Good book/materials to help with stage performance anxiety?

Practicing with a band to go on stage after 25 years.. Little nervous... Any help/recommendation will be appreciated..

The obvious is being as practiced up as possible. I used to practice on my own incessantly up to and on the day of a gig (but I'd never practice with a band the day of a gig or even the night before a gig if I could avoid it... something about that seemed to make the gigs worse... not sure why). Feeling confidant that you KNOW your parts and can recover quickly from mistakes really is the best cure for a bad case of nerves. It also helps if your bandmates follow the same philosophy but sometimes you just can't control that so best to focus on yourself and realize that certain things are beyond your control.
 
REMEMBER... the audience is NOT there to see you fail. They are there to have a good time and are happy to just be standing in front of a band and having a fun night out. They are rooting for you and much more forgiving of mistakes (that most of the time they'll never notice anyway) than we are towards ourselves. For the judgmental dicks who MIGHT be criticizing you in their puny, petty little minds... f*ck 'em. They matter not. The point is those people out to have fun and you doing what you love. Be positive, be confidant, don't sweat mistakes (move on and don't dwell when they happen) and MOST importantly have fun. The audience will pick up on it and give it back to you which you can then give back to them and everyone has a great time.
 
The less obvious thing I used to do before every gig (and excuse me for being gross but it really did help me) is take a dump (yes a poop). As hilarious as it is this became so much of a ritual for me it was a band joke referred to as the "Good Luck Sh*t". I think just getting whatever is floating around down there helps significantly reduce the "butterflies" (and I have a sinking suspicion that what people refer to as butterflies is actually trapped fecal matter getting all jostled around from stress). IDK... it worked for me. It could get pretty nasty in some of the divier clubs who's bathrooms had more than questionable hygeine but I learned to "hover" when needed and kept a roll of TP in my gig bag (because baroom toilet paper is evil if it is stocked at all). Heheh.
 
I of course told that story for comedic effect but it is true. I am an extremely nervous person in general with bad guts but played at least 1 show a month for about 15 years (usually 2 or three and did many tours and crazy stints where I'd play 3 shows a night in the same or different venues). Can't beat a good old relaxing poop to get yourself feeling correct with the world and your place in it. lulz
 
On a more serious note some chamomile tea, valerian root or St. John's wort are of course good herbal relaxants that can help (be careful with such things though and don't try them the first time the night of the gig because they can cause bad reactions in certain people with pre-existing psychological conditions). Don't overdo it. You don't want to be sleepy... just take the edge off without dulling the sense too much which those remedies are good for. Try them out at a band practice first to see if they affect your playing at all and adjust accordingly.
 
There is also B12 vitamin stuff that can ease stress as well as exercise and meditation (do some jumping jacks or jog in place or do some push ups or whatever and then sit in a quiet room by yourself with your thoughts focusing on your breathing until you can widdle away the mental noise as much as possible). Of course staying hydrated in general is a natural stress reliever. Start drinking lots of water NOW and consistently and you'll just feel better in general. Eating well (fruits/veggies) again helps reduce anxiety. Coffee is murder on the nerves of course as is any caffeine or too much sugar in your diet (pop is awful).
 
Healthy body... healthy mind... less anxiety. That's all any froo froo book about anxiety worth it's salt is really gonna tell you anyway.
 
To me though, and this of course is the downfall of many artists... I drank beer. Lots and lots and LOTS of beer. I'd make sure I never got too drunk to play before the gig so maybe two or three before the gig (I had a high tolerance) and NO hard liquor... AT all. At least not until halfway through the gig or afterward (a hard task when you are playing Irish folk tunes and everyone is trying to toss whiskies of various kinds down your gullet as you play (on top of pints). Needless to say this all resulted in some hard core alcoholism after a while. However most people cannot drink like I did and play properly (and I played in many bands with many such people). The reason I could get away with it was because... yup... I practiced until I could play the damned songs even if I was on the brink of needing medical attention (of course I was no where near as good at that point than I was after only a few beers).
 
I of course am not recommending drinking to calm your nerves. It is a poor solution, especially for a first gig and is not a sustainable strategy. But if you can handle ONE beer just before playing then nurse a second one while on stage it can be a decent and reasonably safe nerve calmer. If you have an addictive personality or cannot stop after one... it ain't worth it.
 
Getting past the first gig and realizing the audience isn't out to get you in the end though is the biggest anxiety reduction and make it MUCH easier next time.
 
Have fun.

