ambient

Assuming they were properly in tune too. There’s a Stones song I had to learn a few years ago. I can’t remember now whether they were sharp or flat, they certainly weren’t at concert pitch.

If you’re only playing by yourself, just tune the strings to one another. Harmonics works best, 5th fret of one string to the 7th fret of the next string.

It’s not often that I’m blown away by something enough to post a review of it, but this pedal-sized gizmo is simply fabulous. I’m a huge fan of Darkglass products, I’ve already got three of their pedals on my board. I wanted something for silent practice without plugging my bass into my interface and opening up Logic Pro. This obviously ticks that box, but it does so much more too, and it does it brilliantly. I don’t like the sound of my bass on its own through headphones, that’s why I’d use Logic Pro, for the amp sims. This little object comes with a comprehensive library of impulse responses from various cabs, preamps, power amps and microphones, that you can mix and match to suit your tastes. There’s also a library of pre-built rigs from Darkglass artists that make a great starting point. You can save up to five of your favourite rigs, that you simply recall using the touch-sensitive button - there’s an LED that lights up to show which slot you’re using. There are also various EQ settings and a noise gate that you can select and drop into the signal chain. I believe you can use third-party impulse responses too. You need to download the Darkglass Suite to access the IR library, and to make adjustments to the settings on the Element. It’s available for Mac and PC from the Darkglass website. There’s also a very handy app available from the App Store and its non-Apple equivalent. I found the app really useful and very easy to use. You simply connect the Element to your phone via Bluetooth. Thanks to a recent firmware update the Element can also now be used as an audio interface for recording. Logic Pro recognised it straightaway, it sounds equally as good as my Focusrite Scarlett. I don’t think you can use the IRs from the unit when it’s used as an interface, which is a shame. You can also stream music from your device to the element, again using Bluetooth, enabling you to play along with whatever your streaming. You use the centre of the three touch sensitive strips to adjust the balance between your instrument and whatever you’re playing along to. The outer two strips are to control the volume level of the two headphones outputs. I think it will really come into its own in the studio, or for live work where there’s no back line. The quality of the impulse responses is simply fantastic, so just use the DI output on the left-hand side of Element, choose your virtual rig, and you’re away. There’s also an aux-in socket on the right hand side, which I believe can be used for a second instrument, though you’d need to use a jack to mini jack adapter.

Your physical symptoms were very similar to mine. I would take to the stage, along with a random assembly of other students to perform the part I'd learned, and literally shake, or freeze. My hands wouldn't work properly, my mind would go blank. I twas a group performance, all individually being marked and critiqued by different lecturers. My poor performance generally effected that of the other students. My GP prescribed Propranolol which helped enormously with the physical symptoms, it counteracted the effects of too much adrenalin. For the psychological effects I used a mix of cognitive behavioural therapy, yoga and meditation/relaxation. I tried hypnotherapy too, that didn't work for me. The Alexander technique is also apparently useful. Barry Green's book leads you through the steps of cognitive behavioural therapy. He describes there being two 'selfs'. Self 1 is the individual, self 2 is the negative chatter taking place in the brain. The nagging voice telling you that you're no good, you're going to f**k up, you shouldn't really be there, etc. A friend used to have terrible performance anxiety that he cured by taking up improvised drama.

Exactly. There are various reasons why the anxiety is there.

Exactly

The Inner game book is really good, highly recommended. There are a few books worth checking out, some have been written with specific instruments in mind.

Yes, there's a tipping point where the nervousness stops being of positive benefit to the performance, and starts to have a negative effect.

Distraction. I can see why this would work. I often take a book to gigs, and sit quietly in a corner and read.

Some very good tips. The problem with performance anxiety is that it doesn't necessarily relate to the amount of preparation that the sufferer does. It's more down to how the person handles the related stress and anxiety. I do play a lot of solo bass, though that has been post-performance anxiety. The only time I have been nervous doing that was when I opened for Steve Lawson a couple of years ago. For me the problem was that I was doing - and failing - the music degree that I had set my heart on doing for a decade or more. Many people have to give up otherwise promising careers as professional musicians.

