Transforming Fear into Mastery on Stage
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- Опубліковано 14 сер 2022
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Sungazer played a gig on the MS Stubnitz, stuff went wrong, and then I ruminate about that for about 10 minutes.
Sungazer is...
Shawn Crowder - Drums
Adam Neely - Bass
Pier Luigi Salami - touring keyboards
Some sources:
www.newyorker.com/magazine/20...
www.musiciansway.com/blog/201...
bulletproofmusician.com/how-t...
bulletproofmusician.com/3-rea...
www.nytimes.com/2004/10/17/ar...
www.npr.org/2015/11/24/457252...
MS Stubnitz
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Peace,
Adam
This incident perfectly illustrates the timeworn adage: "Never rent a keyboard with outdated drivers for a gig on a converted fishing boat in Germany."
gotta remember that one for the future
That old cliché?
Usually attributed to Bill Evans, though some people say he actually borrowed it from Jelly Roll Morton
Laughed a lot harder than i shouldve lol
And thus sailing, music performance, and driver updates has been virtue drenched with booze ever since
ADDENDUM: If you need anxiety medication, FFS, take the anxiety medication. Also, Beta Blockers can be a vitally important blood pressure medication. Seriously, this is not one-size-fits-all, and I'm not a doctor. This is me ruminating about stage fright and how I - personally - deal with performance anxiety and use it.
Love y'all!
Adam
Love you too, Adam
Shouldnt have to say it, but then again, I suppose you do.
Thank you for the ATLA reference. I may be stealing a line or two from this video for lyrics
Please pin this comment, thanks for the great video!
😘
Great video but I think it can be summarized as follows:
Technical difficulties?
Bass Solo.
As a life long stutterer, public speaking is a fear beyond comprehension for me. My brother got married last year, and as best man i was expected to give a speech. This terrified me from the moment i was asked to be best man to the moment i got in front of the crowd holding the mic. The vicious cycle of stuttering means the more nervous you get, the more likely you are to stutter.
I decided to write my speech about how my brother helped me with my stutter throughout my life as a way of letting the crowd know to expect my impediment and to acknowledge my fear of speaking to a crowd.
Long story short…i didn’t stutter once, it was the best speech of the night, not a dry eye in the venue and it was a defining moment of my life. I actually enjoyed myself up there!
But i will never do it again 😂
BASSED
That's unfortunate. You never know who in the crowd might relate and take inspiration from your story.
Beautiful!
That's great that you used your "flaw" to make a point and then nailed it!
I read a comment on a Dungeons & Dragons sub Reddit about someone who wanted to join a gaming group but was scared of the role-play aspect of the game (they were a stutterer). Someone suggested that they create a character who had a stutter as a character trait. The person eventually joined a group, built a unique character, and ended up having a blast.
@@smarmar400 love that!
Key takeaway: Driving is scary so get drunk before taking the wheel. Got it. Thanks Adam! Great video!
🤣🤣🤣
Yup, you got it! Just as Plato said
So I'm autistic, so basically every aspect of my life is a performance and it gives me serious anxiety. Ironically the stage is one of the few places that I feel less anxiety because the "rules" are explicit when in every other aspect of life it is implied.
Edit: didn't expect this to resonate with a lot of people, but I'm glad it did :)
A really useful tool I've learned is using the mammalian dive reflex to get out of panic attacks. It is a really good way to use the built in physiological systems you have to get yourself to calm down when mental grounding techniques have failed you.
Holy crap, I’ve never seen anyone describe what it was like so accurately. This was eye opening to read.
This is so relatable. When the rules are clear, you're just playing a game and you know what you need to do to reach your target.
That’s a very interesting point of vue, thanks for sharing it
I'm also autistic and I experience the same thing. I'll go into fight or flight just having a casual conversation with someone. But put me on stage in front of a big crowd and I'm totally fine.
I Love your comment soooo much
I once heard Paul McCartney tell the story of an incident when Wings first went out on the road. On evening Linda, who had been improving her keyboard playing ‘on the road’ forgot how to play the intro to the song that opened their show. They tried several times, but she still didn’t get it right. Eventually he went over to show her how it went and screwed it up too. Because of the way they handled it the audience thought it was part of the show and started laughing. McCartney then played to this and got them laughing more. Eventually they sorted the intro to rapturous applause! Moral is don’t take yourselves too seriously, and if you screw up get the audience laughing. They want you to succeed, and if you play a bum note (especially in jazz 🙄!) the moments gone and they probably didn’t notice anyway…
Comedy is one of the best ice-breakers. That, or doing something unexpected so the audience is then focused on the incident and no longer on you.