I hear you Magik, I am going through the exact same thing. I have not played live in front of a crowd in many years, but soon will. I suffer with the same anxiety. I have always had a bit of stage fright, even years ago when I played live. Beeps remedies won't work well for me, because I will be joining the worship team. Beer and pot would most likely be fowned upon. 😀

I'm trying to practice as much as possible so that I really know the material well. Then when I become all thumbs, I will hopefully be able to recover quickly.

Magik,
Bapster's post is very good. Multiple good tips, there.
An effective pharmaceutical in this situation is Inderal/propanalol. It works kind of like an emotional comp/limiter.
Inderal is non-addictive and it doesn't impair you. The main contra-indication is asthma.
http://www.everydayhealth.com/drugs/inderal
 
Bert

A lot of words being typed here, but Drew has the short answer. Know your stuff.
 

The guy apparently went to Julliard and is now a PhD in Psychology.

 

craigb

jamesg1213
A lot of words being typed here, but Drew has the short answer. Know your stuff.
 

The guy apparently went to Julliard and is now a PhD in Psychology.

 

I'm trying to get into MIT to work on my music theory degree...

You can actually get a pretty good music degree at MIT...

Hi,
 
Mag, from my days directing for the stage, I can tell you that too much of that anxiety is in your head a lot more than otherwise, and later you find ... ohhh ... it was alright!
 
My recommendations are nearly all the same as those above, with one exception. As a director, on the outside, you can see things that otherwise you folks playing (or acting) can not see from an audience's perspective, and there are some things that you can do to test that, and see how you react to it, and how you work in between.
 
So what did I do? George and Martha are arguing and a nut walks in with a vacuum cleaner. You have to maintain your concentration and not lose your spot, and yet, you have to handle the event. Easy enough ... Martha goes into a tirade about George's obsession with the maid ... (something like that) ... and after the vacuum is done with her 15 seconds, George throws the continuing line out, and generally, ADJUSTING, the mood is all that is required and this is not hard, if all the players (or actors) are listening to each other, and know how to get back in sync ... which can be discussed previously ... since you have no idea what the event will be! You can decided to say that the guitar does 4 to 6 beats in a particular scale, and that at the end, everyone is on par and tune.
 
Things like this, however, test your nerve ... because some folks panic and STOP. Do not EVER stop, and simply try to bring the others back, and the person in the group that is the best listener should be the one doing it, and the others should follow, and you can take turns doing this.
 
Eventually, after 4 or 5 times of this, you learn to trust your partner. At that point, you know it's not about "anxiety" as much as it is about LISTENING.
 
So, if you ask me, for a suggestion and clue? ... there you have it. How well you are tuned to the folks, instead of your instrument and notes (which is already memorized, etc, etc), you concentrate on making them better ... and the rest ... the more you do, the better will all of you sound and be!
 
Now take a break and go have a beer, or a smoke ... and smile. Then come back and rehearse again, and get someone to do anything else they want at any time, and try it again. Do not (ever!) duplicate the same event ... always try something different! And you will find, that listening, is the clue ... not anything else, because right then, you know what you have to do already!
 
Easy! So very easy!
 
BTW, I have never failed with a "beginning" actor or newby on stage, and would not fail either with a band, that was willing to learn and have fun! But the willingness ... is the issue, when folks end up thinking some stupid poop like ... that's not rock or jazz or some other BS! You miss the point totally! And it has nothing to do with the kind of music you are playing, btw ... that's "outside" the 4th wall!

jamesg1213
A lot of words being typed here, but Drew has the short answer. Know your stuff.

The guy apparently went to Julliard and is now a PhD in Psychology.

 

 
Theater, film and the performing arts is not for everyone. There is an internal side that you have to learn to work on, and if you don't, you are not going to be there very long. There is another side, and it is called the Hollywood side, but soon enough it will be diseased enough ... that it will be hard to maintain and stay there anymore! There are just as many failed actors and musicians in Hollywood as there are bums in southern California!
 
Julliard, is no different than any other performing school. They can teach you the notes and music, but can not teach you something on the inside that is a feeling that you have that needs to be nurtured and developed, that is often messed up with instructors that think they know what that secret is ... there is no secret ... you are dealing with a person, and you do not fudge with the person's mind and body in these situations ... PERIOD!
 

slartabartfast
Imagine the audience is in their underwear.
If that still leaves you nervous, imagine the audience is in Queen Elizabeth's underwear.

 
I don't recommend funny stuff any less than unfunny. Why? Your head is already full of things and thoughts, that adding another one is not going to help. Basically, one needs to relax, empty their mind, and allow the natural flow of the piece and words they know to work through ... or notes if it is music.
 
Again, it is all about the interplay and relationship between each other and it's easy to tell which folks/musicians are good enough to have this, and which are just in it for something else ... it is also becomes easy to tell which ones simply don't have it ... if you really want to look, since their concentration is ridiculously bad! Oh yeah, they know the notes ... what else? 