Yep, like I said, the amount of preparation doesn’t make a difference. I had one tutor who didn’t believe I was practicing or working on the pieces we had to play. He wanted me to video myself practicing at home. My therapist couldn’t believe there was someone teaching at that level with such poor understanding of my problem. There are quite a few things that can help, including a few good self-help books. A good one is by Barry Green and Tim Gallwey called the inner game of music. It basically covers one of the things I did with the therapist guy.

A slight level of anxiety is reportedly good for a performance. I still get slightly nervous, though more excitedly nervous I guess, I think that’s to be expected. It’s more up until I actually get to the venue, and get set up. Once I’m up and ready to play I’m usually fine. What i experienced as a student was more a sense of dread though.

I was wondering how many of us suffer with it, and to what extent? I’m currently doing a research project in the subject as part of my PGCE course, which is specifically designed for teaching in FE and HE rather than in schools. It is - at least from what I’m reading - a problem that’s quite prevalent in instrumental and vocal performance, though for a variety of reasons it’s not really spoken about. It is also, sadly, one of the main reasons that musicians misuse alcohol or drugs. They adopt such maladaptive practices as a way to cope with their problem. Though there are a wide range of other far safer methods of combatting the issue. My personal problems started as an undergraduate student. Despite previously enjoying a career as a professional musician, I had never suffered with any significant issues. The weekly performance workshops, and performance related classes were an absolute nightmare for me. I finally sought help from my GP, he referred me to a specialist therapist who was brilliant. We tried various things, including hypnotherapy - which sadly didn’t work. I’ve performed hundreds of times since then, including doing a lot of solo and solo bass gigs, and never had another problem. For me, as with many other music students it was evaluative performance - being marked - that was causing the problem. One of the problematic areas of MPA, is that it’s not related to your preparation, you can, as I - contrary to what my one tutor believed - spend dozens of hours practicing with your instrument, and still have a problem. The main issue is managing the heightened level of stress of the problem situation. I suspect there are a lot of people out there, who would love to be performing outside of their house, but don’t feel able to.

That’s my experience with jazz. As I posted earlier about the guys I play with. The one sax/clarinet player is in his 80s. He started playing in swing and big bands in his teens.

Don't drink alcohol, only water, and only sip it. Always prepare fully, especially if you have any anxiety issues. Always endeavour to arrive early. Check that you have everything you need prior to setting out. Always print off or write your set list in readable font, and use black ink.

I totally agree with you. I used to teach a guy who was in his 80s. There’s a bunch of guys I occasionally play with who age from late 70s to mid-80s. As much as playing a musical instrument as a child helps with your cognitive development, playing when you’re very much older helps maintain your cognitive and motor skills. There’s also obviously the social side too.

I did say I might be wrong, as I was talking about my experience as a player. There is obviously playing something, and then there’s playing something. To me my reggae playing sucks, to someone else it might be perfectly acceptable.

I might be wrong, but I don’t think reggae is something that you can just play. It’s a feel thing, you have to feel it, to do that I think you need to have immersed yourself in it. I struggle to play it, but I’ve never really listened to it. It was featured in the ‘world music’ module at university, I admit to having been hopeless at it. Listen to Sly Dunbar and Robbie Shakespeare working together, they are/were fabulous.

I very briefly played with a Free tribute band. I left after a few weeks, they were simply too loud. First rehearsal they start Alright now, then stop, turn to me and ask: ‘why aren’t you playing?’

To be honest - he says grabbing his coat and making for the door - the misaligned headstock decal, poor spray job, and wonky fretboard markers, surely make it a genuine Fender? 😆

I always think how amazing it is when people are so knowledgable about things like this. The only thing that struck me was the poor quality sunburst.

Beautiful. I hadn’t seen that, thanks for sharing it.