
 
#5
I agree with bassist4dalord; practice as much as you can and get in your own zone...play for yourself and forget the audience. I am just a beginner but I was very active in advanced dog competitions...sometimes Championships in front of many people. I was confident in my abilities and went out and did my best (with my dog)....I found I forgot people were even there watching us. I hope this will work for me when I start performing with my bass.

Have fun !!!
 
#6
Sometimes overplaying at home by yourself will give you a false sense of what it is like on stage, and then when your at the gig, your nerves may come crawling back up when you see the other players, stage, audience, etc. I find it the best to really practice hard, but with the understanding that you really are not practicing well unless your practicing with others (for the nerves).

I dont have any problems anymore with nerves. It went away after the 2nd or 3rd gig.
 
#7
dogofgod said:
Sometimes overplaying at home by yourself will give you a false sense of what it is like on stage, and then when your at the gig, your nerves may come crawling back up when you see the other players, stage, audience, etc. I find it the best to really practice hard, but with the understanding that you really are not practicing well unless your practicing with others (for the nerves).

I dont have any problems anymore with nerves. It went away after the 2nd or 3rd gig.
Click to expand...

Yep, practicing home is good but is maybe 20% of the confidence gained compared by getting up on stage and playing as much as possible. I've seen tons of technically good players that just melt on stage of many reasons, not knowing the mechanics of a band playing, odd gear tripping them and so on, sudden changes and different arrangements than expected, monitoring levels, cables everywhere in a tight spot and so on and so on...
 
#8
Accept the fact that you will screw up. You're human. Everyone else will screw up. They're human. Yes you should practice and be as good as you can. But don't sweat the **** ups.

It's just music man. You hit a wrong note. Big deal. You didn't kill someone's child or blowup a bus or something.
 
#9
BigOldHarry said:
repeated exposure.
Click to expand...

really the best thing!

I also discovered once when I was driving to a gig I was listening to this live funk album from a band called The Josh Dion Band and it is this killer live recording. It got me so pumped and oddly calmed me down.

My theory is this:

There are no super humans. Even are idols are the same idiots and a$$holes we deal w/ on a daily basis. If they can do it, so can I!
 
#10
Visualize the show in your mind. After you have practiced sit quietly with your eyes closed and see the smile on the directors face and hear the music as it comes out just right. Nerves are kind of a rush in a way, they remind me that I am about to jump out there and expose myself to the world with no safety net.....I don't get scared anymore but i get excited and i channel that energy into my playing.
Take time to appreciate what you are doing up there, your doing what you love!
 
#11
Best solution is to play live as often as possible, which includes jamming with strangers, etc. At home try to imagine as much as possible that you're on stage while practicing. Practice standing up, moving to the music, facing the direction of an imaginary audience, not looking at your hands - do every physical thing the same as you would live. Play the backing track louder than your bass to emulate bad stage sound. Make yourself nervous - imagine your cat or dog is a hot chick, Wooten, Jesus, listening intently in the front row.
 
#12
You just have to get up and do it. Make sure you're in tune. Keep your playing simple. Lock in with your drummer. And play like no one's listening. One trick I used to do was to NOT look out in the audience before going on to see who I knew.

I promise you, your audience will be more interested in the singers than you.

And as has been said, it only gets easier.

Have fun and enjoy the experience!
 
#13
Frank Sinatra said, "If you don't get stage fright, it means you don't care."

You're doing the right thing by practicing the material thoroughly. Make sure you can make it through each song from beginning to end without slipping up. If you know that you can do that at home, you'll at least have it in your head that you can do it during the performance. That bit of confidence does help.

Aside from that, I'd recommend that you keep moving forward. In other words, after you make your all-but-inevitable first mistake, forget it immediately and keep thinking ahead. If you've practiced enough, your muscle memory will carry you through until your mind catches up. (Also, expect others to make mistakes, and don't let that throw you off, either.)

Good luck!
 
#14
Anxiety is mostly about the perception of the event, not the reality of it. For me, if I am getting nervous about a show- I remind myself that playing bass is one of my favorite things to do- that it is a blessing and a gift to play out for people. I tell myself that the nervousness is just misplaced excitement. I think about that somewhere, there is a guy having a great time playing guitar hero alone in his apartment and I get the opportunity to play a real instrument, with a real band, to a real audience. After that, my perception has been corrected and I'm not nervous- just thankful,excited and pumped up to play!
 
#16
Here is a very practical solution, just pay attention to what's going on in the now and what's coming up. I can't tell you how many times I've messed up just because I forgot where I was or was thinking too much about where I was.

The BIGGEST thing that you HAVE to do is shake off mistakes; everyone makes them and if you are thinking about what's in the past, you aren't thinking about what's next.

And yes have fun!
 
#17
Give the music director the "nice eye" and let him know you are not a paid full time employee or his 9 year old kid he can abuse. It probably isnt productive for him to yell at you, especially in front of your peers. That kind of stuff can turn away an otherwise good Christian and a dedicated player.

Sorry, I just get burned up a lil when I hear things like this.

V
 
#19
BigOldHarry said:
repeated exposure.
Click to expand...

The only way to deal with nerves from my experience. I've got progressively less nervous over the last four years or so, but you can bet I still get nervous, especially when I do solo shows. The Sinatra quote is also bang on; I think having nerves is healthy, I care about playing well, so being nervous is natural, and brings out a better performance I think.

Also, in a big ensemble situation, whilst it might feel like all eyes are on you, you're a bassist, so they almost certainly aren't.
 
#20
Ozzel said:
Hello all.

Been preparing for my church's annual Christmas concert/drama and yesterday was the dress rehearsal with full orchestra and choir. A large and complex production is not something I'm accustomed to playing in so naturally the nerves and sweaty palms kicked in and I began screwing up on songs I had practiced for hours!!! Obviously this was very frustrating and embarrassing for me; and it's anything but fun getting the angry eye from the music director while he yells "Bass! Bass!" Fortunately it was, after all, a rehearsal... but the real thing is 6 days away and we are doing two performances! Aside from practicing my a** off, please suggest some tried and true methods of dealing with those confidence-killing nerves. Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...

Eat a couple of bananas. The day of. Not kidding.
 

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