Nerves before a Performance

[Roger Ford]

Nerves before a performance.....book another performance! Play again!

 

[groooooove]

for regular gigs, not anymore. i used to every single time.

 

[xUptheIronsx]

I have been preforming for a long time, I always get a mix of nerves and excitement that disappears the second I play my first note.

This is pretty much me as well. I tend to get more nervous if there are less people there b/c it is easier to see their reaction. I also am more nervous when my bass or drum playing friends are at a gig cause I don't want to let them down. I want to make sure it is a good show.

I have always felt that if I am not nervous, I don't care about the performance, and that is scary to me. I never want to become apathetic about playing.

To get rid of nerves, I will go back to the darkest corner of the room while the band before us is playing, and run through stuff on my bass...usually stuff I learned when I was first getting into bass: Iron Maiden or Rush stuff. IT is sort of a little ritual of throwing out vibes of thanks and respect for Steve and Geddy b/c they inspired me so much as a kid to get to where I am. Weird I know, but it is really a little religious moment for me. It always calms me and gets me ready.

On drums, I sit at my snare with a practice pad and run rudiments, Drum Corps exercises, Stone Stick Patterns etc. Same ritual as bass....working out nervous energy, and reconnecting with the things that inspired me to play

 

[flojob]

I'm nervous until people clap. For me, it's not the fear of a mistake, because we all make them, but what people will think about my playing when I do. It's not fair to put that pressure on yourself.
You will never progress as a musician if you are not willing to make mistakes, or be able to accept and continue when it happens. I don't play covers, so perhaps it's different in that realm.

 

[flojob]

Always be willing to make mistakes. The risk will never outweigh the reward.

 

[mojomike001]

I always have some nervousness before a performance, but really mild nervousness. It's almost more a bit of excitement as much as it is nerves and is far from being debilitating. A drink or two takes care of any nervousness. Even without the drink, the nervousness fades within a song or two.

 

[Jay_Dub]

I play a lot of gigs. I rarely get nervous. If you play enough, practice enough, you'll build enough confidence in your ability to realize, "you got this". Aside from that, worry about making a mistake can drive you crazy. You should realize that every player makes a mistake every once in a while, and although you'll know it, your bandmates will likely know it, nobody else usually has a bloody clue, so relax, have fun, and play, and play a LOT!

 

[Spectrum]

I have always been a shy nerd in person, but I've never had a problem hanging a bass on my shoulder and playing in front of people for some reason.

My band leader, singer/guitarist/songwriter, he's a different story. For whatever reason he's more self-conscious and worries about how the band will be judged and remembered bu audiences. To some degree that's a good thing, of course, but the poor guy puts a lot of pressure on himself. He sweats a ton during a gig and I'm always telling him to just relax.

 

[spaz21387]

Drink a beer or 2 that will calm your nerves

 

[kenneffdupriest]

yeah I get nervous when the drummer is slamming dbl jack&cokes and the guitarist is asking for pickle juice cos he's feeling cramps already.

I remedied that by quitting. Not for me. I like butterflies but not nerves.

of course theres always pills or tea to calm the nerves. I recommend just rubbing one out. You can avoid a possible OD by doing the same thing.

 

[Fuzzy Dustmite]

Boy I used to get super nervous playing. I still do, but a couple of things help in a large way. Playing the same first song for the first few gigs helped tremendously. Allowed me to not worry so much about getting off on the right foot and gave me a few minutes to settle in. Knowing the material is another big one. I practice our songs a lot, and I practice coming in at odd places in the song, as if I've just laid a clam and have to pick up quickly. If what I'm playing isn't just chugging along the root, I try to keep the current chord in my head, or the next chord, so if my line falls apart, I can hit the root. Plus what so many people have said before, no one really knows what you're supposed to be playing unless it's a cover and the bass line is the anchor of the song. Even then they probably don't. Try to relax and not worry about messing up. I listen for the other guys to mess up and then I have a chuckle and pull a face at them and know that no one's perfect.

 

[sound of bass]

The first band I ever played in, I was so nervous about being "stared" at, that my plan was to drink some beer,wear sunglasses and stand kinda sideways to face the band. Well, I never did the sunglasses, sometimes I stand sideways....do drink a few beers, deep breaths in the mens room while pissing, good to go after the first tune. Its strange because Im a Paramedic and Ive NEVER been as nervous on a call, as that first gig years ago.

 

[Thrust Meatnozl]

Meh. Too many years under my belt. But in all honesty, I'd love to play a gig that did give me nerves.

 

[anavar]

you'll makes heaps of mistakes and everyone will notice.

just like everyone else did on their first show. every show you will get better and get into the groove of setting up/backing down, where you like to stand on stage, how you like to face monitors and so on.

go out there, having a bitching time and kick ass!

 

[Jeffrey Bryan]

Well you're all bassplayers so they won't expect much anyway. I always slam down a couple of beers and a shot to make sure I act like a hyped fool on stage. In rock/metal the vibe is more important than a couple of mistakes. It's just practice to learn to play in that state without making mistakes. Although I did scare myself one time going on too drunk and afterward slamming my bass against the wall backstage, blaming the amp from the other bassplayer as to why I couldn't hear myself. But I just plain sucked that night.

 

[cnltb]

Nerves before a Performance
...is a good thing.

 

[SheaSolo]

Make sure you and the band put in the work before the show. Then confidence kicks fears ass once the first note is played. This is coming from a guy who has an Anxiety disorder who played 250+ shows a year for 7 years.

I've thrown up before a show on the back of the stage. But I think it was the extreme temp of the venue, lunch, keg beer, jager shot and then nerves, in that order.

I also got stoned before a gig at "Mountain Stages" in WV. And a mixture of not feeling the band was worthy to take that stage and extreme weed anxiety forced me to lock myself in a bathroom and not come out. They played without me, but I could hear the intercom asking for me to come to the stage.

HAHAHA It was freaking horrible. But Mountain stages is primarily an acoustic gig, so no biggie.

 

[hintz]

If you aren't nervous, then you don't care. Nothing wrong with it. Remember what you know, play though some riffs to remind yourself you have it down.

I find this really untrue... I care about every aspect of the show *and* I don't get nervous, I do get anxious to get up there though....

I used to have anxiety before gigs, but that's disappeared over the last 10 years, as long as I'm on time and everythings working I'm good

 

[SheaSolo]

I saw some people write that small shows are better for nerves... I completely disagree. I hate when there are 25 people at a show. Not because I wish the draw would've been better but it's because I can see every face. I can't stand a crowd with less than 100 people. The more the better. I have never felt as good as when playing some festivals for 45k+. Again not because I felt the music was bringing in these fans. It was much more about the fact that they were just a blob. You can't make out one person from the next which makes that confidence factor take over and maybe some neck chills for added effect

 

[SheaSolo]

One more thing I read about NFL and NBA players throwing up before games. Something they do which I did before gig's is take a nap. Naps are freaking great when you're sitting around all day waiting to play a show. Try to get an early sound check in, go take a nap and wake up with enough time to get ready for the show. Shower, stuffing your pants, makeup etc. Leave yourself just enough time to get to the stage when it's time to play. If you just sit around all day thinking about it, that can wear you out.

And I can see by your comments talking about meds and psychiatric help, that your nerves are getting the best of you. You gotta sleep that stuff off or like my singer found solace in a good long workout. Naps were a huge help for me when nerves played a serious role before a gig.