Performance Anxiety

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Permalink Reply by john saunders on August 21, 2009 at 7:20am

The things I found comforting were trust,belief and most of all, practice!! The trust comes from playing in a group and knowing that if the others had practised as much as you, you trusted them to play their part, and they trusted you. As a soloist the same thing may apply, if you practice to the point where you know every moment of every piece, then, you have trust in yourself,which in turn removes any doubts of lack of preparation(which I think may be the real key to potential anxiety), you just know what you have to do. I was never a nervous person when going on stage with the group I played in,I did feel a slight adrelanine surge from time to time, but that was me focusing on the task ahead, the one word answers to any questions would appear and people would just leave me to it,another member would just put the 'f' word in every sentence, that was his energy. We never shook with fear because I/we fully trusted the each other and knew that we had fully prepared for that gig, any little mistakes that did happen from time to time were just played through by the others, and the crowd never knew half the time.We were also never afraid to stop a song(only in extreme cases) a guitar string went so far off tune during a song we just stopped the song, retuned and started it again, cracking a little joke, but the crowd were part of the banter too.We also played for ourselves aswell, that is not to say we did not care about the audience, because we were there to entertain and send people home happy, and a bit deaf in our case, but there is a point where if you know you have played or are playing 100% perfect and the crowd are not getting it, then it is not your problem(I guess that is the belief part too). Hope this puts a good view across..

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Permalink Reply by Michael on August 25, 2009 at 9:51am

I hadn't ever played on stage in front of anyone until I was 53. Most of my friends have never heard me.
We had a (short lived) trio with 2 early thirty somethings besides myself.
The very first time out they asked me if they should call an ambulance.
The sweat was flowing in to my shoes. (I think/hope it was sweat).
After the first song and all of the applause, things settled down considerably.
The first song is still a killer and I do have to have someone to share the stage with. No flying solo.
Haven't been back on stage for 5 years. Everyone moved out of state on me. HMmmmm.

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Permalink Reply by Mike Nepper on August 25, 2009 at 5:08pm

I'm finding all the responses to this subject very informative. I have to say that some folks just don't get nervous, or more accurately put, they sort of enjoy the nervousness and it's kind of exciting to them to get up there in front of strangers and they kind of feed off of it. I started performing very young (like 8) and it was like that in the beginning, but within a few years, the thrill was gone and it was just a thing. But, then decades later, of course it's a whole different thing, especially solo. For me though, performance is really not a big goal or anything, ya know? I'm in my late fifties, and I have a whole lot of fun just playing for myself...........I never get bored with it and it seems there's an endless supply of projects I can do. I do some arrangements of old songs I like, a bit of recording, and I'm lately transcribing my stuff to tablature. I have a regular day job, so needless to say, time is of the essence. I do love getting together with like minded musicians and doing song circles, meet and greet, dinner party type gatherings, and the occasional guitar camp with professional instructors/artists (sometimes my own personal favorites). We can learn a great deal from them. One other thought...........I still think that familiarity is the best remedy for the nerves. If you play out at least once a week, eventually, probably sooner than later, you almost have to view it as a job and we all get used to our jobs..........thanks for all the great comments!

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Permalink Reply by David Shade on August 25, 2009 at 6:03pm

Mike, I feel the same way. Performing isn't a big goal for me either. I think what gets me when I play solo is whether I seem competent and can deliver an enjoyable experience. What would be even better is really feeling like I'm grooving and not just getting through it reasonably well. I agree that getting out there and playing is really important and something I haven't really done routinely enough. Some day...

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Permalink Reply by David Shade on August 25, 2009 at 5:46pm

Thanks for that Michael. Glad to hear someone else has struggled with this. It's funny how different things make different people nervous. I personally do not get nervous (well maybe sometimes just a little if I do a solo, but usually not) in a group situation, but I have many more problems doing fingerstyle solo performances. I have performed solo several times and can do it, but I am always nervous, always make mistakes - some little - some big, but no one ever seems to mind except me. Small errors don't bother me, but when I get lost in the song or can't seem to remember what's next even though I have literally played the song 1000 times is very disconcerting. For me, when playing solo there's nowhere to hide like you can in a group and I things I play solo are way more technically challenging. I love the synergy of a group - there's nothing like it. You can fall out in a group for a measure or less and get back on track and almost no one is the wiser. One day I hope I'll get a better handle on solo performance. I have done a lot of head work on my attitude, but I think I have to get out there and just do it - you know - exposure therapy. Hope you have opportunity to do some more group playing and get comfortable because it can really be a blast once you get past the nerves.

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Permalink Reply by Ken Rhodes on August 25, 2009 at 8:27pm

David, I'm sorry that you think some of us are "made of steel," and that we're not sharing our experiences. To quote my first post in this thread:

"The first two times I was on a stage with a guitar, I was so nervous I could hardly stand it. I looked down at my guitar and my hands and was barely able to move. The few, extremely simple stage movements that had been worked out ahead of time, I was barely able to do them at all, often not at the right times. I was so mentally lost.

The irony of this is that those first two times were lip-sync contests! I wasn't even playing my guitar."

The first time I actually played in front of an audience, I stared at my hands the whole time and was barely even aware of the crowd. That was because I had to shut them out in order to even stand there, let alone play. And this was with a full band.

