Moshkito
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Re: Good book/materials to help with stage performance anxiety?
2015/09/10 09:26:36
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Guitarhacker ... To answer your question.... I don't think you can get that out of a book. The way to become comfortable in front of an audience is to simply enjoy what you're doing and feed off the audience's energy. One good way to be comfortable on the stage is to have good reliable gear and know the songs well. I would avoid all natural and artificial stimulants and pharmaceuticals. Drink water and go on straight and sober.... don't forget to pee before you go on stage. ... 1000% agreed. That's not to say that stimulants do not help or enhance or whatever anything you do ... I found out that I could cook in a very fast restaurant and not loose a beat, on some amazing sunshine, and the eggs were red, green, blue, but I could still cook everything for the whole 8 hours ... and that's when you know there is also a "mecahnical" side, when you are well versed in it all ... but I am not sure this should be "recommended" to anyone at all ... I have not met, or seen, enough folks that did not freak out, or could not handle the whole thing in any discipline, and the arts is one of the worst for it in many ways. My sister (well known artist in Paris) will only have a glass of red wine while painting ... period. And coffee of course ... nothing else! It's an experiential thing ... if you can learn from it, it enhances what you do ... if you are afraid of it, and have to run for the book, I say, go to the book and quit the arts, is probably best! Guitarhacker ... As for me, I haven't played in front of an audience for some time, but I know I enjoyed it then and if I was to play again in a live situation, I would be looking forward to it as soon as I found out about it. For me, the bummer starts when the stage lights go out after the show. ... If you know and are comfortable with your material, this should never be an issue. If you are there to make the audience shake their booties and dance, and you have to convince them, because the music is not making it, that's another story. In general, from my directing days ... it's about the "depth" of the work that you do, and how you relate to it. If you take it seriously and do your "homework", you will rarely have any reason to get scared ... except one ... in theater it is when they laugh hard on something, and you have to PAUSE what you are doing to acknowledge the audience, which is an extremely tough thing to do ... FREEZZZZZEEEE. RESTART .... but, you eventually get the hang of it, and we always made sure that we had a way to get in and out of those situations ... and because of my rehearsal techniques, guess what I was known for ... the unknown! And one lead, her first time in a show, and in a lead role even, got a standing ovation ... for actually doing something that was totally amazing, nowhere near the script, but it fit so beautifully, that even the professor asked me if that was planned!!!! How the heck could I plan a 20x30 map (50 years old, too!!!!) to fall over her head? Music, is no different, and probably one of the toughest things all around, is that the audience sometimes wants to applaud some moments (specially rock audiences!!!!), and this is not permitted in most classical music, which, as we know, lowers the beauty of the moment, and hides it somewhat. All in all, this is one of those things, that it is not about you being a show off or not. You make yourself comfortable at home in your couch is how I look at your performance, if I am directing you ... and this is what will carry the natural you through any instrument, be it your voice, or your butt (dance), or your instrument! Concentrate on what you are doing, and the people that are on it with you! That is your primary focus! The rest is all fun!
Music is not about notes and chords! My poem is not about the computer or monitor or letters! It's about how I was able to translate it from my insides!
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Moshkito
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Re: Good book/materials to help with stage performance anxiety?
2015/09/10 09:42:47
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webbs hill studio
"A lot of words being typed here, but Drew has the short answer. Know your stuff." ... Usually helps the most. But you also have to know/understand what the others are doing, so you can cover each other better! webbs hill studio ... definitely the key-also recognising you probably will make a mistake and being prepared when it happens. I hate gigging and we have agreed if you get lost just dick around until the 1 comes around again. ... This is really sad. If there is a "mistake", in general, the audience will never even know about it ... only your high level self criticism will know it (and the band's), to such a nasty point, that the performance ends up suffering and the only thing folks can do is point ... instead of helping fix the issue! This is horribly bad, and the worst thing that can possibly happen to any band, and more than likely this is a band that won't be around long. As I posted previously on this thread, you can get around this by rehearsing with fun stuff in the wrong place, as a way to teach each other how to stay together and not "break" the feeling, and the music. In many ways, this is the most important part of any director, and the work they do with actors, dancers, or anyone on stage. With the exception that musicians think they are stars already, and they don't need any more help showing off a fake banana! You would not vomit, if I were directing, and I will gladly bet you any money you want! But you have to show up for rehearsal!
