Waiting to go on.

[grumpyguts]

That's what I'm doing. Why do I start to think that stuff I have played countless times will just somehow go all wrong. Only third gig as a returned bass player.

What does your brain do to you at these times? Or are you a grizzled old pro who just turns up and bashes it out?

[White Cloud]

Your brain does it to ensure peak performance...it's called fight, flight or freeze. In this case it's less of a fear response, more of an anticipatory one. [i]Norepinephrine, Adrenaline and Cortisol [/i]are released into your nervous system to make you reactionary.

Basically, just go out there and do what you can do and enjoy it. It's why we do this sh*t dude.

[ChunkyMunky]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Un3p614XExc

Best lecture I've seen for stage fright and anything related. Take this gig you've got coming and learn from it if anything goes wrong. Use it as a reference point.

[Chaos Daveo]

I have a beer, just one,I relax and talk about anything,if it's a multiple band gig I stand at the front and support the other bands. I enjoy each gig as if it's my last, life is to short not to, worrying if it all will go wrong won't help at all. Think of how much you have practiced and enjoy it !!!!

[ambient]

Probabky sounds stupid, but I usually find a quiet spot somewhere and meditate.

In-between sets I buy a coffee and read a book.

Edited August 20, 2016 by ambient

[bassbiscuits]

If you're really stressed, try taking a moment to just calmly visualise what you want from the gig - seeing it going well, being enjoyable and fun, and you getting back in your car at the end happy knowing you've had a good gig.

Sounds simple, and it is, but it just gives you time to calm your mind and stop any worries just escalating needlessly.

Not everyone gets the chance to gig, and someday we'll be too old to want to bother, so just don't forget to enjoy it!

[ahpook]

[quote name='White Cloud' timestamp='1471721253' post='3115363']
[i]Norepinephrine, Adrenaline and Cortisol [/i]are released into your nervous system to make you reactionary.
[/quote]

So that's why I turn into Fidel Castro before I go on....

[dlloyd]

I don't get stage fright any more. I don't even get nervous. I think I've had it hammered out of me through having to give lectures in my real job.

[RhysP]

Hanging around waiting to play was the worst part of gigging for me. I didn't get nervous or anything (never had a problem with stage nerves) but I just found it so boring & such a waste of time. By the time it came to actually play I was already wanting to pack up & go home.

[Lozz196]

I don`t get nervous, or have stage fright, I just can`t wait for the gig to start. Maybe that is a form of nerves, as certainly my adrenalin levels are higher before a gig than usual. But I never worry about the songs, if anythings going to go wrong, if any gear is going to fail, anything like that, it`s just anticipation, much like a kid waiting for Xmas Day.

Mostly before the gig I`ll just wander around in the audience, although quite a few gigs we do have backstage or some form of dressing room I`m not really into that, much prefer to be in the actual venue itself, seeing the audience, chatting to the ones I know, and having a quick Red Bull before we`re due on.

[josie]

Good topic! The stress / anxiety reaction is there for good evolutionary reasons, and up to a point it's valuable - raises your alertness and reaction time. Beyond that, it can be paralysing. Controlled deep slow breathing can help a lot. There's a brain / body cycle which will spiral in either direction, and the easiest place to break the cycle is with the physical effects. If you practice breathing at times when you're not anxious, it will become easier to do when you are, and the physical relaxation will feed back to your brain to calm down. (I talk about this a lot supporting students with exam stress.)

It's a bit different in an OM situation. My first OM (solo bass / vocal) was the scariest thing I have ever done in a fairly long and "interesting" life. It was a year of getting up to play regularly before I could do it without my fingers dripping sweat onto the strings and convinced that a microphone was a coiled rattlesnake, and I used to beg the organiser to put me on early so I could "get it over with". But everyone there kept encouraging me to fight through it, and I've finally got it down to the "good buzz" level.

If it's only your third gig back I'm not surprised you feel that way! Hang in there, focus on the groove and if a few notes go wrong it will still be a good gig and your confidence will grow. Congratulations on coming back!

[FinnDave]

Just feel a bit bored until we play, no stage fright, possibly because I spent 15 years teaching, nothing bothers you after that!

[ambient]

I have a solo gig coming up soon, now that's a scary prospect .

[TimR]

Just play what your practiced.