I've only performed solo a couple of times. Both times I sat in the back of the room, playing background music. I was still so nervous it took all I could muster to put on a brave face and start playing those first few notes. Add to that the fact that the repertoire I had that was appropriate for those events was only about 15 minutes long, and I had to play for 45-60 minutes. So I was very nervous, but I have found that I can focus on the what the music sounds like from a listener's perspective, and that helps.

The country singer Charlie Daniels always wears sunglasses on stage. Do you know why? Because he can't sing and look at the audience at the same time. In order to sing he has to close his eyes, so he wears sunglasses so that nobody can tell.

This is an issue that affects all of us at some point. There are tons of tricks that get used to over come it. The trick is for each of us to find one that works. What works for one person won't necessarily work for another, but it does help to share.

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Permalink Reply by Kevin Richard Nightingale on August 26, 2009 at 9:02am

Hi everyone,it is reassuring to know that i am not the only one whose hands shake,who forgets how to play tunes i have played a hundred times at home and yes somebody please call an ambulance.I have played bass in a band,no problems,i have busked in town centres,thats okay ,the audience is always changing and you can stop playing at any time and make adjustments to your guitar.Solo fingerstyle live,that is really a different experience.I am writing this thinking i really should be practising the tunes intend to play tonight at an open mike session that i have been going to for the past couple of years.I have started to feel more confident recently but there are still several tunes that i can play ok at home but would not dare to attempt them live.If i miss a couple of weeks it seems more difficult to get back on stage so i guess just keep on getting up there and doing it is good advice.Another tip is become oblivious to the audience and concentrate on the music you are playing,think of nothing else but the sound that is coming out of your guitar.KEEP ON KEEPING ON

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Permalink Reply by Susie O. on September 13, 2009 at 10:07am

Gosh all these posts have helped me a lot. I love the bit about the ambulance-cheered me up!. I was kind of beating myself up today. We played 6 songs at church (5 went well-with the full band) but my goodness when it got to just me and the violin player doing a piece I felt like my fingers were falling off! I felt so exposed. He's a trained multi-instrumentalist and that was even more pressure!!! I've only played in front of 5people or so for the past 5 months ( Bible studies etc) and it's only been in the last month that I've started playing in front of the church. But after reading all these posts I'm seeing that I'm being way to hard on myself and choosing to focus on the one song that didn't go too well (mind you the song wasn't a COMPLETE disaster) and not looking at the other five which were good

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Permalink Reply by Ken Gaugler on August 29, 2009 at 4:46pm

Stevie Coyle said recently that the audience is basically "on your side", that is, they want to have a pleasant experience and enjoy the music. Remembering that it is about the music, and not about us, seems to help.

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Permalink Reply by Keira WitherKay on September 6, 2009 at 11:04am

mmm the easiest way through performance anxiety is to do it...... i often suggest to my students to go to every open mic they can and perform......... since many others will have the same problem...... and audiences are not expecting perfection at open mic's and tend to be a lot more supportive than other venues and the more you do it the better you feel .............. but it's a process....

good luck

peace and light
keira Witherkay

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Permalink Reply by Michael T. Swisher on September 10, 2009 at 11:30am

David, et al,

I get nervous on stage. I still do, forty years after my first audience. Maybe it never goes away. But you do learn to work in that space and have a great time doing it. I should mention that I teach for a living and even there I still feel the aura of working a crowd. It just feels more like home than it did the first time.

I believe that everyone who finds themselves in front of other people looking at them for something goes through a similar experience. It is a heightened reality. Expectation becomes a quasi-physical entity. In time that entity can become a familiar presence, even if it never really goes away.

One trick that works for some is to interweave some conversation into the performance – to speak to the gathering as well as deliver the goods. You learn to say hello and listen for the response. Even if no one says anything to you, the room answers. Thats who you play to – the space in front of you. You slow your heart rate down. You breathe. You play a chord or a riff to send a sound out as your avatar.

I find that working the same room helps me be more comfortable when in strange places. Familiarity can breed a degree of comfort and build up adaptability to novelty. Even playing for or with a friend elicits a similar reaction of expectation although the scale is less intense than an auditorium full of strangers. When you pay attention to your emotions in smaller environments, you develop a working rapport with enhanced awareness.

Even an extended sound check can make a room feel more familiar, more appropriate as a setting for your anxiety.

It doesn't make it go away. It just makes it more like someplace you know how to act in.

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Permalink Reply by Mark D Hiatt on October 2, 2009 at 10:48am

I spent about a dozen years as a freelance writer. Going full-time was the biggest obstacle for me. I had a new wife, a good job as a computer operator for the State and even got Arbor Day off! Finally, a wise olde scrivener told me I would be a computer operator until the day that the thought of being the best Computer Operator in the world scared me more than the thought of being the worst Writer in the world. He was right. A couple of months later, I handed in my keys and left and the ride lasted a good, a really good, dozen years.

So, I think there's something similar going on, here. The anxiety will probably be with us until the thought of never performing becomes worse than the thought of being the worst performer, ever. For me, it feeds some little piece of me that I have been neglecting for thirty years. I love being back. I love being in a little band with other fifty-plus grandfolks. We all grew up playing albums at 16-speed, trying to puzzle-out the solos to Black Dog and Reelin' In The Years and have come back to music in the last several years and we all have varying degrees of competence and craft. But to me it's just the joy of playing in front of an appreciative crowd that I have missed. I love my band, but I want to try it one night up there on stage all alone, too.

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