My friend who was nervous about his speech he had to make in class knew that physically shaking the nervousness out of your body was an effective way of calming down. So, he walked up to the podium and violently shook like a dog for a few seconds. The class had a good laugh and he was ready to make his speech.
I also have stage fright and had to make a speech in class. I spoke about something that I was intimately experienced with (playing paintball) so, in that respect, my confidence was high. I brought my paintball gun to the podium as a prop (this was in the mid-90s when bringing a "fake" gun to college wasn't a concern). My opening line was something like "You're crouched behind a tree, face mask fogging up from your rapid breath, and suddenly you hear..." and then I point the gun in the air and pull off several empty rounds. The class jumped and their collective eyes bulged out of their sockets. The ice had been broken and I was much calmer ;)
Thanks for that story!
"My dad always told me, 'If you make a mistake on stage, do it again, & they'll think you meant to do it the first time.'"
--Eddie Van Halen
@@BaldPerspective This is also true for jazz. It's only a mistake if you do it once.
@@thecatofnineswords My experience in the past playing jazz has been very toxic & hostile. That's a big reason I don't play it with ppl anymore; the others being, I just don't like a whole lot of it, & I don't live in an area where a lot of the musicians play it anyway.
I remember after one trumpet performance early in college someone told me afterwards "oh you have such great vibrato!"
My hands were just shaking uncontrollably, but thank you.
Haha. Fun fact, Paul McCartney was trembling from fear because he had never been professionally recorded, while singing “Love Me Do”. You can hear it on the track. Literally no one would know.
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I've had this exact experience before, but back in junior high! I look back at it now as a constructive form of encouragement, I don't doubt they could see I was nervous. But it mattered to hear that, if only to stop me ruminating over the performance.
A wonderful case of "fake it til you make it".
I accidentally read that as "vibrator" and assumed they were making just making a joke (given the instrument) and saying that you played well until I read the second line and I had to re-read
As a classical pianist, while I may make some more mistakes on stage than when practicing alone, playing on stage always makes my performance a lot more inspired. Playing without stage fright leads to an almost tired feeling- for me and probably for the audience too…
A million people have played these pieces with perfect technicality before. When people hear a pianist play it’s not to test them for how many mistakes they make, but to be moved and inspired by them. That’s how I find stage fright to be important for me :)
Oof, I feel this. I had an audition about 6 months ago (on voice) and I didn't feel ANY kind of nervousness at all, and then I ended up getting caught on just about all of my trouble spots with my two songs, and that sucked. It scared me so much to walk into that room not feeling anything
Also speaking as a pianist and performer - I think the number of mistakes are comparable, there's just a weird cognitive dissonance when you're practicing that causes you to... not notice so much? I think practicing a performance is a completely different kind of practice to practicing a 'piece'.
It's been more than a hot minute since I've played a classical recital, but it'd be nice if more ppl were open to the musicians improvising just a teeny bit here or there; the audience isn't going to freak out if they hear an odd bar that's improvised & not from the score, presuming they even notice. I did it in a guitar piece by Villa Lobos & my guitar teacher would wag his finger at me for improvising a fairly-small phrase between the first main A & main B sections because I couldn't exactly remember what was actually written, but he didn't care too much since I was his only student at the time that would actually memorize pieces. Thanks for sharing, tho!
I once performed Debussy’s Cat and Mouse with so many mistakes I thought my teacher would have a fit but she said ‘Why don’t you play like that all the time?‘ That’s when I learned that it was not all about accuracy but the feel.
I had the privilege of presenting Shura Cherkassy in concert. "one of the last exponents of the great Romantic keyboard tradition", NYT 1995. I was amazed at how many "mistakes he made when he played YET he played with such passion, the audience literally leapt to thei feet at the end of the recital. As long as you play with passion, and give the audience you true musical ability, they are usually on your side. This thought has always helped me as a French Horn player dealing with my performace and anxiety & flubs.
One mental trick I learned was right before I go out on stage to start the performance, convince myself that I am walking off the stage at the end of the performance. You get that momentary relief and relaxation from finishing, but you get it when you really need it, at the very beginning.
How do you initiate that?