Moshkito

jamesg1213
A lot of words being typed here, but Drew has the short answer. Know your stuff.

The guy apparently went to Julliard and is now a PhD in Psychology.

 

 
Theater, film and the performing arts is not for everyone. There is an internal side that you have to learn to work on, and if you don't, you are not going to be there very long. There is another side, and it is called the Hollywood side, but soon enough it will be diseased enough ... that it will be hard to maintain and stay there anymore! There are just as many failed actors and musicians in Hollywood as there are bums in southern California!
 
Julliard, is no different than any other performing school. They can teach you the notes and music, but can not teach you something on the inside that is a feeling that you have that needs to be nurtured and developed, that is often messed up with instructors that think they know what that secret is ... there is no secret ... you are dealing with a person, and you do not fudge with the person's mind and body in these situations ... PERIOD!

I think the point of my message has been lost. Performance psychology has become a very serious discipline over the past 20-30 years. One shouldn't simply dismiss the research and propose a one-size-fits-all solution, especially since, as you say, we are dealing with a person. That is not to say there isn't something intangible when dealing with music. But I would assume most good teachers, especially ones at Julliard, know that. But there are also some very real benefits to be had from the research of performance psychologists. It's both art and science. Good instructors never just teach you the notes and the music, at least not the ones I've come across. They encourage you to find the history behind the piece, the life of the composer. They encourage you to find your connection with the music and of course they teach you the tools to better express your connection with that music. In the end, it does come down to how hard the student wants to work, and that's something you can't teach. But to say that we cannot work on the mind in similar ways we work on our fingers, our diaphragms, our postures etc... is not true. There is no secret, there is no absolute truth. But there are certainly many aspects of performance practices that performance psychology has been able to contribute to.
 
The OP asked for books and reading materials. The short answer is to just tell him to do it enough times and he'll get more comfortable with it. That can certainly be true. But there are more nuanced approaches that can certainly help. Visualization anyone? That's my point. It doesn't have to be complicated, but there should be an awareness of these legitimate approaches.

Moshkito
 
Of course there is no right or wrong. Why? Simple ... it is an experiential thing and if you do not know what you are doing, you are not going to last in any business related to that art .. plain and simple!
 
 

How can you know what you're doing is right, if there's no right or wrong? That would mean anything you're doing, is both right, and wrong, right?

Just imagine that you're up there completely naked, unbathed, with bed-head hair that's dyed pink, and it's cold. Then notice that the entire audience, is full of all your relatives and every one you ever went to school with...  That should do it!
 
(Hmm... He did say he wanted help with stage performance anxiety, not sure why anyone would want that... Maybe I misunderstood?)

"A lot of words being typed here, but Drew has the short answer. Know your stuff."
 
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.
I`ve been known to pre gig vomit regularly to the point that I stopped gigging but my doctor prescribed betablockers and I haven`t looked back.
definitely recommend them for performance anxiety as they appear to be non addictive,fairly benign physically and above all,legal.
apparently they are pretty popular with golfers and chess players??
cheers
 

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.

The dream is playing this kind of music:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EmErwN02fX0
 
If you make a mistake, you can be sure 99.99% won't notice.

Randy P
I've played literally 1000's of gigs and I was always nervous before a show.
 
I stepped toward him and said "Jonny...its just us in the house jamming...look at me and lets go" He blinked and started the count in and off we went. He didn't take his eyes off me for the first 3 songs. Every time I turned around he was staring straight at me. He relaxed after a few songs and began to really enjoy the experience.

You were experienced enough in this scenario to suggest visualization to your drummer. Creating an environment in his mind that he associated with a comfort zone seemed to have worked and he was able to ease into the performance. A couple of other replies in this thread also suggested something along the lines of creating a comfort zone in your mind to achieve the same goal. Visualization is no doubt a powerful tool. It does feel like the game is mostly mental once we're up there in front of people.
 
http://www.bulletproofmusician.com/are-great-performers-as-cool-and-collected-on-stage-as-they-appear/
 
Now we don't have to be on the level of the great performers (or pros in general) but we certainly can take a page out of their books. I know I do whenever I'm watching a Dave Pensado video. For instance, we can always teach ourselves guitar but a good guitar teacher helps take a lot of the guesswork out of guitar, just like an expert in performance can help take a lot of the guesswork out of performance. All they've done is create something methodical out of what experienced performers, like Randy P, know intuitively. And it can certainly help save time being aware of that. Anyway, this has been an interesting discussion and there is a lot of literature on the subject. magic570, I wish you luck on that performance. Let us know how it goes.