Everyone is looking at the guitarist and singer anyway.

The difference between a pro and and amateur is - the amateur practices until he gets it right.
- the pro practices until he can't get it wrong.

Although all my pro friends say practice is cheating.

[grumpyguts]

It was a wedding gig a very happy and chilled vibe. We did our stuff, guests were grooving. All went rather well.

Its not a stage fright thing, its just stupid doubts enter the mind. I'll just ignore them in future.

[luckydog]

[quote name='grumpyguts' timestamp='1471737015' post='3115515']Its not a stage fright thing, its just stupid doubts enter the mind. I'll just ignore them in future.
[/quote]

We were chatting as a band casually about this, and decided it's the same as happens in sports, where it's called the 'yips'. Apparently it has to do with some inner mind element that is hellbent on creating chaos, known as 'the inner chimp'. Allegedly, yer inner chimp is at odds with the rest of yer ordered mind, and pops up to create havoc especially when it matters most and will harm the ego. Apparently it's part of human nature, and keeping the chimp under control is easier for some than others. Maybe this is the true nature of 'stage fright', different from nerves or fear ?

It's a pain where the sun don't shine, 'cos it can stop performances being their best if one plays safe under pressure to compensate. It's a life thing, not just music or sports.

We ended up writing a song about it ! That buried the demons........

LD

Edited August 21, 2016 by luckydog

[chrisanthony1211]

I used to get nervous before a gig, I remember having a dream the night before a gig many years ago when I got on stage, all ready to go, then I looked down at the fretboard and it was no longer a fretboard as we know it, but a load of buttons and flashing lights more like the flight control panel of a spaces shuttle and I had no idea how to play it!

Fortunately no more nerves and no more dreams, it's just a case of exposure and getting used to I.

Edited August 21, 2016 by chrisanthony1211

[skidder652003]

Im too busy setting all the gear and PA up with the drummer while the "star" is fiddling with his axe, to get nervous. By the time we,ve finished, theres only 15 minutes before we start anyway so no time to get nervous. Anyway we've played most of the numbers so many times the old fingers play by themselves half the time!

[Roland Rock]

I used to get nervous before gigs - it would go straight to my stomach, lots of pre gig time in the toilet 😁

Not anymore though. We'll normally pop out for food or a drink while waiting.

[lowdown]

Just turn up a late, then you don't have to wait to go on.

[luckydog]

[quote name='chrisanthony1211' timestamp='1471763732' post='3115566']
I used to get nervous before a gig, I remember having a dream the night before a gig many years ago when I got on stage, all ready to go, then I looked down at the fretboard and it was no longer a fretboard as we know it, but a load of buttons and flashing lights more like the flight control panel of a spaces shuttle and I had no idea how to play it!
[/quote]

That is the sort of tricks yer Inner Chimp gets up to !

Steve Peters IIRC wrote a lot of stuff about the Inner Chimp, very high profile sports psychology? Well worth checking out and very interesting IMO, I think it applies to playing just as well, if one is into highest possible performance to match potential.

LD

[Rich]

Along with the post-gig tear down, the waiting to go on bit is my least favourite part of the gig. Once we're soundchecked, I'm raring to go and just want to get out there and play.

[Cat Burrito]

I haven't gotten nervous in 25years. I usually just go for a pee these days #menofacertainage

[Trueno]

I got nervous on my very very first gigs... then I played so much I became rather relaxed about it all. Although I felt relaxed, I'd sometimes get a dry mouth, which indicated some andrenaline going on somewhere.
When I played sax I remember playing at some packed venue, lights flashing, smoke machine billowing, dancefloor heaving... I was playing a solo and started thinking about my shopping list for the next day. That's when I decided it was time to quit and try something else... erm... bass playing, would'ya believe.

[chris_b]

[quote name='TimR' timestamp='1471729543' post='3115460']
The difference between a pro and and amateur is - the amateur practices until he gets it right.
- the pro practices until he can't get it wrong.
[/quote]
Pro's still make mistakes.

Amateurs worry about the mistakes and Pro's don't, because they'll probably know how to get out of them and make them sound like they were part of the show.

There's no point in being nervous before you go on. You have done your homework or you haven't. Either way you just have to get up there and do your best job and enjoy it.