Woah, I'm nervous

geoo,

Yep, I've played with a couple "strangers" and yes I did get nervous, heck I'm still nervous playing for my teacher.

I've also found it a bit difficult sometimes to actually get something going. Not sure why.

I've always been the weakest link with the people I've jammed with and very much self concious about my playing, but that's how I am pretty much with everything. I've been playing with smokingdog from the forums here and he can attest to my bad playing but the nice guy that he is he puts up with me..Thanks Dog!

Now if I were to play with my friends I would tend to let loose alot easier and be more comfortable.

It might be helpful if you work some songs or things you want to try when you play together.

I haven't had the opportunity yet to play with someone else, but I KNOW that I'd be nervous too. I like the "first date" analogy, by the way.

I've heard from a lot of people who insist that playing with others is one of the best ways to make forward progress, so maybe keep that in mind.

Hey, just remember you're going to have fun and you're going to learn from playing with someone else. Everyone gets nervous. Just keep it simple as you start out. And enjoy yourself!

I've been playing for a while now but I still do get nervous. As you get more and more confident in yourself and your playing you'll find that you get less and less nervous.

I think the big thing is so long as you have alot of passion for playing music then everything else will come with time, and people will see that.

You gotsa relax man! Really, if he's a nice guy he'll be encouraging of you, and put up with any mistakes.

Have fun, learn a thing or two ;)

I found when I got nervous, I couldn't concentrate, couldn't remember things and most importantly couldn't have fun!

In a short period of time I learned to relax and start having fun because that is what it is all about. Try to stay loose and not tense up. Take deep breathes when you have to.

I'm not saying it will happen overnight, you might have to have a good talk with yourself about it, seriously (I have had a couple of good talks with myself and I think it worked out well).

Good luck and have fun!

So what if you can't play all that well yet, he had to start somewhere too. Man if I were you I would be totally jazzed being able to play along with someone else. I used to have a jamming bud years ago and it made my playing 10x better in shorter amount of time.

Just go have fun.

I, just like the others, get nervous when playing for or with strangers but I notice that after a short time of playing (and numerous mistakes) things seem to settle down and then the fun begins.

it doesnt go away.the nervousness sticks around.

just kidding. of course one is nervous. especially with a stranger.

it's happened to me many times.
no one cares. if the other person has a problem with your playing then he's the jerk.

how do you start? pick a song and play it? just start jammin? who plays what?

first thing you two should do is tune up together. that will break the ice.
start a rythm in a chord you like to play in. you'll relax right away.

not to scare you, but Ive tried jammin with someone and we ended up not clicking. it was uncomfortable until one of said something. we laughed.
we wernt made to jam together and left it at that.

Anyone else get this nervous their first time playing with others?

Geoo

If you don't get nervous, you're already dead.

Make sure you go with some songs to play and share. It'll be fine, and you'll learn heaps.

Best,

A :-)

Hope it works out, it's a great opportunity to have some fun.

Nervous first time? Nah...... more like frozen solid with terror... :shock:

Well, maybe nervous was about right.... :) When anybody else starts to play (friend, teacher or whatever) I nearly always start listening to them and completely lose it with my own playing. At least that happens to start with, until I relax.

I'd just start simple. Chat about where you're up to and so on. Do a few demos for each other, talk about what might fit with what, try a few short bars of something or whatever first. Ease gently into the business of trying actual songs.

If you think that he's the 'senior' player then ask him to take the lead in suggesting how you go about combining. And don't be shy about saying where you're up to. There's no shame in saying "I can't do that yet" or "I might need more time to get that down" or "look, this is the range of stuff I can do, can we work within that?".

Have fun. :D

Thanks for all the terrific reply's and support. I have calmed down a bit. Fact is that I'm not great but I practice my butt off and thats all that anyone can ask. He is a pretty nice guy, but a bit of a bragger so I am not sure what to expect on his playing ability. I guess I should have said in my first message that he is a bass player so it will be me with my guitar and him with his bass.

He is familiar with some guys that play locally in bands around the city. Says that we should hook up with them some time because they are terrific with newbies so that is another door that I am looking forward to.

I guess the main thing is that this is what I have been hoping for from the beginning. Not with this guy in particular, but to play with other human beings.

You guys have been great..

Geoo

I think it's great that you are hooking up with a bass player. It will help your timing immensely. Not that I'm saying you don't have good timing, but bass players are a good source to check your timing (along with drummers).

I really hope everything works out for you. Don't worry about being good enough. If he said that about the bands he knows being good with newbie's. Take that advantage! Learn from as many people as you can. It will help you in the grand scheme of things.

Just remember to stay focused and have fun! That's what it's all about.

Mike

If he's just a bass player no need to worry, Its nice to have a bit of percussion to play along with. :lol:

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