Hi,
Just had my first play live at an open mic. I kinda jumped in at the deep end by performing Classical Gas lol :lol: Man I had the worst butterflies ever in the 2 hours+ before going, on but I found, just as people say, that as soon as you get the guitar in your hand all the nerves go away.
It went pretty well - almost everyone shut up and listened unlike during most peoples performancs, which was cool - but I made a few mistakes, probably just thinking "wow, im in front of a crowd, playing. This is cool!" rather than concentrating on the peice. lol...
My advice to those who've yet to play on stage:
- Get on stage early so your not crapping your pants for an eternity.
- If you feel sick, dont ,for the love of God, drink loads of alcohol, thinking it'll steady you nerves. It'll make your stomach worse before it makes your nerves better! :?
- Go for it and trust the fact that you will become calm once your fingers touch the fretbord. And you will wanna do again straight away. :)
...Oh and dont use a lousey gig bag that knocks your guitar outta tune and makes you sit there tuning for ages on stage :evil:
Hey congrats man!
And good gig advice!
8)
Well we all shine on--like the moon and the stars and the sun.
-- John Lennon
Way to go! 8)
Dan
"The only way I know that guarantees no mistakes is not to play and that's simply not an option". David Hodge
WTG, Simon!! 8)
Bish
"I play live as playing dead is harder than it sounds!"
Bark!
Brain-cleansing music for brain-numbing times in a brain dead world
http://www.oenyaw.com
I had a gig on saturday just gone and it was at the best venue I've ever played at.
It's like my 4th one as part of a band and before/during the others I had horrible nerves and really didn't enjoy my time up on stage and it was only afterwards that I felt any joy at all.
This time however was just awesome fun before, during and after. I made a ALOT of mistakes during our songs but the crowd only noticed a few.
On top of that I sing. I have no confidence and, truth be it, my voice isn't great, but it does a job for the band. I made some horrific mistakes vocally which persuaded me to only sing half the lines to our songs.
But this was a great experience. I'm a big believer that performing is half of playing an instrument and I've learnt and gained so much from gigging- I would thoroughly recommend that the second you feel you've built up a basic level of proficiency, get gigging. I certainly feel I'm past a barrier of sorts and look forward to whatever the next gig may be more than ever.
So my advice would be:
- Get out there and actually do some gigs. The worst that can happen is you don't get asked back to that venue. And there's so much to gain.
- As for nerves, yes I'm sure they will be horrible the first time(s) and ONE drink will help a bit, but after you've gigged a few times nerves just turn into adrenalin and fun!
I've heard both from the Chilis and Radiohead that breaking the gigging cycle and hiding away in a studio makes it that much harder (due to nerves) to go up on stage and perform new stuff. However once you get into it, there's not much else like it in the world.
:D
"Today is what it means to be young..."
(Radiohead, RHCP, Jimi Hendrix - the big 3)
Congrats on the gig and thanks for the advice. I've promised myself that when I finally do take the plunge and get up on stage I will not touch a drop of ale. Bet I do though. :roll:
When's the next one? :wink:
8)
I've had a lot of sobering thoughts in my time.
It was them that turned me to drink.
When's the next one? :wink:
8)
Sadly, theyr only every 2 weeks and I go back to uni before then...But I migt finally get round to joining a band then...If I can fit that between my exams :? If not I got a looong summer break after.
Oo! And i'm seeing Paul Gilbert in London the day after my last exams! What a way to celebrate. :twisted:
well said 8)
even god loves rock-n-roll
