How To Deal With and Overcome Stage Fright
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- Опубліковано 7 лют 2025
- Another one for you guys today! Talking about my experience with gettting anxious or nervous before shows and my journey on how I've handled that. This is just my experience but I hope this helps someone out there if you're dealing with this. Drop a comment and let me know how you've handled this in the past!
Interested in Lessons? Reach out to timavenmusic@gmail.com
Fright effects everything in life. Overcoming it sets you free. It's not just music, it's asking the girl on a date, negotiating with a car dealer, dealing with your spouse and family, bargaining at the flea market, dealing with your mechanic or appliance repair man, asking your boss for a raise.
I think you are absolutely right. It's a common human experience that we all have to face. Thanks for dropping a comment!
I'll never know *why* I was compelled to play guitar in front of people, from the time I was a complete novice in high school/college. A coffee house open mike, a party in front of classmates and profs . . . singing a Dan Fogelberg cover (and one of my TAs came up later and said "Man, you sucked" with a big grin on his face. Thanks, Al 😎). Then I got married, job and kids took over, guitars went in the closet.
Decades later, I decided to take guitar lessons and really do this . . . and two weeks later, I get asked to join a band. Spent the next two years nervous before and during every gig. "What are the people thinking about my playing? What if I mess up?" . . . but I was still up there, every week, making a mistake here and there but playing on through. All of a sudden, I'm up on stage and I'm completely comfortable. Mistakes happen, but not very often. There's a video of every performance, and I watch it and think, "Hey. We sound good. I sound good. Yeah, I booted that one note right there. It didn't hurt the song. Nobody noticed." It is exactly as great as I always imagined it would be, to play for people. 🎸🎸
My buddy and I both love playing acoustic guitar. We do not have any thoughts of performing professionally but we want to be able to jam with, or perform for, friends/family just for fun. Both of us have learned numerous songs over the years that we could play very well while alone but when we would try to play for anyone else, fear would cause us to crash and burn. So we started meeting monthly and performing for each other just to get accustomed to the fear and playing through it. At first, it was very difficult but we kept fighting through it and our playing and control of the fear got better. Now we've added a couple more buddies and we take turns performing for each other. It has helped us all to get more comfortable at performing. We still get nervous but far less than before and our playing is much better despite the nervousness. I think your advice was spot on! Thanks for sharing!
I used to shake like a leaf. Reps and practice seem to be the only thing that fixed it. Great stuff, Tim!
You make great content. Saying it like it is, no magic tricks. Just prepare and practice, then do the best you can in an honest way.
This is really the secret for making it in just about every thing in life ;)
I appreciate that and glad you are enjoying it. You're right and theres more to come!
In my opinion, you've given out some excellent advice. I've been a performing musician for almost 50 years and when I was a young pup like you, or even younger, I remember a "old-timer" who had worked behind major artists of his day tell me that Sammy Davis Jr. told him, if you aren't nervous before a performance you don't care enough about it. I have had opportunities to perform in front of audiences as large as 12,000 people, and I agree that if you really know the material well, it greatly reduces the nerve factor. There are a couple of sayings that have helped me and I have passed along so here it goes... 1. When it doubt just lay out, or at least turn down until you can find your way. 2. If you hit a bad note, know that you are one half-step up or down from a good one ( I got that from Victor Wooten's book, The Lesson.) 3. If you're not sure of the chord(s) turn down and follow the bass. You can then add the 5th and the octave. Only add the 3rd if you can clearly distinguish the major or minor color of the chord. Well, that's my three cents. :-D Keep up the great work, Tim.
Hi Tim, G'day from Australia (Down Under) really enjoy your content.
Tim, that entry song sounds saweet🤘🏻🤘🏻🤘🏻
Practice Practice Practice!
This great stuff Tim and thank you for it. I kind of relate it to sports. You spend hours and hours practicing for a 60 minute or 9 inning game, of which you’re only on the field a fraction of that time - but when it’s go time you’ve put in the time to be as prepared as you possibly can be. Things always go wrong to some degree but how you recover is key. Thanks again man!
You hit the nail on the head! Practice and preparation are essential.You can relate it to a lot in life. Thanks for watching and dropping a comment!
I might add sometimes it isn't because you're unprepared but one of the other band members made a mistake or had a mental blank spot about what was next. Maybe the vocalist forgot the words and it through the timing of the whole band off. It happens. You get back in time quick as you can and keep going. Don't let it eat your lunch. When I played in a band many a decade ago you trusted that Drummer and Bass player to keep everything going no matter what.
Hey Tim.. everything you mentioned is spot on. Your advice is great for not only gigs but life in general. You are an awesome guitarist and a great person as well. Keep on rockn!!
Thank you for the kind words, I really appreciate it!
It’s like anything…the more you do it, the better you get. In my early days of gigging, I used to get so nervous and anxious that I wasn’t good enough that I would literally worry myself sick and have to throw up in the parking lot before I stepped on stage…I’m talking full-tilt puke. I’ve been at it for over 30 years at this point, I can step on a stage…and I belong there…no more blowing chunks in the parking lot. But I do get a little edgy if I feel like I have not prepared/practice too.
@@90LPPlayer so I’ve got that to look forward to….damn….LOL. I proposed to my wife with a surprise song that my buddies band let me get up and do solo acoustic with them backing (they were kind of enough to learn it to help me) and I was so jacked up I barely even recalled playing after it was over. That was the first time I ever played to a watching audience. I know I butchered it but my buds had my back and she said yes, so it worked out.
@@joemerchant92the rush of performing in front of a live audience is so addictive that it outweighs the anxiety. And the validation that people give you after they watch you being amazing playing is killer. There are parts of the performing musician business that I absolutely abhor, but the second I start playing and people start dancing and jumping around to what my band mates and I are putting out there, all of that other nonsense, my own anxieties and insecurities and business quirks disappear.
@@90LPPlayer love it 🙏🏻 thanks.
I know that feeling, both sides of it! Just takes time and consistent effort to overcome it
All great points Tim I don’t wanna be the guy up there who doesn’t know his stuff ! Practice Practice Practice You have way more fun up there when you’re prepared!
Agreed its your best weapon!
Great transparency and wise advice.
Thanks for dropping by and for the kind words!
great video!
You’re your own worst critic..unless you really bomb it 90% of your audience won’t even notice mistakes. Playing to a drunk audience helps too. 😅