Music is not about notes and chords! My poem is not about the computer or monitor or letters! It's about how I was able to translate it from my insides!
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Moshkito
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Re: Good book/materials to help with stage performance anxiety?
2015/09/10 09:44:16
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Amine Belkhouche
webbs hill studio
definitely the key-also recognising you probably will make a mistake and being prepared when it happens.
I hate gigging and we have agreed if you get lost just dick around until the 1 comes around again.
Agreed, making mistakes happens, but you have to try your best to keep going no matter what. I find it liberating when you're no longer afraid of making mistakes. You, ironically, make less mistakes.
AND, above all, get better at what you do, and deservedly so, because you are paying attention! And here goes ... some physics for you ... quality is inversely proportional to quantity ... meaning that at 100% concentration, it will take you 1/10 the time otherwise to learn and get better! Guaranteed and proven scientifically!
post edited by Moshkito - 2015/09/10 10:21:14
Music is not about notes and chords! My poem is not about the computer or monitor or letters! It's about how I was able to translate it from my insides!
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Moshkito
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Re: Good book/materials to help with stage performance anxiety?
2015/09/10 10:11:42
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Hi,
Rehearsal techniques, are well defined in theater and film. There is a lot of material about this, however, since it is, for the most part, an experiential thing, this is harder to explain, but several schools of thought actually taught rock music a lot of things. These techniques can even be defined and varied depending on the style of theater!!!!
The English Theater, known as "angry young men" in the 50's is easily the precursor of the rock music of the 60's and 70's and culminates with the punk scene, more or less, when looked at from a distance. The rehearsal techniques for the National Theater and the Royal Shakespeare Company gave us a string of actors in the late 50's and 60's that dominated film and theater, and some of its productions affected a lot of music in the late 60's ... like the whole crazy scene in London was not almost the same thing as cabbages rolling in Marat/Sade, which is subtly mentioned in at least 5 to 10 rock band's material!
The same in America ... like the Actor's Studio did not affect the individualilty that became known as "jazz" and "rock" in the late 50's and 60's, all the way to the death of its stars ... how romantic (sic!!!) ...
There is a lot that can be weaned from that world, but I am a believe that music has to develop its own road in this area, which, for the most part, is an issue when folks reject it, and think it is all just hocus pocus. It won't be the "same thing", but it will have parallels. This you can learn from!
Again, see if you can sit through "The Tightrope" with Peter Brook ... it will be one of the single greatest lessons you will ever have on rehearsing ... now go see if you can add something to your band!
Music is not about notes and chords! My poem is not about the computer or monitor or letters! It's about how I was able to translate it from my insides!
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jamesg1213
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Re: Good book/materials to help with stage performance anxiety?
2015/09/10 13:42:58
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''Where have all the angry young men gone?
Barstow and Osborne, Waterhouse and Sillitoe
Where on earth did they all go?"
Jyemz Thrombold's Patented Brisk Weather Pantaloonettes with Inclementometer
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webbs hill studio
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Re: Good book/materials to help with stage performance anxiety?
