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I 'freeze' on stage....stagefright

#41
Oh, skip the Sake at church - bad results. See below:

A new priest at his first mass was so nervous he could hardly speak. After mass, he asked the monsignor how he had done. The monsignor replied, "When I am worried about getting nervous on the pulpit, I put a glass of vodka next to the water glass. If I start to get nervous, I take a sip." So the next Sunday, he took the monsignor's advice.

At the beginning of the sermon, he got nervous and took a drink. He proceeds to talk up a storm. Upon return to his office after mass, he found the following note on his door:

1. Sip the vodka, don't gulp.
2. There are 10 commandments, not 12.
3. There were 12 disciples, not 10.
4. Jesus was consectrated, not constipated.
5. Jacob wagered his donkey. He did not "bet his ass".
6. We do not refer to Jesus Christ as 'the late great J.C".
7. The Father, Son, and Holy Ghost are not referred to as "Daddy, Junior, and Spook".
8. David slew Goliath. He did not "kick the ****" out of him.
9. When David was hit by a rock and knocked off his donkey, don't say he was stoned off his ass.
10. We do not refer to the cross as the Big T!
11. When Jesus broke the bread at the last supper, he said, "Take this and eat it, for it is my body", he did not say, "Eat me."
12. The Virgin Mary is not referred to as "Mary with the Cherry."
13. The recommended grace before a meal is not: "Rub-A-dub-dub, thanks for the grub, yeah God."
14. Next Sunday, there will be a taffy-pulling at St. Peter's, not a peter-pulling at St. Taffy's.
 
#45
kesslari said:
Oh, skip the Sake at church - bad results. See below:

A new priest at his first mass was so nervous he could hardly speak. After mass, he asked the monsignor how he had done. The monsignor replied, "When I am worried about getting nervous on the pulpit, I put a glass of vodka next to the water glass. If I start to get nervous, I take a sip." So the next Sunday, he took the monsignor's advice.

At the beginning of the sermon, he got nervous and took a drink. He proceeds to talk up a storm. Upon return to his office after mass, he found the following note on his door:

1. Sip the vodka, don't gulp.
2. There are 10 commandments, not 12.
3. There were 12 disciples, not 10.
4. Jesus was consectrated, not constipated.
5. Jacob wagered his donkey. He did not "bet his ass".
6. We do not refer to Jesus Christ as 'the late great J.C".
7. The Father, Son, and Holy Ghost are not referred to as "Daddy, Junior, and Spook".
8. David slew Goliath. He did not "kick the ****" out of him.
9. When David was hit by a rock and knocked off his donkey, don't say he was stoned off his ass.
10. We do not refer to the cross as the Big T!
11. When Jesus broke the bread at the last supper, he said, "Take this and eat it, for it is my body", he did not say, "Eat me."
12. The Virgin Mary is not referred to as "Mary with the Cherry."
13. The recommended grace before a meal is not: "Rub-A-dub-dub, thanks for the grub, yeah God."
14. Next Sunday, there will be a taffy-pulling at St. Peter's, not a peter-pulling at St. Taffy's.
Click to expand...


Thank you for the best laugh I've had all day!

ADbassman said:
Have fun and go crazy. I'm a pretty reserved and quiet person off stage, but when I play, I just go insane. In many ways, I look forward to going on stage now.
Click to expand...

Does insane slap improv count??
 
#51
Bass Boy said:
Eat a bannana or two. Natural beta blocker.
Click to expand...

About bananas and beta blockers:

Invalid Link Removed

So it's really a placebo effect, but potassium intake is good, especially as you get dehydrated on stage, subtle effect that you don't even notice.

Also, more about musicians and beta blockers:
http://www.ethanwiner.com/BetaBlox.html

In general, you take medicine, body gets used to it and you get side effects where you need more medicine, and so on and so on. Changing habits concerning food it indeed better. So more bananas.
PS: If you take medicine for high blood pressure, take it before going on stage, not after.
 
#53
Bass Boy said:
Placebo? I'm not sure of that. Bananas contain tryptophan which converts to serotonin which in turn can help you relax. (don't quote me on it as it HAS been a decade since my last neuro-psychology class!)
Click to expand...

I actually talked to a doctor thirty minutes about bananas and natural beta blockers, she said no, very few natural things out there could do something for blood pressure handling (excluding the normal don't smoke/drink, avoid sodium, eat healthy food, the more vegetarian diet the better, exercise). Actually unsalted pistachio nuts are one of the few ones. Anyway, getting more potassium while on stage is good due to the level of dehydration happening.

PS: I do eat bananas, they are an excellent source of nourishment, anyway.
 
#55
Alot of people get stage fright including professionals. When you say you freeze, do you mean you actually stop playing? I get stage fright as well and my hands start sweating which is really inconvenient....as a matter of fact I'm getting stage fright just reading this thread.
 
#56
Hi there I saw your post about stage fright and freezing up on stage. I am a Peak Performance Hypnotherapist and I work with a lot of musicians and other entertainers on the issue of STAGE FRIGHT aka performance Anxiety. I cannot resist replying to your question.

Stage fright in the form of "freezing up" frequently comes from

1) FEAR OF MAKING A MISTAKE.
2) Having a belief that you have to be perfect.

What happens is that when you are running a belief in your subconscious mind that you CANT MAKE A MISTAKE or that you have to be perfect because people are watching and listening to you. - Your body protects you from making this mistake by FREEZING UP. This happens because the nerve endings in the fingers are very fine and that's why they freeze or become paralyzed.

The way to fix this is to retrain yourself to believe that the STAGE is a playground / sandbox and in this magical musical sand box / playground its ok to have FUN and you are allowed to experiment and nothing will be held against you. You have to accept a belief like this at the subconscious level. I have written a book and CD on this matter if you are interested in knowing more. But this info that I gave you might be enough to solve your problem. Kindest Regards, Chris CAdy
 
#59
SelenaBassGirl,

Bad idea to play from the dance floor. This will only direct MORE attention to yourself.

Get up on stage, and just play. Use that nervous excitement to your benefit. I remember the first few months performing in public (a long time ago). I thought I would puke right there on stage. But you know what? 5 seconds into the first song, and it just changed to the most amazing feeling.

Once you get through that first song, there'll be no turning back. You'll crave that feeling. Will you still get nervous before you start? Sure, but it does get better.

Just go for it!

Mglinski
 
#60
Jeff K said:
You might want to persuade your bandmates to open your set with one of the songs that you are totally comfortable with. (One of YOUR favorites to play.) That way, you get into your groove and start to feel more comfortable right away. It's worth a try anyway.

I feel for you. I love playing music, but I don't really like crowds. (Go figure!) Don't worry, it's probably just a temporary glitch. Like I said above, try opening with one of your favorites. After one or two decent gigs, you'll be be back to your old self.
Click to expand...

This is what the band I'm in does. We're a Tom Petty tribute band, and our first song is Listen To Her Heart. A fairly easy song, and we nail it every time. It actually relaxes us, and from that point on we're ready to rock the joint!
 

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