SonnyD4885
119 posts
Sep 18, 2011
5:49 AM
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i got on stage last night and i was feeling so good to jam with my friend then right when i was the harp part i went blank and got lots of butterflys and messed up the whole song i have never has that happen to me in my life i feel like shit cause he was mad has anyone ever had this happen to them and how?
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Steamrollin Stan
12 posts
Sep 18, 2011
7:39 AM
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Good post, i'm a big time closet player, rather active in another site but very uncertain around folks, practice makes perfect, and booze builds bravado, but not skill. I would hate to stuff up in front of an audience, to the point i am paranoid of letting it happen. S.S.
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eharp
1474 posts
Sep 18, 2011
7:57 AM
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i've passed this on a few times. it works for me.
when i am gonna get in front of people and feel nervous, i tell myself a couple of things, like a mantra i repeat a couple of times- i dont know these people. i dont care what they think. i will never see these people again.
of course, it is mostly a lie. i may know some of them. i do care what they think. i will, hopefully, see some of them again.
but getting that type of mind set has allowed me to block out some of the worries. i can then concentrate on whether i got the right key harp, did i turn on my amp, did i wear pants today.
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7LimitJI
536 posts
Sep 18, 2011
8:21 AM
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This sounds crazy,but works.
Every time you practise at home,imagine you are playing to an audience. Visualise them as you play.
Nerves are a good part of gigging.I like them.They focus me to play at my best. (hopefully)
I'm rarely nervous on stage now. Only before, during set-up,soundcheck, waiting for our slot. I just want to get started and get up and play.
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"Why don't you leave some holes when you play, and maybe some music will fall out".
"It's music,not just complicated noise".
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Pluto
171 posts
Sep 18, 2011
8:45 AM
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Well, this used to happen to me all the time, and still does happen occasionally if I share the stage with a big name player. I have a bunch of pals that are MD's, and they suggested getting a prescription of "propanolol". Its a beta blocker that targets the "fight or flight" impulse, that has been suggested to be the cause of stagefright. I know I know, its a drug. But thought I'd toss it out there.
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RyanMortos
1132 posts
Sep 18, 2011
9:01 AM
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SonnyD,
I think what happens is you go to open mic night after open mic night after open mic night... eventually you get more comfortable up there and you play like you do in the comfort of your own home.
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~Ryan
"I play the harmonica. The only way I can play is if I get my car going really fast, and stick it out the window." - Steven Wright
Pennsylvania - H.A.R.P. (Harmonica Association 'Round Philly)
See My Profile for contact info, etc.
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groyster1
1411 posts
Sep 18, 2011
9:12 AM
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even though I do drink moderately and love single malt scotch and brown ale,alcohol is a crutch and should never be used as such IMHO
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nacoran
4633 posts
Sep 18, 2011
10:48 AM
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I get much more nervous talking to a woman than I do talking to a crowd, but I do get excited when I get up on stage. Sometimes it means I screw up a little. Other times it helps me get to that next level. (Of course, I'm premedicated for my anxiety disorder.) One thing I've noticed it that harp is actually a pretty good way to get through the jitters. One of the first things I used to notice when I was having a problem was my breathing would become disregulated. Getting into a harp part forces you to breath in patterns and can keep you from letting things get out of hand.
It's important to remember that at some point in almost everyone's life they are going to have a moment when they get nervous. My first real summer job back when I was a kid involved riding around all day on a rider mower at a Snowbird camp (a trailer park for senior citizens- they'd come up in the summer to be around family, and then go back to their regular homes in Florida when it started getting cold).
Well, on one particular day I was in among the trailers and I caught a stone. I didn't even realize it happened. I was riding a mower with a 54 inch deck. I didn't know anything was up until I made my next pass and a guy was screaming at me.
I'd hit a stone and it had got caught up in the blades and shot out. It had missed him, gone through the plexiglass window on the back of the trailer, tore a chunk out of their blinds, wizzed past a grandmother as she set her grandkid on the the floor, right through the piece of space her grandkid had been just a second before, tore through the trailer the long way, ripped out a chunk of blinds from the front of the trailer, punched through a plate glass window, still on the rise, and finally came to rest after ricocheting off (and breaking) a car windshield.
I was rattled. They were rattled. I asked my boss for the rest of the day off. He wouldn't give it to me. He sent me out to mow fields away from the trailers. I cursed him under my breath as I road around, but slowly I calmed down.
I honestly believe if he'd let me go home early I wouldn't have gone back the next day. I know it's a cliche, but when you fall off a horse you've got to get right back up on it. Nerves are useful when you are out in the jungle trying not to get eaten by a lion. They aren't so useful when you are just trying to jam at a show. We also see to remember things much bigger than they were. This tends to make a slight case of the jitters feel like it was a full blown meltdown when you are thinking about it a couple months later. But, if you can get back out there quickly you'll forget all about it. Don't give yourself time to make it bigger than it was.