2015/09/10 19:13:17
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webbs hill studio ... definitely the key-also recognising you probably will make a mistake and being prepared when it happens. I hate gigging and we have agreed if you get lost just dick around until the 1 comes around again. ...edit:(or until the melody reappears) This is really sad. If there is a "mistake", in general, the audience will never even know about it ... only your high level self criticism will know it (and the band's), to such a nasty point, that the performance ends up suffering and the only thing folks can do is point ... instead of helping fix the issue! This is horribly bad, and the worst thing that can possibly happen to any band, and more than likely this is a band that won't be around long. Hi Mosh/Pedro, I understand you are a well known director,critic and cook of eggs but do you actually play an instrument and have you ever played in an actual band,in front of an audience? I am asking because I have had some exposure to theatre and a little bit of film and I have never been on a set or theatre stage where there was the same tension and electricity of a live rock concert. the fact that if you are playing your own lines,not someone elses and the only direction you have is the faces in the first few rows and your tech in the sidelines,it can be daunting(for some). it would be nice to play in a cover band or do 400 year old songs from sheet music but when it`s your own material it becomes way more personal and there is far more room for error. there are obvious areas of the arts that crossover but to be giving advice in a discipline you are not involved in and have no personal experience is,to me anyway,disingenous. as a few people have stated,it`s usually only until you realise that : yes you can hear the foldback,yes you are in tune,you have eyecontact with each other,it`s all good and off you go. I am not a rock star and doubt I will get the chance to gig enough so that it becomes relaxed and comfortable. personally I would retire from gigging if I didn`t get butterflies or feel that rush when you are introduced.it would then be just a job,like a mechanic or a critic or whatever. just my 2 cents worth........... cheers
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webbs hill studio
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Re: Good book/materials to help with stage performance anxiety?
2015/09/10 20:08:32
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OP: no one seems to have actually answered your query for a book so I googled it for you: cheers edit:sorry Kenny-missed your post.. 
post edited by webbs hill studio - 2015/09/10 20:19:14
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Planobilly
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Re: Good book/materials to help with stage performance anxiety?
2015/09/10 20:54:37
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Hi, If I can get the band to play a not too complex fast song first, that everyone can play in their sleep, that is what I like to start with. Then you don't have to worry much about some misplaced lick. If it is fast you don't have much time to think about stage fright. Pick one person in the center of the crowd to play to on the first song and make eye contact with that one person if you want to look at the crowd. Just do your best and play. If you never screw anything up you are not working very hard, so don't worry. Keep an eye on who ever is in the lead and support that person. Listen to your band mates, I mean really listen. I really did not look to see what you play but if you are the drummer or the bass player you better have your **** together musically and know the material. The rest is just more or less icing on the cake anyway except for the vocal. If you are lead singer and you forget the line let the lead guitar player or the piano pick it up or just back off the mic and mumble something...lol The only way to get over fear is to do the thing you fear. Drinking or doing drugs will only make you THINK you are ok and the crowd will know who your are. IF you are getting paid then be a pro and go there to work. Nothing wrong with having fun, but work comes first. Everyone has the jetters on the first set from time to time, so it is no big deal. You have been on stage before and it will most likely be less of an issue than you think it may be. It is just a gig, so go to work!!! Cheers, Billy
post edited by Planobilly - 2015/09/10 21:38:34
" Music is a team sport "
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codamedia
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Re: Good book/materials to help with stage performance anxiety?
2015/09/10 22:07:09
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Randy P
It seems to me this is being made much more complicated than it should be. I've played literally 1000's of gigs and I was always nervous before a show. It didn't matter if it was a club, theater, festival or arena. I was always excited and nervous. It's a natural reaction in performing. I can remember my hands shaking as I played the first song of the night and literally struggling to hold the pick and fret the chords. It ALWAYS went away before the first song ended.
This (^^^^^^) is my experience as well . Most professional entertainers and athletes experience it the same way. The problem is not anxiety or nervousness - it's actually a much bigger problem when those don't exist.
post edited by codamedia - 2015/09/10 22:19:17
Don't fix it in the mix ... Fix it in the take!
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Amine Belkhouche
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Re: Good book/materials to help with stage performance anxiety?
2015/09/10 22:51:24
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webbs hill studio
it would be nice to play in a cover band or do 400 year old songs from sheet music but when it`s your own material it becomes way more personal and there is far more room for error.
You'd be surprised how not nice centuries old sheet music can be, particularly solo works. You'd think some of them had it out for us.
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webbs hill studio
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Re: Good book/materials to help with stage performance anxiety?
2015/09/10 23:19:13
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Amine Belkhouche
webbs hill studio
it would be nice to play in a cover band or do 400 year old songs from sheet music but when it`s your own material it becomes way more personal and there is far more room for error.