@@cythereanmusic I guess it's sort of based on the idea that you can't do any more preparation, so the process of preparing for the performance is over once you start walking out on stage. That's the initiating logic, and then getting your body to accept the truth of it is a sort of controlled self delusion.
What I do when I'm feeling bad is try to remember how I was feeling before the negative thoughts appeared, so I can go back to that state of mind
I strongly agree after my hundreds of shows I would probably say that this is definitely the best trick.
If anyone wants tricks on how to initiate it here are some starting points.
In the green room or whoever you are ahead of the show, think about looking at your feet on the stairs as you’re walking off the stage.
Think about the feeling of “oh dang I messed that part up but that can be fixed, and overall that wasn’t so bad (this is most shows)”
Think about the feeling of your ears ringing after you’re done playing.
Feel your dry mouth coming off the stage.
If there are friends there, think about the hurry of trying to tear down while people are waiting to tell you how great you did.
If there are bands there think about how they were going to say “sick set bro”.
Just imagine it’s already done. As OP said.
when i played in a band, the anxiety was the rush. and overcoming the fear mid performence is what made you feel powerful
Oh hell yeah I just shake it out and get bigger.
Likewise. Nothing quite like it - I need to figure out how to get there again…
i play so much better onstage with that adrenaline edge than any other context too. it can be uncomfortable, but performance enhancing
*i should add that alcohol absolutely inhibits this enhacement for me, and stopped being part of my way of dealing with stagefright very early in my musical journey. definitely seems to work for some people, but slows my reaction time too much, and i long quit drinking all together anyway
Endorphins!!! What a incomparable high. 😃
I have crippling stage fright. Something an orchestra musician taught me that has helped a bit was re-framing your fear as excitement, as the sensations can be similar--two sides of the same coin of sorts. "People pay to go on rides and stuff to feel like this!" they said lol. I later saw the concept of re-framing come up as a legit psychological coping mechanism (though I forget if this was the correct term), though even if I hadn't come across it, it was a cool way of thinking about things
As a person who is always coaching others in dealing with stage fright (which I deal with myself), this was tremendously helpful. Thanks, Adam!
"I must not fear.
Fear is the mind-killer.
Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration.
I will face my fear.
I will permit it to pass over me and through me.
And when it has gone past, I will turn the inner eye to see its path.
Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain."
- Frank Herbert “Dune”
I have the second line of this as a tattoo! It's so powerful
That is exactly what came to mind watching this. And it's a good way to approach fear - you can't stop it, but you can redirect it and keep it from monopolizing your focus.
adam, this type of content about a musical life, like the "5 words of musical wisdom" and the "how we almost lost $17,000 on tour", is simply AWESOME. love the theory and analysis content, but these ones make me feel connected to music and motivated in ways i couldnt imagine.
I am a church organist and I a often have stage fright. For me the 'redirection of energy' happens when I play the last piece of the mass, the loudest, it feels wonderful letting all that stress go away with the music !
Yes! I am not a natural morning person, so when I play in church, the tendency towards morning sluggishness cancels out nervous energy. It works throughout the service. Or you could say one helps the other: if I am nervous, the morning takes the edge off, but if I am sluggish the nervous energy pushes and focuses me like natural caffeine. BTW, I avoid caffeine. It makes the effects of nervousness much much worse!
In German it's called "LAMPENFIEBER" and translates to Lamp Fever. I remember when I had my first gig I became sick and had a big fever, so I couldn't perform. On my second gig I got a fever again but this time I performed, but it wasnt fun at all. It was as if my body wanted to prevent me from going out on stage. Addidtionally to stage fright the fear of getting sick before a gig always kicked in about a week before a performance. I really thought I couldn't perform music in front of people. This happened when I was 20 years old and continued until my mid 20s. Now I'm 34 years old and I'm now super calm before a gig. I think getteing older helps with stage fright.
I've been at that concert. The improvisation in the beginning to bridge the silence was so good, it was a huge pleasure, one of the best gigs I've ever been to.
One could even see the bass solo like an intro phase; musical commentary for the tension buildup, a musical theme of technical difficulties being resolved.
Can second this. Amazing gig! So glad I went there, riverboat was a first for me aswell 😅
Yea it was amazing. Also loved the first band on that evening, had a fantastic singer
That self-transformation thing is so key. Once you get lots of experience of public performance, you learn to *love* the fear, because it turns you into someone who can do things the offstage you never could.
