Leen2112 Posted October 8, 2012 Share Posted October 8, 2012 Ok so here's my story, I'm in a progressive/metal band and have quite complex songs, we have rehearsed them totally so at practise i can easily play them. We have this year started giging and i've found i forget bits! Stupid bits at that. Also i get the feeling that i don't know whats after the bit i'm playing is??? then as i get to it I just end up playing it right!!! Is this my nerves? I don't feel nevous at the start of a gig but i feel them build up as i play. I'm not new to playing, 20 years ago i never felt any kind of nerves while gigging, just this band. What is going on??? I'd better say......I don't do drugs and never play pissed. Is it just me? Cheers Leen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RAY AGAINST THE MACHINE Posted October 8, 2012 Share Posted October 8, 2012 To be honest, we all forget bits when playing live . I know I have. My former band mates have too on occasion . Wouldn't worry about it too much. The rest of the band may notice but the crowd may be oblivious.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
risingson Posted October 8, 2012 Share Posted October 8, 2012 I'm sure there will be a lack of familiarity playing live with the songs. Rehearsing and playing out live are totally separate things, as you will probably end up losing a lot of personal control over your sound and monitoring. This is something that threw me at a gig last night, a load of new original material that sounded great in practice, sounded great when we sound checked (great sound guy too, plus good monitoring), but became very difficult to recount in the heat of the moment. Needless to say, it happens to all of us I'm sure! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyfisher Posted October 8, 2012 Share Posted October 8, 2012 I sometimes can't remember how a song starts so I always make sure my set list contains the key and the first note I play. As long as I have this then I find I can usually play on automatic pilot. I guess we all have our little quirks and foibles but as long as we can find a way to overcome them then all's fine - it's the actual performance that matters, not how it is achieved. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gelfin Posted October 8, 2012 Share Posted October 8, 2012 I have managed to forget what song we are playing and played the next one on the set list. Soon realised something was wrong though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leen2112 Posted October 8, 2012 Author Share Posted October 8, 2012 Yeah, the mix we get at gigs isnt always great so that could contribute to my brain shutting down on occasion. Thats normally our drummers problem gelfin! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Academy Posted October 8, 2012 Share Posted October 8, 2012 This is a common problem, especially faced with a paying audience instead of an empty rehearsal room. It's all about confidence. Over fifteen years I've played the same songs hundreds of times. Yet, recently I messed up on a couple of songs and it spooked for quite a few gigs. It's a relaxation thing. Don't worry about it...it will right itself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Jack Posted October 8, 2012 Share Posted October 8, 2012 Are you easily distracted, Leen? I can be playing on-stage, songs that I've played live for years, and suddenly realise that I'm wondering what that guy's shouting at his mate about, or whether I remembered the spare batteries. Bizarre thing is, as long as I'm distracted I keep playing just fine. As soon as I [i][b]realise [/b][/i]that I'm distracted, I can fall apart. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr.Dave Posted October 8, 2012 Share Posted October 8, 2012 Why you? Why not you ? Everyone has nerves - for some standing up and playing in front of people is the big ish , for others it can be lack of confidence in their abilities or fear of letting band members down - all sorts. None of which matters a toss. What matters is dealing with it. so........ Put on an actors clothes. Assume the role of a confident performer. I assure you , after a while you will become one. I did. Forgetting stuff ??? Every gig you ever play will have mistakes in it. You , others... everyone. Again , what matters is how you deal with it. Experience will mean you get out if tight corners more and more easily. You'll find it becomes less of a problem. I did. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LemonCello Posted October 8, 2012 Share Posted October 8, 2012 I've strangely found myself at gigs (and concerts back in my cello playing days) thinking random thoughts in the middle of a song like "Did I lock my front door?" WTF is all that about? I digress, nerves are a funny thing and affect people in different ways. The not being able to recall what comes after the bit you are currently playing is quite common. The extra adrenaline that nerves serve up can make your grey matter operate at a higher/different speed/plane/rate, whatever you want to call it than in a comfortable rehearsal environment. As you say, you do actually remember and play the bit that comes after. This happens to me too occasionally, but I know I'll remember it and that helps relax me and lo...I do remember it. Looking away from a double page of sheet music in a concert situation for a second then looking back in the wrong place used to panic me more! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blademan_98 Posted October 8, 2012 Share Posted October 8, 2012 [quote name='Dr.Dave' timestamp='1349726238' post='1829769'] Why you? Why not you ? Everyone has nerves - for some standing up and playing in front of people is the big ish , for others it can be lack of confidence in their abilities or fear of letting band members down - all sorts. None of which matters a toss. What matters is dealing with it. so........ Put on an actors clothes. Assume the role of a confident performer. I assure you , after a while you will become one. I did. Forgetting stuff ??? Every gig you ever play will have mistakes in it. You , others... everyone. Again , what matters is how you deal with it. Experience will mean you get out if tight corners more and more easily. You'll find it becomes less of a problem. I did. [/quote] Sound advice. I actually took up am dram to get over stage fright. Facing a packed house whilst performing the crucible made me realise I could face anything Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bertbass Posted October 8, 2012 Share Posted October 8, 2012 I always play and sing on automatic and have done so for years but the moment I think about it, it can easily go wrong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Jack Posted October 8, 2012 Share Posted October 8, 2012 [quote name='Blademan_98' timestamp='1349726847' post='1829789'] I actually took up am dram to get over stage fright. Facing a packed house whilst performing the crucible made me realise I could face anything [/quote] Shame the rest of the company was performing [i]Hamlet[/i], but you can't have everything ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blademan_98 Posted October 8, 2012 Share Posted October 8, 2012 [quote name='Happy Jack' timestamp='1349728228' post='1829826'] Shame the rest of the company was performing [i]Hamlet[/i], but you can't have everything ... [/quote] Explains why I got 'let go' Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bassman7755 Posted October 8, 2012 Share Posted October 8, 2012 [quote name='Leen2112' timestamp='1349720684' post='1829638'] Ok so here's my story, I'm in a progressive/metal band and have quite complex songs, we have rehearsed them totally so at practise i can easily play them. We have this year started giging and i've found i forget bits! Stupid bits at that. Also i get the feeling that i don't know whats after the bit i'm playing is??? then as i get to it I just end up playing it right!!! Is this my nerves? I don't feel nevous at the start of a gig but i feel them build up as i play. I'm not new to playing, 20 years ago i never felt any kind of nerves while gigging, just this band. What is going on??? I'd better say......I don't do drugs and never play pissed. Is it just me? Cheers Leen. [/quote] I think there is sometimes a danger that you play a song/riff so much that you end up relying almost completely on muscle memory and physical shapes, and muscle memory doesn't like competition - the moment you try to think consciously about what your doing it says "sod you mate, you on your own now" often at the most inopportune times. So these days I make a concious effort to learn songs by learning to hum/whistle/imagine the tune before learning to actually play it, and also to memorise the notes names as find that these are not as fickle as learned movements and fret/string positions. Actually knowing the melody of the bass line has rescued me countless times when all else has fled, I can do a good enough job of turning a remembered tunes into notes on the bass to save my arse. It also made me realise that some songs I had played for years I never actually learned the tune properly i.e. I could play it but not sing it which is really a very unmusical approach when you think about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sté Posted October 9, 2012 Share Posted October 9, 2012 This book can help you: "Effortless mastery" by Kenny Werner. It describes the exact problem you perhaps have: you want to sound the best you can, and play songs with fear to forget parts. That idea turns in your head during your playing and finally makes it happen: you forget things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fitz666 Posted October 9, 2012 Share Posted October 9, 2012 Happens to me all the time (probaly due to lack of practise). The only folks that ever notice are... a - other bass players b - my other half (just from the look on my face) c - one of our guitarists Nobody else notices at all.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr.Dave Posted October 9, 2012 Share Posted October 9, 2012 [quote name='Blademan_98' timestamp='1349726847' post='1829789'] I actually took up am dram to get over stage fright. Facing a packed house whilst performing the crucible made me realise I could face anything [/quote] What an excellent idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonnybass Posted October 9, 2012 Share Posted October 9, 2012 (edited) I would secnd the Effortless Mastery book, personally didnt go in for the meditation etc, but I now look at my gigging by pre/post reading the book. Same goes for my practicing. By going for 'Just five minutes practice' has got me back to a level of playing before the arrival of the Missus, the full time job and the two kids.... Edited October 9, 2012 by jonnybass Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bilbo Posted October 9, 2012 Share Posted October 9, 2012 Also, Barry Green's 'The Inner Game Of Music' is specifically targetting this issue. To put it in perspective, I have never suffered from nerves as I worked out a long time ago that no-one is listening to what bass players do unless they stop. I once got really bored at a jazz gig where no-one was listening and the guitar player and I played a 12-bar blues in which we played the whole thing a semi-tone apart (he was in Bb, I played it in . What''s more, we alternated so, after each chorus, we swapped. No-one noticed. You may be agonising over that sharpened 5th but, trust me, no-one else is, possibly not even the rest of your band. