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I've never played a show...

#21
A doctor friend once told me that it usually only takes three deep breaths to break the "fight or flight" adrenaline rush. Three deep ones--in and out--and I'm usually feeling better. It's amazing how long some people go without breathing when they get nervous.

Small thing, but try it--it makes a big difference.
 
#22
bimplizkit said:
1) Important: practice standing up (!), with your bass strapped at a comfortable height. Then try your strap a bit lower, then a bit higher. You may find that your original height isn't as comfortable as you thought.
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That's what I was going to tell you. I had the same problem when I first went from practing by myself to playing with a band. Playing standing up seemed so hard/awkward. But a little bit of practice and all is fine. So when you're at home, just start doing some practice with easier songs standing up. Until you get this down, I wouldn't worry about the moving stuff. Moving around is hard.

And I think you'll find once you start playing shows, moving just comes naturally. What your style of movement is (energetic & jumping around, headbanging, mild bouncing/boping) will show itself. And the better you know your songs, the eaiser it'll be to move around without fear of messing up too bad.
 
#24
I had the same problem before because I couldn't headbang right during certain breakdowns because I would mess up on my playing. In other words I would headbang to what I played instead of to the drums. But you just gotta work on something like that during practice. That's what I did and it helped a lot. So whenever you guys rehearse just pretend you're playing live and do whatever you would do in the show. One thing I'd suggest is that if you get nervous during the first song then try to keep your bass lines as simple as possible. I mean the crowd doesn't know your bass lines so they won't know wether you've alternated them. So if you really want a good stage presence try to keep your lines simple until you are able to play some complicated stuff while you do your thing. Most bass players that tend to get crazy have very simple basslines a lot of open playing and others that have more experience such as Alex Webster have more harder stuff but you learn from experience. So yeah good luck and with practice you'll be able to play better and also have some people go to your practice and check you guys out that way you have a slight idea of what its like to play in front of some people even if they are just your friends.
 
#25
Everything gets better with practice, the more you play out the more comfortable you'll get. Nerves are normal and they will help you to focus. First shows (either individually or as a band) can be difficult. The faster you get it over with the sooner you get to the 2nd and third and so on. Just jump in you won't regret it.
 
#27
mwm70 said:
Just jump in you won't regret it.
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That's an awesome quote. I have gigs coming up and I have never played to an audience before, and have only played with my band for a couple months. But I realise that the reason I picked up a cheap bass in a pawn shop 6 years ago and practiced my hands to the bone was all for a reason and this is one major reason that we all started playing for: to play to a live audience. I just hope I can nail all my parts and hear what I'm doing clearly! :help:
 
#29
Definately butterflies. You'll find your groove on stage. There's no rush bigger than a crowd headbanging to you.

My first gig was a house packed with 400 musicians, headbanging to every beat. Walked off stage after a 30 minute set being patted on the back by the crew and mobbed by the crowd.

Lucky for me, I've never drawn such a big crowd again ;)
 

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