There is a moment in the video from the show that tells me something about how you actually got through it: the audience cheers when they hear the keyboard working, which means you let them in on your present emotional drama. That means you conquered shame first, connected in an honest way with your audience, and then showed them you were courageous enough to keep trying. That's no small thing. You made a genuine human connection with those people and went on to exemplify what it is to be scared $#!+less and do your job anyway.
It's also so interesting how different venues trigger different responses. I notice that a stage lower to the floor, specifics of the lighting situation, the number of people, can be SUPER effective at curtailing or exacerbating performance anxiety. I remember checking my blood pressure once before a particularly tiny show that was floor-level with the audience and no stage lighting and I was a wreck! I do so much better in "professional" settings with more people, stage lighting, etc.
It's a godsend to have little internal mantras about how the audience isn't out to get you, and that adrenaline isn't necessarily negative--you also get adrenaline rushes from excitement and passion!
Glad you got your driver downloaded 😂
Deep breaths.. Deep breaths..👂
Yep. I get more nervous playing a jazz club for 10 people than a festival for 10,000. It's bizarre.
@@essaysbyken same for me in the classical world. Quartet concert for an audience of 50 is way more stressful than solo performance for 2000
"let's get on stage and do some mistakes!"
That's my mantra since a performance on an open srage as a singer/songwriter went quite wrong.
And it works (for me)! 💪🏼
I think you can reduce stress _as a leader_ by making an advance decision: if you hit a technical snag or other reason you can't start on time, you will start on time anyhow. Even if that means one person improvising for the crowd. This doesn't apply if they'd rather wait for everyone to be ready, but unless explicitly told this, I think a bandleader should strive to start the set on time even if the band isn't ready. If that means having to carry the moment on their own shoulders while the band gets its shit together, so be it.
This doesn't relieve the pressure of the situation, but at least you've got an action plan, making those first few moments much less stressful because you aren't second-guessing your decisions. Everyone in the band knows what's up. If they're neither hampered nor assisting in fixing the problem, they can come join you. Otherwise they can continue to hack at the problem while you provide cover. As soon as they have a handle on how long it will take to solve the problem, they should tell you so you can modify plans, or not.
Also nominate an "alternate captain", because the band member having the technical disaster might be YOU.
7:50 It IS a profound scene! It's also profound that the energy blows up in Zuko's face :D
There's a quote I love from boxing champion José Torres that makes a very similar point: "I learned that fear was something you must have if you wanted to be a champion. Because fighting, and having that fear, but not allowing that fear to get the best of you - to use that fear to help you - that is one of the best qualities of a champion. You must have fear in order to understand when the guy is going to throw the punch before he throws the punch. That is all triggered by fear. So through experience, I learned that one of the best friends that a champion has is fear."
When I was 14 I had my first ever concert singing Green Day's "Basket Case", I had just moved to the school I was performing at and I was a new addition to the band. I had liked singing but had never done it in a concert setting or in front of an audience of people, I was now singing in front of the entire school at a pep rally. I remember the feeling of my heart being in my throat, seeing everyone in the audience and just feeling like I was in a sauna, the anxiety of singing in front of all those people had me gripped. I stood in front of the audience hands turning white from gripping the microphone so tight, the drummer counted down, and the song begun. The first words of the song left my lips and as I heard myself I realized "I'm in the wrong key" (we were doing the song in a different key so I could reach the notes). Tears welled in my eyes, and I continued through, near the end of the song I regained my vocal footing and finished strong but I felt completely destroyed, I had let my stage fright boggle my first ever performance. A band mate came up afterwards and told me not to worry, that I didn't sound bad, and that everyone starts somewhere. I continued to take band through out High School, and in my Senior year, I sang main on our final song. "Mr. Blue Sky" and looking back I feel I did fantastic that concert. My first performance being controlled by stage fright sticks with me, not in a "look how bad you messed up way", but in a way that lets me see how far I've grown as a performer, and still when I sing in front of people there's that feeling of anxiety, but it's along with the thought of "Hey, you made it through High School singing, why stop now?."