You'd be surprised how not nice centuries old sheet music can be, particularly solo works. You'd think some of them had it out for us.
I suspected that and imagine classical audiences to be far more critical and daunting compared to the average pop punter. would be interesting to see the score of a Dream Theatre epic-that would be interesting to sight read... cheers
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Susan G
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Re: Good book/materials to help with stage performance anxiety?
2015/09/11 02:16:02
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Hi-
IME, stage fright/performance anxiety is a real thing and can be absolutely paralyzing. Your muscle memory betrays you and you have no control whatsoever in front of an audience. Your hands shake uncontrollably. Your mind is (as far as you know) sending the same signals it's always done through the hours of practice you've put in, but your body is not responding the same way, and that's really painful.
I don't think the "imagine the audience in their underwear" ploy works except maybe in very simple cases. I spent years trying to overcome it, with mixed results. I'd have absolutely brilliant performances followed by dismal failures and finally decided it wasn't worth it. By "dismal failures" I mean I could perform the entire concert in my head, but when I got in front of the audience I couldn't control my hands shaking. OTOH, I remember telling a student "Don't try to do any better than you usually do" in a recital and that's all it took for her. She nailed it.
I just started reading a book called "Playing Scared" by Sara Solovitch. I can't recommend it yet, since I'm only a few pages in where she talks about all the famous people who've experienced stage fright.
-Susan
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webbs hill studio
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Re: Good book/materials to help with stage performance anxiety?
2015/09/11 03:22:13
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hi susan, you are not alone! I just googled "celebrity stage fright and found 16 current "celebs" who suffer and the search list goes on: cheers
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kennywtelejazz
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Re: Good book/materials to help with stage performance anxiety?
2015/09/11 04:47:49
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I happen to think that there is something wrong if I'm not feeling a case of butterflies before performing .. The times I was the most in the zone while performing music always seemed to have happened when I was the most willing to be open and vulnerable ….. You lay yourself out there in the total surrender of your limited self and you become a channel of energy that is far greater than your own power ….it takes a lot of faith and trust to go there  Kenny
post edited by kennywtelejazz - 2015/09/11 04:58:29
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jamesg1213
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Re: Good book/materials to help with stage performance anxiety?
2015/09/11 09:14:56
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Susan G
stage fright/performance anxiety is a real thing and can be absolutely paralyzing.
Yes it is. Andy Partridge of XTC is an example, his chronic stage fright effectively ended the band's ability to tour just as they started to have big hit singles.
Jyemz Thrombold's Patented Brisk Weather Pantaloonettes with Inclementometer
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jamesg1213
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Re: Good book/materials to help with stage performance anxiety?
2015/09/11 09:17:40
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webbs hill studio
it would be nice to play in a cover band or do 400 year old songs from sheet music but when it`s your own material it becomes way more personal and there is far more room for error.
That's a very good point.
there are obvious areas of the arts that crossover but to be giving advice in a discipline you are not involved in and have no personal experience is,to me anyway,disingenous.
Exactly. Which is why none of us would go on a theatrical actors forum and tell everyone to do it like they were playing in a rock band.
post edited by jamesg1213 - 2015/09/11 09:26:21
Jyemz Thrombold's Patented Brisk Weather Pantaloonettes with Inclementometer
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Amine Belkhouche
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Re: Good book/materials to help with stage performance anxiety?
2015/09/11 09:28:58
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Susan G
OTOH, I remember telling a student "Don't try to do any better than you usually do" in a recital and that's all it took for her. She nailed it.
This is such good advice. When performing solo works, I used to have the bad habit of feeling like someone had a gun to my head when it came to moving the piece in terms of rhythm and tempo, giving too much respect to the rhythmic values. It dawned on me one day that I control the tempo and the rhythm, not some figment of my imagination. I would take the advice you just mentioned and perform the piece just under the tempo that I would practice it at, and it worked. Even if it was just a perceptual thing, telling myself to slow down the tempo was actually telling my mind to slow down and relax, which is what it needed most when performing.
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Moshkito
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Re: Good book/materials to help with stage performance anxiety?