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Nate
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geordiebluesman
452 posts
Sep 18, 2011
11:47 AM
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Here's my horror story, on my third time on stage i was feeling super anxious, i told the band leader/lead guitarist the key and tempo and away they went on the 5 chord i turned to the mic saw a room full of expectant faces and completley blanked!, no idea of the intro riff no idea of the lyric and this was one of my own songs!.
To say i was terrified don't quite cover it, i went to the mic with a blank mind and started playing the intro to a different song and then 4 bars in remembered what i should have played and also the first verse lyrics.
I managed to switch back to the proper harp part and gpt through the chorus and the first solo and then blanked again so i played another 12 bars.
I was about 3 bars from the last verse with still no words in my head and about to put my hands up and stop the whole damn nightmare when the words came back and i litteraly lurched at the mic in relief sang the verse and chorus and finished off with a real relief driven flourish, i got a mighty cheer and wobbled off stage on rubber legs! amazingly the only one who knew it was a near train wreck was me!, it took me 3 days to calm down but 2 weeks later i was back up there doing it again.
You just can't keep a good man down!
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SonnyD4885
120 posts
Sep 18, 2011
12:03 PM
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@tolga7t
yea its clubs and bars and it on'y when he call me so every year or so
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Tommy the Hat
306 posts
Sep 19, 2011
4:55 AM
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I haven't had the opportunity to play harp publicly but I have had the chance to sing. Until I get the first few notes out and know if I'm on key I am nervous to the point of wanting to quit.
Last week I had the chance to sing in front of a crowd twice. The first time it took me awhile to get my nerves settled but after the first line or two of the song I knew I was on target so I got into it. At that point I become the showman. Later in the week (because of that performance) I was asked to sing on a bigger stage. I was nervous because i didn't know the song and had little time to learn it. I went to a rehearsal and it came out great. Later at the show I got onstage butterflies like crazy, sick with nerves. I started to sing and felt off key. I tried to adjust and saw a band member look at me and at that point my brain was working on too many things and I lost track of the lyrics. I missed two lines and stumbled on the next two until the chorus where I gathered myself back. I then got on track and finished up the rest of the song well. The key is knowing how to find your way back. A couple of people said they didn't notice the mistake. How....I have no clue.
But yes...I am always nervous. Then again, performing isn't something I do often
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Tommy
Bronx Mojo
Last Edited by on Sep 19, 2011 4:56 AM
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OzarkRich
467 posts
Sep 19, 2011
5:30 AM
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I try to practice as much as possible beforehand and make sure I have my part down and not even think about the event. Before going on stage I hang out and talk to friends (or make some). I treat it like any other mundane event and when the time comes, go on stage and do it just like I practiced. If I get nervous I close my I eyes and think about playing and ignore where I'm at and whats around me. If it's just one song I remind myself that nothing will change the fact that time marches on, and in five minutes it's over regardless.
Unfortunately none of the above works when I'm at home in front of the camera. Knowing that I can delete and keep trying and that it won't necessarily be over in five minutes makes me extremely nervous. I'm also a perfectionist so I keep trying to get the perfect take (which never happens).
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Ozark Rich
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Last Edited by on Sep 19, 2011 5:31 AM
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Lonesome Harpman
40 posts
Sep 19, 2011
6:01 AM
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I have posted exhaustively regarding this topic on another forum so why hold back here? I suffered from extreme stage fright, to the point where my mouth would dry up so bad that I could hardly play a note. My hands would shake so bad I couldn't stop. My first step was to drink very heavily, that worked to calm me down but didn't help my playing. Gradually I became more comfortable, in small steps, eventually I became more comfortable and now look forward to get up and play. Am I always cool and collected? Well, to this day occasionally I get a return of the the butterfly syndrome,especially when I am playing with a top musician and I have to have perfect timing. I just loose my timing for some reason.
My advice, bring enough water to last the set or a song, keep your riffs simple,tasty and in time. Try to focus the nervous energy, try and tame it, own it.
Finally, as others have said, you just have to get up and do it. It's just a numbers game, the more you get up there the less you'll fret over it. The first ones are a bitch, so realize that, and get up there.
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KingoBad
924 posts
Sep 19, 2011
6:10 AM
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My advice is to practice the song the WHOLE way through. Do NOT stop if you make a mistake. Learn to play through, recover and keep the groove. Nothing worse than practicing a train wreck!
You'll go in with the confidence that you can handle it no matter what...
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Danny
Last Edited by on Sep 19, 2011 6:18 AM
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SonnyD4885
122 posts
Sep 19, 2011
9:33 AM
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thank you all this helped
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