Somehow before I perform, thinking about it gets me super anxious. But somehow, once it's actually time to start playing it all fades away and I'm fine. It's the weirdest thing
Same! I can get very nervous while waiting for my time to perform, but once I get to the stage it's like I don't give a fuck anymoire
@@wannaberobo5087 yeah it's very odd, but also it's really cool at the same time. I don't know if you relate, but it's almost like an out of body experience where you're watching yourself play
I always thought that's how basically everybody feels
Not a musician but I've noticed that for debating or any sort of public speaking. I feel like the worlds ending right before I begin, but once I start going it pretty much completely fades away, and by the time I'm done and can sit back down I feel super calm, more at ease than I am just during a normal day
Holy smokes this is what I needed today. Thank you for the amazing content as always Adam
You're an amazing human being Adam. Thanks for the insight and tips
I was there. Your save was probably my highlight across the entire evening. Inspiring stuff…
Damn, Adam, this video is the ultimate flex. You're really showing off how great you've become at making videos. Emotional, diverting, entertaining, educational. Great story telling, great topic, great editing. What a fun watch, man. Keep it up!
This is an excellent video, thank you for putting the time and effort into making it.
This video Adam. Thanks for tackle this important topic. This reached to the core of my heart
Audiences also appreciate the performers succeeding against insurmountable issues.
Wow! MS Stubnitz footage! I have been there :) Despite the issues you guys totally killed it! This concert and this evening was definitely worth the 900+km drive that day ♥️♥️♥️
Adam, this video was deeply inspiring for me. Thank you for making this. I will surely not forget the advice.
Your content is always so inspiring for a musicians !! Love it
I was at that concert (after a two hours flight!! ) and it was absolutely amazing! It was strange to see the stage issue at first but the show and Pierluigi performance were just unforgettable!!
I don't think FDR was saying "Don't have fears". I think he was saying "Don't let fears shut you down".
And yeah, that moment in Avatar was beautiful. Iroh is hands-down my favorite character. He's who I aspire to be like. (I have twenty years under my belt teaching martial arts, and it never fails to amaze me when concepts from music show up in MA).
Yep, erasing fear and being courageous are completely opposite things. One is a response based in denying the realities that give rise to that fear, the other comes from staring directly at those realities and addressing them as they come.
What he described with the Iroh scene made me think of the Bene Gesserit Litany of Fear.
And the FDR quote is about the root cause of all suffering/evil. He likely didn't fully understand the saying himself, because it has virtually infinite transformative power.
Here is a good primer for details, from my favorite spiritual teacher: ua-cam.com/video/ESVoQzOhZNQ/v-deo.html
Absolutely beautiful conceptualization of dealing not only with stage fright, but as someone with lifelong anxiety and a live performer, how to find the center for relief in oneself. I think there is so much light to be shone on the importance of how beneficial others, in this example your bandmates, can help in that moment of overbearance.
I'm gonna show this to my students the first day of school next week!! Such a great message no matter what it is you love doing enough to share it publicly. My senior recital was one of my favorite performances because I was so nervous, wanting to give the people I care about a good concert. Great video as always!
Something I was taught in my college public speaking class was to recognize that the feeling of anxiety before a performance is nearly identical to the feeling of excitement you can feel. Often, the difference is just knowing that you're prepared and capable, and interpreting that nervous energy as excitement and anticipation rather than fear.
That's about what my conductor told me, which helped me a lot (not only with performances but life in general): "You can reinterpret your anxiety as curiosity. Maybe you make a mistake - that's fine. But be curious to find out what that mistake is going to be."
Love this. I used to get scared out of my mind, trembling and all that. As a bass player in a metal band I have the luxury of no one really caring about what I'm playing so, by realising that, I was able to get in the mindset of "just put on a damn good show and no one will care if you missed that one note". From that point onward I started focusing more on the showmanship and less on other stuff. It also helps a lot to have a plan B and a plan C for technical issues, not that I have it every time but...
Sometimes if you go out with an "it is what it is" mindset it can really help if you're a perfectionist. If you can laugh at yourself, even better!
Very insightful, Adam!! I was looking forward to this video because I wanted to know what happened with that keyboard, but I ended up learning about feelings while on stage.
I felt that the technical problems made the concert more enjoyable in the end, because we saw how the band really wanted to play for us and we showed the band understanding, waiting patiently for the problem to be resolved.
Best video you've done, IMO. Excellent. Thanks.
Really interesting breakdown! I used to get anxiety before going on stage a lot, but now I only usually get it at the first gig with a brand new band/set. I can pinpoint exactly when I stopped getting it too - when I sat down behind a big complex keyboard rig (bloody keyboard players, I know...) watched the dancers take their places and pressed Start on the sequencer and nothing happened. Fortunately I was able to fix it and the show could go on but since then I've very rarely had it. All it took was a catastrophe with a few hundred people (and some very angry dancers) watching! Guy Pratt talks about something similar, how he never got stage fright again after being on stage when the power failed at a Pink Floyd gig in front of 50k people.