2015/09/11 11:03:57
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Hi, webbs hill studio ... I understand you are a well known director,critic and cook of eggs but do you actually play an instrument and have you ever played in an actual band,in front of an audience? ... Not well known, and I am not interested in well known or obscure. I would rather try and experiment and learn from the experiments, so people can get better on stage, and it doesn't matter to me if they are a musician, an actor or an idiot. I won't do a Trump, btw! I'm not in this for fame. I'm in this for the love of the work, and to ensure that the work comes off "bigger and better" than it might even be, so we think it's great and love it. And this is very badly needed in music right now, so everyone stop sounding and looking like everyone else! How socialistic of them, and it is not a good thing for arts! webbs hill studio ... I am asking because I have had some exposure to theatre and a little bit of film and I have never been on a set or theatre stage where there was the same tension and electricity of a live rock concert. the fact that if you are playing your own lines,not someone elses and the only direction you have is the faces in the first few rows and your tech in the sidelines,it can be daunting(for some). ... Due to my not knowing the language, my acting career was cut short quickly ... but my first love and attention was always the director from the film side of things, and I applied a lot of that to theater. Just so you know, I was known for SOUND, MUSIC AND LIGHTS, 3 of the things that are normally associated with rock music. And staging, where my imagery tends to show off like colorful Beyruth sets ... with its insane "shafts of light". This is, to me, one of the problems with a lot of living room theater ... WHICH I DO NOT DO! ... and will only work on experimental and new things as a way to help develop them. You can not do this with George and Martha and with Stella and Stan! That theater is not suited for the "vidual" thing. So, you think that the folks in the first rows are not affected by the actors, either? Lawrence Olivier, used to wink and tease them in his performances, regardless of which one it was, which kinda told you that he was so comfortable doing what he was doing that he could sit on a toilet and still do it! webbs hill studio ... there are obvious areas of the arts that crossover but to be giving advice in a discipline you are not involved in and have no personal experience is,to me anyway,disingenous. as a few people have stated,it`s usually only until you realise that : ... The arts of performance, are much closer to each other than we give it credit for. The problem is that rock music, is still playing the "bad boy/bad girl" image, that thinks they can do it all themselves ... and experience tells you and I that all it is, should be called ... behaving like one of our teenage kids. YOU and I can not say it's wrong or right ... they have to learn, but in the end, it is almost the same thing we went through in different clothing! webbs hill studio ... I am not a rock star and doubt I will get the chance to gig enough so that it becomes relaxed and comfortable. personally I would retire from gigging if I didn`t get butterflies or feel that rush when you are introduced.it would then be just a job,like a mechanic or a critic or whatever. ... And that's the issue that is bad, when you go see one of the old timers, and guess what? ... yep! It takes a lot to "know" that, and make sure you are honest with yourself and your audience. I always like to say that the honesty between you two is the most important part of it, since it is the one thing that can drive you better ... and makes it easier to work ... instead of giving you feelings that you are tired and don't want to do this anymore, like ... (not saying!!!) ... Nice comments ... but the electricity that you mention has to happen in the other arts as well, or they would NEVER get enough attention. BTW, as an aside ... now you know why the cover of Jethro Tull's "Passion Play" is so prophetic ... the "classics" have all died, or been killed ... passion plays nowadays are rock songs that you sway your head and body to! ... there ain't no "ballet" anymore! ... and most of us will never even go see a classical music show ... and that is sad ... all those things, all those arts, are OUR EXPRESSION and they all deserve a presentation, but time is harsh on them all and kills people and arts faster than you can say good morning to any of them! I'm on a "course" to help bring all the arts alive ... theater needs fresh blood, and it is not a new musical on Broadway, or a big star doing Camelot in LA again ... it's something else ... and I can light up your performance and show ... if you have the desire to be "there". You and I want the arts to live ... not die! REMEMBER THAT! Sadly, things like ballet is just about dead, except for some fun thing for our daughters that we think is "cute". The meaning is lost otherwise. This is what we're trying to prevent!