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RockfordStone Posted October 9, 2012 Share Posted October 9, 2012 i used to find i can't remember the notes in the next section of the song... ive learnt to tell my brain to shut up and let me hands work it out Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WalMan Posted October 9, 2012 Share Posted October 9, 2012 Sounds similar to a dep I did with a function big band where we had to play some "music while they ate" unexpectedly. At least one of the songs played with the keys calling chords from a Buskers book (that was missing a page) sounded like the most bizarre free form jazz you have ever heard...but at the end the diners put down their cutlery & applauded I still get the nerves thing after 30+ years, particularly with the prog band. Well possibly not nerves but I do tend to retreat into my shell & can really do without MrsW bubbling away before the gig. As others have said mistakes, particularly bass mistakes will 99 out of 100 fly over the heads of the crowd - except that bass player lurking at the back taking notes - and they will come up to you after the gig and say it was great when you are feeling it was cr@p and still obsessing over all the little fluffs you made. Being able to play through and catch up / find your way out of it also helps. We had a couple of moments last Friday where the vocalist came in at slightly the wrong time, or the drummer was at the wrong point in a song and missed a fill / change, but we soldiered on & got out of it and I would suspect that unless I put the video / audio up for post gig analysis noone was any the wiser, except us Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leen2112 Posted October 9, 2012 Author Share Posted October 9, 2012 [quote name='WalMan' timestamp='1349785935' post='1830464'] Sounds similar to a dep I did with a function big band where we had to play some "music while they ate" unexpectedly. At least one of the songs played with the keys calling chords from a Buskers book (that was missing a page) sounded like the most bizarre free form jazz you have ever heard...but at the end the diners put down their cutlery & applauded I still get the nerves thing after 30+ years, particularly with the prog band. Well possibly not nerves but I do tend to retreat into my shell & can really do without MrsW bubbling away before the gig. As others have said mistakes, particularly bass mistakes will 99 out of 100 fly over the heads of the crowd - except that bass player lurking at the back taking notes - and they will come up to you after the gig and say it was great when you are feeling it was cr@p and still obsessing over all the little fluffs you made. Being able to play through and catch up / find your way out of it also helps. We had a couple of moments last Friday where the vocalist came in at slightly the wrong time, or the drummer was at the wrong point in a song and missed a fill / change, but we soldiered on & got out of it and I would suspect that unless I put the video / audio up for post gig analysis noone was any the wiser, except us [/quote] Oooooofft......there is a youtube video of the particularly bad gig where during the guitar solo over 13/16 i just kind of stopped!!! I still got back in after about 7 or 8 seconds. Its bad to hear that nobody hears the bass until it stops, I don't want to believe it. Nobody goes to a Rush gig and comes out saying 'I've no idea what Geddy was playing' Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sté Posted October 9, 2012 Share Posted October 9, 2012 [quote name='jonnybass' timestamp='1349784298' post='1830412'] I would secnd the Effortless Mastery book, personally didnt go in for the meditation etc, but I now look at my gigging by pre/post reading the book. Same goes for my practicing. By going for 'Just five minutes practice' has got me back to a level of playing before the arrival of the Missus, the full time job and the two kids.... [/quote] Same as you. I didn't really get the meditation point. But his description about "problems" really talked to me. And i'm now less in fear, and more in "doing the most beautifull sound you can " kind of way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conan Posted October 9, 2012 Share Posted October 9, 2012 [quote name='Leen2112' timestamp='1349789817' post='1830540']Nobody goes to a Rush gig and comes out saying 'I've no idea what Geddy was playing'[/quote] Which can be a problem at times, and just shows that nobody is immune! [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yrO6CI41KEg"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yrO6CI41KEg[/url] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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