There's so much to unpack here. The act of performing is so inherently tied to the stresses that come with it that I feel like playing or performing without any sense of stagefright is its own separate category of performance. Ritual and emotion are so essential to music that stripping it of them makes one wonder whether what results is still music, or merely audio.
Another brilliant video! Not only the great advice about stage fright, but also the story of the broken keyboard itself and how you got out of THAT situation.
There's a blessing in having something go wrong right at the beginning: when you get it fixed, you feel so good that the rest of the performance feels like a dream.
My students ask me how to feel less performance anxiety at a recital, and the answer is 'know your music so well you could play it in your sleep'. If you have that excellence, as you mentioned, to fall back on then of course mistakes may happen but at least you have no worries about playing the song from repetition-repetition-repetition. Love the videos!
I think me channeling my fear into to the audience would just be furiously vomiting into the crowd while having a panic attack.
God I love beta blockers. Can't play a damn note in front of an audience without em
Spright end boards are tormenting me even here
Dude, this format is the very same of what type of content Adam made in his earlier years of UA-cam, really. I love this!
Inspiring! I have reacted in several different ways to situations like the one in your example, including the most shameful ways. Learned from all of them. Its beatiful to see someone like you thinking, talking and sharing about this. Thank you!!
I have way more experience in stage acting than music, but once I’m out there in either artform, my self image pauses and I perform without much thought of “me”, just the process of what needs to be done next. Maybe a side effect of learning to perform as characters first, but an interesting phenomenon I notice in myself.
I’m the exact same way. All the nerves disappear as soon as I step on stage and step into character.
You are most likely already an 'expert' in this case - and this phenomenon you experience is called Flow. There is a great book out there by the same name, by Czisentmihalyi. Do give it a shot.
Same here! I never get nervous for shows until I'm standing behind the curtain just beforehand. Once it gets going that all melts away
Haven’t even watched the video yet, but I think I already know where it’s going. Nothing better than running out on stage with jitters and letting the first chord of the night melt it all away.
Very on point. I've used this stage fright before in some of my performances to keep me on my toes and make the performance much better than it'd have otherwise been.
Always thoughtful and thought provoking stuff
When I played the last concert I did with the post-punk band I had in the mid 80's I was so nervous that I do not remember anything between starting the first song and going off stage. After I was shaking and felt sick. Apparently, the concert went well, and apparently, I stood at the edge of the scene and rocked the goth-guitar arpeggios. But I realized about one hour after the gig that I did not remember any of it. I just remember going on, thinking "We can't all just shoegaze, I should go to the front". And then I remember asking "Do we do an encore" after we went off. Between that, nothing. Not even blackness. The concert has been surgically removed from my reality. 😀
I always felt sick after a gig, so, I made music to a homestudio hobby instead. 😀
Before I even listen to this, I KNOW stage fright (nerves) is a GOOD thing because it makes me PREPARE, CONCENTRATE, and STAY with the music. Also, it makes me realize that, usually, no one in the room can play this (whatever the music is) better than me. SO! Embrace the nerves, breath deeply and FOCUS!
Thanks for this Adam!
My theater mentor taught us proper breathing exercises to help center ourselves, be aware of our stage, and be more resilient to fatigue and "loss of identity."
really good stuff Adam.
in 20 years as keyboardist and singer, I had to deal with technology troubleshooting tipically 5 minutes before the beginning of the show or even during the show itself.
it's always a challenge (and very scared!), but experience brings you to always study a bounce of backup solutions for every kind of trouble you've been dealt with, and even with potential new problems yet not occurred.
experience helps you to live your fear with good optimism because it makes you feel like in a the sphere of protection you've created around yourself.
good music.
"The terror of performing never goes away. Instead you get very, very comfortable being terrified."
Eric Whitaker
A teacher from our school advised us music students about stage fright especially when you're a music student. Though I guess this also sometimes applies even though you are not.
She said that it might help to think that YOUR AUDIENCE DOESN'T WANT YOU TO FAIL AS WELL. YOUR AUDIENCE IS ROOTING FOR YOU. For me there's comfort in that.
Another thing that I kinda use to convince myself to do well is that I tell myself that I have no choice but to do the performance. When I think that I don't want to waste all the hours spent practicing songs/pieces, it kinda helps me focus. I'm pressure myself so as not to feel the pressure from other people. That might be a weird method but hey, it works for me (most of the time).