Music is not about notes and chords! My poem is not about the computer or monitor or letters! It's about how I was able to translate it from my insides!
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Moshkito
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Re: Good book/materials to help with stage performance anxiety?
2015/09/11 11:15:04
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Hi,
Here is a comment by Robert Fripp to Dave Cousins ... which fits many of you here.
"You're self-sufficient. You don't need any lessons! Anything else?"
I will say something similar about this thread, but not be rude. I'm merely showing how this can be looked at and worked with ... I have almost always used youngsters, new to the stage, and none of them, NONE OF THEM, ever had issues on the opening night ... and even Professor John Harrop at UCSB asked me how I did that!
It doesn't matter the discipline, sometimes, you have your own expression and this is what you do, and how. So trying to do something like someone else, which is a big issue in the music business (specially classical), is actually tougher than acting ... where there is no idiot professor out there that thinks you can scream like Marlon Brando! That's stupid! But if you think you can do better than Mick Jagger go ahead, but many in the audience will laugh, instead!
Courage, and desire, is what makes you better than others. If your attention is on the fear, and not what you do, you are not "FREE" to fly and blow the audience away.
It's your choice, of course! I know I tried to help, the best I have ever known and found ... but ... I can tell you there is no secret.
Music is not about notes and chords! My poem is not about the computer or monitor or letters! It's about how I was able to translate it from my insides!
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craigb
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Re: Good book/materials to help with stage performance anxiety?
2015/09/11 11:20:35
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Moshkito
Hi,
Here is a comment by Robert Fripp to Dave Cousins ... which fits many of you here.
"You're self-sufficient. You don't need any lessons! Anything else?"
Heck, even you don't believe that! 
Time for all of you to head over to Beyond My DAW!
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Moshkito
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Re: Good book/materials to help with stage performance anxiety?
2015/09/11 12:26:03
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craigb
Moshkito
Hi,
Here is a comment by Robert Fripp to Dave Cousins ... which fits many of you here.
"You're self-sufficient. You don't need any lessons! Anything else?"
Heck, even you don't believe that!
Yes, and no. Knowing that Robert uses a heck of a lot of Gurdgieff exercises for improvisation and rehearsal, adapted to music of course, in the end, I think that Robert is saying that the person has a style and expression already, and that interfering with that is not a good idea. No, in the sense that I would say it lighter and perhaps engage the person in conversation as to why they think/thought they needed a lesson, and maybe help with their confidence. My thoughts were that Dave Cousins at that time was OK with his stuff but felt insecure with people that knew/understood music better in another plane of existence, like the Grok planet! Helping someone/anyone be better, is not about the notes and the chords and your Rachmaninoff. It's about your relationship to the work, and your attitude and care to it. Sometimes, those details also "match" the situation, and sometimes they don't. This is specially clear in rock music, and one's attitude about it, which is often a part of the performance, specially for a vocalist, however, this is also where thing get distorted the most, and we lose sight of its definition. But Robert knew that there was not a whole lot that he could help Dave with. I'm OK with that comment, even though it comes off bad somwetimes. It's almost the same thing here .. I do not really second guess anything you or Bapu say ... and I trust the fun behind it ... and sometimes it might have something in it, and sometimes not. But a goof laugh is always better than not!
post edited by Moshkito - 2015/09/11 12:43:30
Music is not about notes and chords! My poem is not about the computer or monitor or letters! It's about how I was able to translate it from my insides!
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jamesg1213
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Re: Good book/materials to help with stage performance anxiety?
2015/09/11 12:32:29
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Moshkito
I would rather try and experiment and learn from the experiments, so people can get better on stage, and it doesn't matter to me if they are a musician, an actor or an idiot. I won't do a Trump, btw!
.................
I'm not in this for fame. I'm in this for the love of the work, and to ensure that the work comes off "bigger and better" than it might even be, so we think it's great and love it.
.................
I'm on a "course" to help bring all the arts alive ... theater needs fresh blood, and it is not a new musical on Broadway, or a big star doing Camelot in LA again ... it's something else ... and I can light up your performance and show ... if you have the desire to be "there".