Thankyou,if this helps even slightly,then it's worth gold,I've never heard anyone talk about this topic,with anything intelligent or even mildly helpful,this video was like finding a rare and precious gem.Thanx again
Love to see the b/w third person again, reminds me of your early videos (which is when I subscribed many, many moons ago).
As pretty much always, it boils down to what you do with what's happening to you. Redirecting the energy is probably the best tip, at least for me, but it's also about where you redirect it. What you did there on that show was perfect and in the end worked great. On my first live act I made the mistake of redirecting the absolute terror I fealt into absolute focus, which made me not really enjoy the whole thing. I guess my performance was good, but I just wasn't there at all. Second time was much better because I decided to kinda force myself to have fun with it.
I realised after a while that stage-fright literally makes anything I do in front of people exciting and makes time fly by faster while performing. The lead up is the worst part, but I always know the adrenaline-filled elation at the end will be worth it. Also, I never remember what I did, I just do it on stage. The only thing I remember is the clapping afterwards, even if it's only out of courtesy. This way, words just fly out of my mouth without even thinking, it sometimes even creeps me out during it lmao. Somehow that fight or flight thing prevents my brain from overthinking and it's something great to be utilized. Takes multiple stints in front of an audience to develop tho.
I've always found that part fascinating. I can spend weeks stressing about getting a bit wrong or fluffing my lyrics but then when performing it all just slides out in an instant and I barely remember a thing.
@@lawrencesmeaton6930 Exactly, it's the weirdest thing
Another informative and inspiring video on a topic close to every musician’s heart.
Hello, Mary. Thanks for the voice over!
I feel like thats at least the 5th thumbnail i saw this video getting
For me, the best way to overcome stage fright is through practice. I've found that I get nervous about things I'm not confident in. If I practice a passage I'm not confident in until I'm more confident, not only will I be more likely to play it correctly, but it will lower the chance I get stage fright in the first place.
Thank for this video, Adam. I don't get too much stage fright but somehow this video snapped my mind back to start working and practicing again. Well you build me up with anxiety but at least I'll be back on track.
I've played in a band and played some 5ish shows and fell in love with stage fright. Kind of before jumping form a bridge, once you overcome it it's so liberating and after a show when it wears off and you become relaxed it feels so good.
As a musician and singer, I definitely feel that stage fright (we all do at different degrees). The thing that I’m most afraid about is singing / playing off key or off rhythm and ruin the performance. I’m afraid of what other people might think, especially other musicians. But I know that with time and practice, I will learn to deal with it. I just have to jump.
Would have been (and often was) my response, too, when there are technical difficulties: play anyhow with what you have. Keeps the audience at track.
Keeping the energy is almost as important as what you're playing. I've been a keyboardist for gigs where the keyboard has stopped working (or one memorable time, turned to the fireworks sound effect and I couldn't work out what had happened).
but you play on, look like you're having fun whilst trying to work out what's gone on then your band mates can often pull stuff together.
@@AR-cy6uj hihi, unpurposefully switching the sound banks seems to be a common trope amongst keyboarders :D
I love the analogy of prince zuko and redirection. Been performing some covers at an open mic in the town I live in, get so nervous sometimes that I can’t keep my legs from shaking so I play sitting on a low stool. But I hate to play without the passion of it and the fear and the courage to do it anyway because I know I play with my whole being when I do. Tonight I was nervous and by the end I had a build up vocally and the shaking was in my diaphragm and was in my voice; gave it a vibrato and power that I know I couldn’t have mustered up otherwise. I’m not great but I love the feeling of singing something raw and honest so I choose not to play something if I don’t feel passionate or emotionally dedicated to what I’m going to perform. Love your videos, Adam! Always insightful:)
Another goated upload thanks Adam!! 💫 🌎
I know a similar feeling. I'm just about to go to a cafe to tell my GF it's over... kinda stalling with this video
One thing to remember is that competence equals confidence. When I played live I had to make sure that I new my parts so incredibly well that I wouldn't be fazed when issues arose on stage. The more you play live the better you will be. Get as good as humanly possible at what you do and it will greatly reduce anxiety on stage.
That's a load of bs. Anxiety is tied to your *perception* of self, not your actual performance. You could be a terrible yet egoistic musician and feel no stage fright, while another person who has mastered their instrument, yet is anxious and has low self esteem, might be literally unable to play bc of stage fright.
Great video and I must say that I love that venue.
As a DFW native, something deep seated inside of me was activated when you were talking about driving anxiety over a clip of a highway in Dallas. Driving through Dallas is like the valley of the shadow of death for me. The image popped up in my mind before the clip even rolled. Bravo.
Pro tip: We can always fake a heart attack just to avoid stage fright.
I swear UA-cam is messing with me. This video has shown up under both "The Hidden Benefits of Stage Fright" and "The Shame of Stage Fright" and potentially up to three different thumbnails. This isn't the only video I've seen this with, but drives me silly when I notice it.
I've been at the concert in Hamburg. One of the best concerts I ever been to. Adam, you managed the situation professionally and with such confidence 🙂
This is a great video. Thank you for this insight! It really gives me a perspective on what to do when things are going wrong:)
As someone who has performed music in various settings for large groups of people since the age of 7, and have never experienced real stage fright (only slight anxiety, and even that stopped some 4-5 years ago, when I was 15-16), this is interesting. I still do believe that I'm better off as a performer without stage fright.
You probably do experience an "arousal state" (I'm not talking sexual, though I guess it could be) before performances. It's not that different, you just don't understand it as fear.
@@jgischer oh yes, definitely. I've always been excited to get up on stage and show the audience what I can do. And the desire for that has always beaten any possible fear of embarrassment
I never had stage fright for the music I was about to play. But I was also ‘the gear guy’. Hard to switch that anxiety off.
I guess I was in control of the music. Well rehearsed and confident that the band were all on the same wavelength. But the gear playing up was out of my control and totally unpredictable.
Oh, and Mary Spender on voice over! I could listen to her all day.
You make the best videos on youtube man
I just want to say, I think it is awesome that you added an element of humor to such a serious subject to make it not seem as big of a deal to handle. Well thought out, whether it be intentionally or not.
How many times are you going to change the thumbnail and title?
Nice to hear Jaco at 9:30. His influence will never die. Great video!
I’m less than two weeks away from my first live show with my first band. I don’t think I experience stage fright, and I can hope that I don’t have it the night of, but this is a very reassuring video. Thank you for discussing this man.
This supports the tactic i use in terms of performance anxiety, whatever you do, never stop performing and stay calm. My stress response, especially in times shown in this video, I feel is somewhat a gift and I'm thankful that situations like this have never caused me to just freeze up, but to act instead.
Fires don't put themselves out, even if you're scared. It takes action to put that fire out.
Well said and presented! Thanks for the research and work on this. Bass out.
Me and my partner were watching you live in manchester and you had the nightmare of a software update dropping like 5 minutes before the show started but yourlselves and the warmup act both made it work and put on an amazing show.
I always listen to something really heavy/brutal and try to remind myself that this is all temporary so fuck it, let's just own this shit. Just try to get super hyped up to offset the panic. Helps when you got a band of a bunch of dudes with the same problem too, just talk it out and try to build your energy up together. Remind yourself why you started in the first place and just focus on having fun.
I've yanked my cable out on stage from stepping on it, ran into walls while going to crazy, knocked shit over etc. When I first started. Im actually really thankful for those moments of embarrassment cause after you go through it and you realize that you aren't dying or being outcasted you can stay more relaxed when it does happen.
I have a job interview a little later today, so this was very relevant and helpful for me. Thanks!
Thanks i needed this!
This was an excellent video. I'm glad you found something so profound in that moment of technological betrayal while on a gig, and I'm extra glad you chose to share it; some lessons are best served shared with the rest of humanity.
Also, Scared Bassless should be the title of your next album, or we riot. (kidding)
oh wow you played Stubnitz! i went out to some of my first club-nights and had my very first dj-gigs on that boat 20 years ago. time flies.
It's odd. I just went on my first big gig and it was the move fun I've had, ever.
I remember the feeling. Walking out of the performers' room, to the dim backstage, all the sound people telling me where to go and then on dark stage with closed curtains, and as the curtains started opening up, there was this big cheer from the audience that just sent shivers to my spine.
The performance, the audience's reaction, the communication between the musicians and the interaction with the audience.. it was the best experience of my life. Coming out of the anxiety and stress phase just felt so good. It's genuinely a feeling I want to look for. Getting tense to do my part, then doing it perfectly is beyond satisfactory.
I think nerves is a big part of being a musician, because when you get over it, you feel like nothing can stop you.