Pedro - do you do anything these days as regards 'the arts'? I mean actually do anything, with other people? You always talk about it as though you do, and yet you also talk about it in the past tense. Just curious, not looking for an argument.
Jyemz Thrombold's Patented Brisk Weather Pantaloonettes with Inclementometer
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Moshkito
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Re: Good book/materials to help with stage performance anxiety?
2015/09/11 13:08:18
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jamesg1213
Pedro - do you do anything these days as regards 'the arts'? I mean actually do anything, with other people?
...
Not answering since it would not matter what I said, and you guys would find a reason to disbelieve it. Again, I don't need the credit, or the fame, or the applause. I just want to be myself, in the corner, and if it helps it does ... if it doesn't it doesn't. But I find it re-assuring, when someone is doubting what I say already, and is not big enough to go play with it and try to see if there is any truth to it. I know it works, and have seen it and helped it. I don't need you, or your words, or affirmation to prove it to my heart what I have seen and done. If you don't believe me ... fine! But you can not erase my work, and my life just because you think you can play a dang song in front of 10 people and I talk about it with the stage and you do not believe what I am saying! The truth is only visible, when you want to see it. If you don't ... then DON'T, but don't go about putting people down because you can't see them!
Music is not about notes and chords! My poem is not about the computer or monitor or letters! It's about how I was able to translate it from my insides!
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Bert Guy
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Re: Good book/materials to help with stage performance anxiety?
2015/09/11 13:10:22
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"I really did not look to see what you play but if you are the drummer or the bass player you better have your **** together musically and know the material. The rest is just more or less icing on the cake anyway except for the vocal."
What Billy said, right there. If your bassman and drummer are in synch and in the groove, its pretty easy to add the filigree.
Also (as Billy says) it helps to start with an easy no-brainer three chorder that the instrumentalists can take turns soloing on. Think Hey Bartender.
Cheers,
Bert
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jamesg1213
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Re: Good book/materials to help with stage performance anxiety?
2015/09/11 13:19:42
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Moshkito
jamesg1213
Pedro - do you do anything these days as regards 'the arts'? I mean actually do anything, with other people?
...
Not answering since it would not matter what I said, and you guys would find a reason to disbelieve it.
Again, I don't need the credit, or the fame, or the applause. I just want to be myself, in the corner, and if it helps it does ... if it doesn't it doesn't.
But I find it re-assuring, when someone is doubting what I say already, and is not big enough to go play with it and try to see if there is any truth to it. I know it works, and have seen it and helped it. I don't need you, or your words, or affirmation to prove it to my heart what I have seen and done.
If you don't believe me ... fine! But you can not erase my work, and my life just because you think you can play a dang song in front of 10 people and I talk about it with the stage and you do not believe what I am saying! The truth is only visible, when you want to see it. If you don't ... then DON'T, but don't go about putting people down because you can't see them!
I'm not saying I believe, or disbelieve you. It was a straightforward question. As you're so evasive about it, I'll have to assume the answer is 'no'. don't go about putting people down because you can't see them! Read back to yourself what you just wrote to me, and throughout this thread to other people too. 'Practice what you preach'.
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Beepster
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Re: Good book/materials to help with stage performance anxiety?
2015/09/11 13:21:39
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Moshie is a rather odd fellow and it is odd he hangs out on a musician's board (I just figured he uses the program for audio stuff related to theater) however he did make some good points in his OP I was going to expound upon before abandoning the post.
Particularly the visual cue part and ensuring there is always an onstage "leader" of some sort that people can glance at if they get lost. In a band if there is one guy (or gal) everyone can poke their head up at and/or is so familiar with the material they can immediately hear when someone is in trouble then provide some kind of subtle instruction to that member (or all the members) then it can really keep a show moving along.
A perfect example would be a guy like Pete Townsend in the Who. Those guy's were essentially one huge mistake live. It was a massive jam that came back together around specific musical or physical cues. Pete's flailing about was of course a lot of theatrical nonsense but at the same time served as cues for the rest of the band in their rolling chaos live style.
Bring that down to a more normal level where the performance is more structured just a glance or nod or headband or slight shift of a fretboard or whatever can help a band member who's gotten lost (sometimes they can't hear what's going on because of poor sound or the nerves got to them or any other number of reasons) just brings it all back together for long enough no one notices. Doesn't even have to be the official band leader... just the weirdo who has that knack for knowing exactly what should happen when. All the members however should have a bit of that skill on their own so everyone can look at everyone at any time but having that one main anchor that EVERYONE knows they can look to for cues in an "emergency" goes a long way to keeping the show from coming to a complete stop in the middle of a song... which is the WORST.
Anyway... knowing there's one person sharing the stage with you that can throw out a life preserver can definitely reduce anxiety IME. Sadly I used to be that guy most of the time which in many ways added to my anxiety... but in other ways, if everyone actually knew I was the lifeboat and knew to take a quick glance at me when needed, quelled it a bit because it was a level of control. It all depended on the people involved. Usually I'd work very closely with the drummer in this regard who traditionally are the ones who are paying attention to what should be happening when.
Drummers tend to be a little nuts though and it is very hard to find ones who understand the crucial role they play in such things.
Meh...
That all just goes right back to proper practice and preparation being the best anxiety relief for performance anxiety. I'd imagine a soldier feels a lot more confidant going into battle with a good commander and a squad he's personally trained with incessantly.
Cheers.
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webbs hill studio
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Re: Good book/materials to help with stage performance anxiety?
2015/09/11 18:40:54
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Beepster
Moshie is a rather odd fellow and it is odd he hangs out on a musician's board (I just figured he uses the program for audio stuff related to theater) however he did make some good points in his OP I was going to expound upon before abandoning the post."
from memory,he had a problem with a plugin and craig wouldn`t help him so it`s been payback since.
he may have made some good points but there are the other points:rude,innapropriate,embarrassing,unneccessary particularly recent comments regarding tertiary qualifications etc.
as James said,there must be a Film/Theatre forum where his considerable expertise and knowledge would be appreciated and constructive.
on one hand,he is a pain in the arse but on the other at least he livens the forum up and you cant block everyone but just wish he would lighten up.
plus,with the time/space continuum and the curvature of the earth I will always be one post ahead of him and will therefore always win any argument .
cheers
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craigb
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Re: Good book/materials to help with stage performance anxiety?
2015/09/11 21:12:34
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webbs hill studio
from memory,he had a problem with a plugin and craig wouldn`t help him so it`s been payback since.
Actually, he wanted me to teach him something I didn't know how to do, so I simply told him to try exactly what I would have to do to learn it: Read the manual and experiment.
Time for all of you to head over to Beyond My DAW!
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webbs hill studio
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Re: Good book/materials to help with stage performance anxiety?
2015/09/11 22:38:55
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craigb
webbs hill studio
from memory,he had a problem with a plugin and craig wouldn`t help him so it`s been payback since.
Actually, he wanted me to teach him something I didn't know how to do, so I simply told him to try exactly what I would have to do to learn it: Read the manual and experiment.
sorry craig:I forgot the relevant smiley-I was being sarcastic!
post edited by webbs hill studio - 2015/09/11 22:47:48
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codamedia
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Re: Good book/materials to help with stage performance anxiety?
2015/09/11 22:57:51
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webbs hill studio
it would be nice to play in a cover band or do 400 year old songs from sheet music but when it`s your own material it becomes way more personal and there is far more room for error.
The opposite is true for me. Unless your own music is as well known as the covers - there is no comparisons being made. Errors are not noticed by anyone but yourself.... I find that easier to control on a stage. But that may just be me - it's just my opinion. Now - if the concern and stage fright stems from whether or not they like your song.... that's a little different but really easy to get around. Don't tell them it's yours unless they are clapping/cheering when it's over! Telling a crowd you are going to play an original is like a classic artist saying "we're going to play something new".... INSTANT negativity from a crowd. Just sneak it in and get an honest response to the song.
post edited by codamedia - 2015/09/11 23:13:11
Don't fix it in the mix ... Fix it in the take!
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